Make your own Washroom Passes!

I love how cute these washroom passes turned out!  I simply chopped a scrap piece of 1 x 2 into the appropriate length and then pointed the ends using my chop saw.

I dug out the acrylic craft paints (the cheap ones I bought from the dollar store years ago) and painted up the wood to look like pencils.  I used a sharpie to outline the pencil eraser and the shaved part and then to print "boys" and "girls" on each pencil.

I don't have a picture, but I later drilled a hole in the eraser part and threaded a piece of twine in through the hole.  These pencils now hang on the cupboard by our classroom door.  When a child needs to use the washroom, he/she simply grabs the pencil and places it on their desk.  This way I know who is gone and it's easy to manage how many people can leave the room at one time.

Early in the year there were ALOT of trips to the bathroom simply because the whole concept of putting a pencil on your desk was really exciting for the little ones.  Now we're all good and it's a great tool!

Easy, cheap, cute decor!

Puppet Theater DIY

So I was driving to the corner store yesterday and found what turned into this adorable puppet theatre!

Finished Puppet Theater

It started out like this

Wood structure in side of the road shape!

I got my friend to go pick it up for me and bring it home.  I was trying to figure out what it may have been originally used for?  Some kind of kitchen thing I'd guess?  I really have no idea. Imagine this structure covered in layers of dust and cobwebs and gunk.  I used TSP and the whole bit to clean it up nice.   I even got out my handy dandy steamer

 I was originally thinking I could turn it into something for the laundry room when all of a sudden I was struck by the shape of the top!  It looked like a puppet theatre.

I primed it and then painted it... and sewed the curtains with fabric I already had at home!  I used a $2 curtain rod from the dollar store to hold the top curtain where the show takes place, and just stapled hemmed fabric to the inside of the theatre to hide the performers (and to hide puppets and stuffed animals).

Here's the finished product

I LOVE it!!!