Read to Someone Nook

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer vacation! I know I did! Our summer was FILLED with fun events from weddings to parties to vacations, etc! We were very busy, so I apologize for the lack of posts.

I have recently become addicted (like many of you!) to Pinterest. If you haven't checked it out yet, head right over and sign yourself up for an account! Pinterest is an electronic pin board that allows you to "pin" any image you see on the Internet to your account. How many times have you seen a cute teaching idea on a blog or website, but then can't remember where you saw it? Well Pinterest can solve that little problem for you! Just pin it to your "For the Classroom" Pin board and it's right there waiting for you!

While browsing the lovely Pinterest teaching boards, I came across this little beauty:

The other cool thing about Pinterest, is when you click on the image, it takes you right to the original site where it was posted. So when I clicked on that adorable seat, it took me to step by step directions on how to make it on What the Teacher Want's Blog! How sweet of her to write it all out for teachers like me who definitely need those directions. :)

So I just had to have one! And one quickly turned into SIX! I decided to use these adorable little seats for our new "Read to Someone Nook". My 2nd graders will be able to sit on these special seats when they choose to Read to Someone during Daily 5.

Here's how I made mine!

I started with these file folder crates from Wal-Mart. They were only about 3 bucks, and came in a variety of fun colors!

Here's my little baby, Maggie, being forced to pose in the crate. She loves it. :)

My brother-in-law Mike (who is a carpenter) was kind enough to cut these pieces of wood for the top of the crate. It fits right into the inside lip where file folders would normally hang. I was planning to go to Lowes to buy the wood and ask them to cut it for me, but holy smokes - have you ever been down that aisle in Lowes? There are a LOT of choices. Luckily Mike came to my rescue and cut the wood PERFECTLY for me - he even rounded the corners so it would slide right in! Thanks Mike!!

I got the padding for the top of the seats at JoAnn Fabric. These were a bit pricey, but to be honest, I didn't shop around too much. I am sure there is a more creative, cheaper way to pad the seats!

I glued the padding to the top of the wood using a spray adhesive. Then my mom helped me use a staple gun to staple the fabric tightly around the seat cushions. It was helpful to have two people since you need to pull the fabric tightly. The corners were the toughest part - that took some trial and error!

And that was it! Even my parents' cat Libby thought they were pretty comfy!

I can't wait for my new 2nd graders to use their comfy seats! Not only are these cute and cheap, but I love that the inside also provides storage. You can just lift off the top seat part and the inside is all yours! I am not too sure what I'll even keep in there yet, but you know you can ALWAYS use extra storage in the classroom.

Here's how they look in the brand spankin' new Read to Someone Nook. :)

In case you are wondering, I found that cute little white table at Home Goods! I thought it would be perfect between the two sets of partners. It will hold their "Check for Understanding" Check Marks, story wants to use when reading with their partner, and other partner reading activities.

Thanks to Pinterest and What the Teacher Wants for this cute idea!