Reach For The Stars

A few weeks ago I was having trouble even believing that l really did have a teaching job. Now it is becoming more real... I've gotten to read my kids' IEPs, and have been busy decorating my classroom and planning lessons.

Most of my readers are teachers, but those who aren't teachers might be surprised to learn that we have to use a lot of our own money to buy things we might need. The school supplies the basics... text books and tables and construction paper and stuff... but everything else, from classroom decorations to books to special supplies... we have to get ourselves. There is a finite amount that they will reimburse us for, but we are encouraged to spend that allotment on professional development.

So I was really happy that the people from "Get Childish" sent me a free set of The Glowers 2.0 to review. They are glow in the dark stars and planets that you can stick to your walls and ceiling. The description said that they would glow brighter and longer than other glow in the dark sets. My theme for my classroom is the sky, so stars fit right into my motif.

They came in the mail the other day, in a package that looked like this.

When I opened the box, here is what I found: A bag with tons of stars, and lots of sticky tack!

I started sticking them up on my ceiling right away. I have one of those ceilings with tiles that pop out easily, so I decided to stick the stars to the grid because I was afraid of touching the tiles. The first thing I noticed was that the stars seemed to stick really well. They didn't fall off after I stuck them up there.

After a while I tried shutting all the shades and turning off the lights. Unfortunately, the stars didn't start to glow. I think the main reason was because it was not really dark enough in the room. Even with the shades shut, sunlight was still able to get in through the narrow window on the door, keeping it from getting dark. I think I will bring some of the stars home and try them at night.

But that brings up another good quality. I've bought glow stars before, and usually they are very light colored, so that they cannot be seen at all during the day. I wanted my kids to be able to look up and see the stars, even during the day. I was glad that these stars are brightly colored, and can easily be enjoyed all of the time. I'm thinking of trying to find a way to hang some of them from strings from the ceiling.

I am going to finish decorating my classroom on Monday, just in time for Open House. I will post pictures of the whole thing then. I can't wait!

(#GetchildishGlowinthedarkstars)