Step-by-step guide for painting wood furniture

I have been putting off painting some furniture because I feared the process and dreaded the work that I thought would be involved.  Well, like many things in life, thinking about doing it was much harder than actually doing the work.  The process wasn't complicated and the drying time didn't take long at all.  I was so pleased with the final results.

I have two different projects that I'm going to be showcasing here.  First, I have a set of dressers for my daughter's bedroom.  They were a dark wood and we wanted white.


  My second project was freshening up this old beat up shelving unit in my office.  

Supplies 
Screwdriver, medium (80 – 120 grit) sanding wedge, Zinsser Cover Stain Primer, latex paint color of choice, Floetrol, 2” angled quality paintbrush, water based polyurethane protectant. 

Prep

Clean off dust and dirt from the furniture piece and

remove drawers, knobs, and legs. Put sheets under the piece.  Sand if you must.  If you have uneven wood, scratches, shiny finish, you will want to sand.  The goal is to rough up the piece so that the primer will adhere.  I sanded my dresser set, but did not sand the wooden shelf for my office because the wood was pretty dull.  

Prime
I believe the trick to this project is to use the Zinsser Cover Stain Primer (gold label).  It is like a glue primer that adheres any surface without sanding.  So if you hate sanding like I do, you can skip the messy dust and go straight for this fast-drying primer.  

Paint 

If you used the bonding primer, you will not need to sand before paining.  I used a semi gloss latex paint and added Floetrol (according to instructions) and applied two coats.  The Floetrol is a conditioner which extends the paint and minimizes paint lines which leaves a more professional look.  

  

Seal
Because these are high traffic pieces of furniture, I sealed the paint job.    Use only a gloss water-based polycrylic sealer. Be sure to paint with the grain of the wood and seal the top twice for durability.  
Check out that shine! 

I took my dresser legs outside to prime, paint, and seal.  

Ta Da!  Here are the finished pieces.  The matching tall dresser came out so nice and my office shelving unit got an extra big makeover as I added chevron liner.  

Click HERE to see more photos of my speech space!     

There you have it, my step by step for a lasting paint job on wood furniture.  So stop thinking and just do it!  You won't be sorry. 

Pirate Linky Party

Thanks for hosting this fun linky party Tracy at Gold Country SLP.  I'm a little late in the game because I just released my first pirate product!    

Pirates for upper grades is perfect fun to engage your older students.  It uses inferencing and context clues to learn new vocabulary words while students attempt to fill their treasure chests and avoid the pirates.  Check it out HERE

I have the following pirate activities in my cart!

Click on the names to take you to the link: Cause and Effect Pirate Island by Kristine Lamb, Pop-Up Pirate Game: Wh-Questions by K. Ratiff, Pirate Language Activities by Jenn Alcorn

Have fun and head back to Gold Country SLP's page for more link up activities.  

Data Collection (with freebies!) linky party!

Welcome to the wonderful world of data!

With the new school year we are blessed with a clean slate to start our data tracking.  I'm working harder to keep my data current and organized and am ready to give you a sneak peek at my data binder. 

The free Speech Data Organization Kit from Speechy Musings is what I use to make my data, IEP, work sample, and schedule binders beautiful.  I love the design and it matches my office (what-isn't that important?). 

As you'll see in picture two, I have my binder organized in order of grade and with student initials.  I love my label maker!

 Click on any of the photos to take you to the purchase site.  Most are free resources. 

 For easy reference, I have copied all of the Common Core Standards that overtly relate to my grade levels and areas in which I serve kids.  I also have included, for easy access,  my Student Directed Rubrics.  These are my primary progress monitoring tool for this area of language therapy.  

Here is a freebie sample of my student-directed rubrics:

Under each student tab you'll find an attendance log.  I found this freebie by Arielle Gawron on TPT and really like the reasons for absence coding system.  Simply Speech has a speech running record form which is an easy way to track Quick Artic students.  For this I have an individual tab. 

I've recently developed an updated and FREE daily charting sheet. 

 (click either picture to download)   

Most of my EET companion products, figurative language products, and my calendar of language bundle contain data tracking pages and rubrics.  I save my student work samples from these products along with the rubrics and data pages to use for progress reports, to share at IEP meetings, and to file in student records.

There you have it!  Data tracking made a little easier!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Free stuff for your classroom!

If you work with elementary ages you probably have a treasure chest, prize box, craft drawer, and game cabinet!  Parents, grandparents, and daycares are inundated with toys, crafts, pencils, markers, and party favors to stock your classroom!  The truth is that they are dying to declutter and free up some space.    

Don't believe me, let me show you all of the stuff that my kids have hoarded since my last summer clean up.   

Crafts: 

Pipe cleaners, beads, and three more drawers full this stuff.  

Cute themed stuff!  

                         Under the Sea                                        Rocks

                         Party Favors:

My all-time hoarder, middle child, has 4 pair of sunglasses, 5 watches, and can you spy the chatter teeth (perfect for SLPs).  

  

Stickers:

What educator doesn't like stickers? 

Scholastic Stuff:
We buy tons of stuff at the book fairs and just like most kid toys, these get played with for 10 minutes and put in a drawer for eternity.  

Basement Stuff:

I cleaned out the basement today and have a pile for the thrift shop and a box going to my elementary teaching buddy. 

   Coloring Stuff:

I found hundreds of extra crayons and bet some teacher would love to melt down the broken ones to make a colorful creation. 

So there you have it.  A multitude of stuff just from my home that could fill a classroom.  

Post this letter to your Facebook page and I bet you get loads of great stuff for your classroom.  People love to clear their clutter and especially feel good if they can donate to a good cause and a friend.  

 If I were to see this post on Facebook, I would run for my kids' rooms and come out with a garbage bag full of stuff for you.  Grab the letter by clicking HERE.  

And it goes on and on. After I organized my kids rooms, I bought them more stuff.  You see, my oldest two were at a summer sleep-away camp and it was suggested that kids get a care package.   

Maybe I need to be on Horders.  

Shining Stars Linky Party! TpT Boost Sale

Welcome to the Shining Stars Linky Party!  I'm so happy that TeacherspayTeachers decided to give us a another BOOST sale.  It's perfect timing for many SLPs and teachers.  I'm most excited about this sale because I start school next week, have a fresh new budget, and am rested and ready to take on the new school year. 

This linky party is special because we are going to highlight our most treasured products created by ourselves and materials made by other TpT authors.  

My Shining Stars: 

Brainstorm

Community Places and Helpers

I love that this product never gets old for my students and that  I can incorporate a multitude of goals with hand-on fun.  There are over 160 matching cards and 20 places (both large and small sizes).  It's a huge product and it stores perfectly in a pizza box (see above).  

Pocket Pacers for Speech Carry-Over

A great filler item for less than $2.00 during the sale!  

I knew these were going to be a hit when two of my students brought in their wallets to carry their pocket pacer of choice.  Teachers also asked for extra pocket pacers to use in the classroom and para educators were excited to share with me how well the tool was working for rate reduction.  I usually laminate these on the harder plastic and keep many on hand in my speech room.  

Now let me share with you some shining star products created by other TpT authors:  

Cooking Up Good Speech has a Back to School Problem Solving product containing great scenarios, speech bubbles, and healthy school lunch ideas for middle and high school grade students.  

This bundle of Articulation Sounds for Upper Grades is used weekly in my speech room.  It's a shining star product because it targets those tough sounds in an age respectful way and includes data pages for easy charting!  Great job Autumn Bryant-Speech Language Investigator!

Context Clues in Color by The Speech Bubble is a creative way for students to learn new vocabulary and target comprehension!  My students think this product is a shining star because they love using colored pencils and I love it because it hits a functional goal in a fun way! 

Thanks for visiting the Shining Stars Linky Party.  My SLPrunner store has over 100 products and all will be 28% off -including already reduced bundles!  Don't forget to use the code: MORE15 when you check out!  Happy shopping!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

What's in your cart? BTS Sale Linky Party!!!

Nooo, it's back-to-school already?  Ok, keep calm-don't worry.  You're at the What's in Your Cart? Linky Party hosted by The Speech Room News and we'll have you all set for BTS in no time!  

Let me start with what's new in my store:  

                                          Multi Syllabic Sports Bundle
      Perfect for upper grade students who struggle with motor planning.

I've been busy thinking about my upper level students who struggle with reducing their rate of speech and with motor planning.  My basketball and baseball games were a big hit, especially with my middle school boys, so I completed a sport for all seasons and put it together in this $-saving bundle.  

The bundle will be 28% off the already reduced price with the code: BTS15

Here is what's in my cart!

                                 Super helpful techniques for all students. 
                             Super Strategies for Word Retrieval Deficits! 

Keeping with the sport's theme.  This looks like a must-have for the fall!

Football Speech and Language Pack

I've had my eye on this product for a while.  This concept is so  important for our high drama and low affect students.

                                          Size of the Problem Detectives.

Thanks Jenna, from Speech Room News, for hosting What's in Your Cart? Linky Party.  Click HERE to see many other resources that will be on sale Monday and Tuesday.  And don't forget to take a deep breath, all will be A-okay!

My SLP Runner store will be 28% off with the code BTS15.  Check out my NEW Middle School Headquarters HERE or all of my Back-To-School products HERE!  

The best thing I learned this summer!

And we're off!  Our first Frenzied SLP linky party and I'm so excited!  We have been working hard behind the scenes to bring you a collection of the most trending topics.  We invite all SLP bloggers to link up and welcome everyone's comments and feedback below.  

Here's the best thing I learned this summer!

I attended a Learning and The Brain Conference in Wellfleet, Mass (Cape Cod).  I know, lucky me!  Funny story: I did my first PeriscopeTV while walking to the conference and got lost on the way home because I wasn't paying attention.  Anyway, I learned a whole lot about the neuropsychology of learning and have highlighted the subcategories of the three areas of learning discussed. Today I bring you reading!

 As you are probably aware, language plays a huge role in reading and SLPs are a critical part of the collaboration team.  I hope these subtype breakdowns help you to better understand the learning processes of reading.  This knowledge can assist an RTI team, evaluation team, as well as inform parents of your role in the academic subject areas.  

Facts 

90% of referrals in elementary are for Dysphonetic Dyslexia. 

Brain research shows that the brain can change! 

What is LD? learning disabilities or learning dormancy? 

 We fire the brain with interventions to wake it up!  

Frequency of services always beats duration.  

The younger kids tend to remediate, older kids tend to compensate. 

Follow my blog to see upcoming posts on the neuropsychology of writing and math!  Yes, we have a critical role in MATH~especially with Common Core.

An InLinkz Link-up