If you are following my Schoolgirl Style Challenge, you know that I am choosing five classrooms as my Top 5 Finalists.  The Schoolgirl Style team had such a hard time narrowing it down to just five classrooms, so after much consideration, we decided to add one more!  Our 6th finalist will be showcased tomorrow evening on the blog.

Before I show you our 5th finalist, I just had to give a big shout out to all of you that sent your pictures in!  I was in awe of your rooms AND your dedication to making your classroom a special space for your students.  I had over 100 entries and ALL of them had something that I felt was pretty spectacular!  It was so difficult to narrow this down and in true “Melanie” form, I hate making anyone feel bad.  Please know that your hard work will NOT go unnoticed and I appreciate the time that you took to send your photos in.

After the contest is over, I plan to feature some of your classrooms on my blog.  I want the world to see some of the amazing things you’ve done!  So, be prepared…you might turn on your computer and see your own classroom!

OKAY…ARE YOU READY TO SEE OUR 5TH FINALIST?

Introducing Maria Manore’s Classroom!

Maria is a Kindergarten teacher at St. Mary School in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. 

  Maria’s new Schoolgirl Style inspired room is bright, happy, organized, and she has some AWESOME details.  Just wait until you see her shelf that she made over…to die for!

Here is Maria’s BEFORE picture…

Now, take a look at Maria’s “new” room!

What a dramatic change!  There are several things that adore about this photo…

1.  I LOVE how she painted the file cabinets to match her room.  So often we ignore this and just live with whatever has been passed down to us.  Taking the time to paint these boring pieces paid off.  So cute!!!

2.  Maria used my Luau themed editable welcome banner to hang over her desk.  It looks darling with the pink ribbons and bows AND she attached them to my favorite polka dot lanterns from the Schoolgirl Style Shop!

3.  Maria’s borders are simply beautiful as well.  Maria explained that she couldn’t find borders in the colors that she wanted, so she used Do-A-Dot Art painters and made each one herself! 

Now, take a look at her next project…

Maria transformed clear storage bins into adorable pieces of furniture!

  I am in LOVE!

You can see the storage containers under her desk.  So cute!

I HAD to show the picture of the hot pink chair!

Her pretty and bright alphabet…

I love how Maria personalized her bulletin board.  She even added my “Keep Calm and Teach On” print AND my “Inspire” print from the Schoolgirl Style Shop.

Another view AND my polka dot lanterns from the Schoolgirl Style Shop.

Maria even added my owls from my Owl Theme to hang over her tables!

If you look closely, you can see that her caddies and book bins all coordinate.  Very nice!

After Maria sent her pictures to me, she transformed her plain bookshelf and sent photos of the finished product.  You can see the bookshelf in the distance by her computers.  Yep…plain, brown bookshelf. 

Now, take a look!

TA-DA!!!!

How totally stinkin’ CUTE is this?!?  ADORABLE!!!  I want!  I want!

A closer view!

SO….What do you think?  Pretty fantastic, huh?

We have one more room to see tomorrow and then I will explain how the voting works.  Voting for your favorite room will begin on Thursday, so make sure you stop by and get your vote in!

SEE YOU TOMORROW!