Keep the furniture in storage or an adjacent room until you cut and install the tiles. This will give you a clearer view of the room to ensure accurate measurements. Vacuum or mop the floor as well, and throw away any trash or debris covering the ground. Beginning from the center helps you keep the tiling pattern balanced. Mentally divide the room into 4 different quadrants and start measuring in the approximate middle. Finding the center is easiest for square or rectangular rooms. If your room is oddly shaped, start in the approximate middle. If you are adhering many tiles, making layout lines on the floor can help you make the tile patterning even. Use a tape measure to record the length and width of your tile. Make this measurement your guide as you record how many peel-and-stick tiles you will need to cover the floor. Beginning from the center of the room and outward, use chalk to record where you will lay out the peel-and-stick tiles. While measuring the layout lines, mark them in chalk to use as a guideline when you cut and adhere the tiles. Make partial lines around the sides and corners of the room so you know what shape to cut certain tiles.

Summary: Remove all furniture from the room before measuring the space. Start from the center of the room. Measure the tile layout lines, if desired. Use chalk to mark the layout lines.


Before you grab an insecticide and douse the beehive, take the time to prepare for the complete process. This is especially important if the hive is built into or onto your house. You should:  Prepare to do repairs following the removal of a large honey bee hive from a home. Walls or structure may need to be cut away to gain access. Plan to bee-proof to avoid further infestation in areas where the hive and honey can't be removed (for instance, behind stucco and brick). Consider evacuating those with allergies, children, pets, and the elderly from the immediate area where a hive is active. Bees are normally asleep (and thus in the hive) in the late evening and early morning, so these are the best times to spray the hive. In terms of seasons, the best time to remove a beehive is late winter to early spring. During this time the beehive population is smallest. Bees are less active at night, and will likely all be at the hive then. However, it's harder to see and effectively kill bees at night. If you do want to spray at night, use a flashlight with red cellophane covering it—bees can’t see red light. Dress appropriately for exterminating a beehive. Clothing is a very important part in the process of removing beehives. Light colored clothing with a smooth texture is best for removing bees. Dark colors and rough clothing are more likely to agitate bees.  Choose heavyweight clothing that covers your arms and legs. You may want to invest in a white beekeeper’s suit. Wear gloves that offer substantial protection for your hands. Professionals usually prefer leather gloves when removing beehives. Professionals use a beekeeper's veil, which offers great protection while not hindering your vision. Buy one online or at an agricultural supply store. Don’t wear heavy scents like perfume, cologne, or scented deodorant. The bees may confuse your scent for that of flowers. While you can find homemade recipes for eradicating beehives online, your best bet is to use a commercial insecticide. Go to a home center and pick out an insecticide spray that is marketed for use on bees. Instead of a spray, you can instead buy an insecticide dusting powder. The application process will be quite similar regardless. All beehives have a main entry hole that is usually easy to locate. Hold the nozzle of the spray can right up to the opening and spray for several seconds, until you estimate that you’ve saturated the entire hive interior.  If you’re using an insecticide dust, stick the tip of the applicator into the hole and squeeze the bottle to inject the dust into the hive. If you can’t find or can’t access the main entry hole, spray the insecticide all over the outside of the hive. This will do the job eventually, but it will likely take several more spraying applications over a few days. Check the hive the day after spraying it. If you don’t see any bees enter or exit over a period of 5-10 minutes, the hive is almost certainly eradicated. Otherwise, spray your chosen insecticide into the hole again and check the following day for activity. Don’t start removing the hive until all the bees are dead. Otherwise, they’ll become very aggressive when you tear into their home! Also, if you’re unable to remove the entire hive, any remaining bees may be able to rebuild it.

Summary: Plan ahead for the extermination, hive removal, and any home repairs. Wait for late evening or early morning, and (ideally) late winter. Put on protective gear like long sleeves, gloves, and a bee veil. Choose an insecticide that’s intended for killing bees. Spray the insecticide right into the main entry hole of the beehive. Repeat the process daily until there’s no more hive activity.


Show your teachers how to exercise a skill rather than only saying why it is important. A boring discussion of why student engagement is imperative will do less to improve your teachers’ engagement skills than engaging with them strongly.  For example, start a speech about student engagement in a boring, monotone voice. Then, snap out of it and use a varied tone of voice and physical gestures to draw the teachers’ attention. The difference between talking about engagement and showing how engagement feels will illustrate how important that skill is. Come to your session with all your materials ready and a vibrant and exciting lesson for your teachers. Leading your best lesson for them will show how important organization and preparation are to effective teaching. After your lesson, take 10 minutes to discuss how you prepared for the day and organized your lesson. Sharing the strategy behind a day of effective teaching can help teachers improve their own habits. Encourage your teachers to find inspiration in the everyday “teachers” around them. Teachers can learn how to connect with a class by studying how performers connect with a crowd. Artists and community leaders may lack teaching credentials, but they can still illustrate valuable lessons about uniting material with an audience. Take your teachers to a play so they can see how the actors use intonation and body language to keep the audience’s attention.
Summary: Illustrate skills rather than just discussing them. Be a model of effective teaching. Lead a field trip out of the classroom.