Complete!!

FINALLY, my classroom is set up and ready to go! Orientation went well yesterday, it was a nice laid-back pace, and I think the families enjoyed it. All but 3 kiddos showed which isn't too shabby when you've got 22 students! Unfortunately, my classroom is much smaller than many of the large spaces I've seen on other blogs, and I feel like it's all so crammed in there! 
Prepare yourself for photo overload...

as you walk in

as you walk in, carpet area

front of room

cubbies

back of room

windows/shelving

table bins, book hospital from kindertastic

my desk Seuss bdays from First Grade Brain & brown bear M&M sort from Mrs. Lee's kinderkids

close-up of Seuss bins--love them!

small shelf by my desk

front of room

decoding strategies from can do kinders (why can't I rotate this??) by my kidney table for small groups

back of room, sticker charts

word wall

orientation goodies, Seuss deskplates from First Grade Brain

front of room

front of room

organization table in front of my desk...a drawer for each day of the week's materials and each subject for when I'm ahead of myself with copies!

clip chart (can't rotate, sorry!)

next to door (can't rotate)

classroom jobs

Blog Button

I finally got the nerve up to make myself a blog button! HUGE thanks to Blog Designs by Dani both for the new *free!* template I'm now rocking and the tutorial...it worked great! So, grab my button from the right and add it to your blog! :)

Behavior Letters

I FINALLY got around to updating my behavior letters to correspond with my new behavior ladder for this year! I borrowed pieces from various letters I've seen on others' blogs--sadly I can't remember where I found these great ideas even after searching my google reader multiple times! So if they belong to you, please let me know, so I can give you credit!

Plus, my WONDERFUL Hubby helped me figure out how to embed google docs in my blog posts, and I'm SUPER excited that it FINALLY worked!! So here they are, enjoy! Let me know what you think and if you're able to use them in your classroom!

Teacher Toolbox

Rebecca Rojas at Create*Teach*Share had a fabulous idea, and I just HAD to copy it! She created a teacher toolbox from one of those organizers you'd find at Lowe's or Home Depot to store your screws and nails! If you head over to her blog, she even posted her labels if you use the organizer she did.


I got the 18 drawer organizer because it has all bigger drawers, and heaven knows I need them! When I moved into this new room, I also inherited about a million and a half brads, paper clips, etc, etc, etc!

So, here is the organizer I used: 

We got it at Lowe's for $20.
And, here is my finished Seuss-ified product! 

I can't wait to clear out the cupboard where all the school supplies are stuffed right now...what a waste of valuable space!

Classroom Mascot

Erica Bohrer is having a class mascot linky party! I am loving this linky party because the different mascots are so fun to check out! Erica's also giving away packets for a Skippyjon Jones and Scaredy Squirrel mascot for FREE to help get you started. Gotta love that!



My first year teaching, I sent home Flat Stanley with the primary book:

The kids each got a turn taking him home in a tote along with a journal binder, disposable camera, and the book. We also sent Flat Stanleys around the elementary school and had many classroom's send him back with letters telling us what Stanley did in their classrooms. It was a really fun way for my kindergartners to learn about the different grade levels. They loved it!


The past few years, I haven't had a classroom mascot to send home. Other classes began sending Stanley, and I didn't want it to become redundant for the kids once they got into the older grades.


This year, since my classroom theme is Dr. Seuss, I plan on sending home Horton along with Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches the Egg and a journal for them to document what they did while Horton was visiting their home. I don't think I'll send a disposable camera this time but allow for families to take their own pictures and have them one-hour photo printed, so that we can see them right away! With Stanley, the kids had to wait until the camera was finished before I could develop the pictures, and it lost a little of the magic due to the long wait.


I don't have my own photos of the goodies yet, as it's still a work in progress and I just ordered everything from Amazon (L.O.V.E. Amazon!!) but here are the pics from Amazon. I still need to make the journal and get/create a Seussy tote to go along with it.

 

I will have to update once my goodies come in and my journal and tote are complete!

Currently I Am...

Oh Boy 4th Grade is hosting a fun linky party about what we're all currently doing which could also be used as a fun writing prompt for older kiddos. Sooo, here's my list! Make sure to head on over and check out other lists as well as linking up yourself!

Smartboard Calendar

I just posted my updated calendar for the 2011-2012 school year on Teachers Pay Teachers. You can easily edit any of the pages to work for your school's vacations, add student birthdays, etc. The file includes a monthly calendar page for September-June, weather chart, weather graph, link to local weather, interactive thermometer, patterning, days of the week, place value for # of school days, and days of school chart. Check it out!