Classroom Tour

Who would have thought that it would have taken me this long to finally get pictures taken of my room to post!?! Last night was Open House, so things were relatively neat and tidy (any teacher knows that once school starts there are always things around as works-in-progress). I'll start with the pictures of the room as a whole, then work to the details of things I've done.

This is first glance coming into the room. Each table has a specific color which I use to call them by throughout the day.

This is the back wall with my center organization, work on writing center, computers, then library in the corner.

A look at the entrance wall. (Oh... the projector that cannot be moved from the center of my room.)

The front of my room; including word wall, schedule, learning goals and vocabulary.

Here is a closer look at my library, including the pillows and benches I made throughout the summer.

 

Books are organized in the colored bins by series, then in the clear bins, by AR level for those not in a series.

Book Hospital and Book Return

My AR Goals chart where the kids color a page for each passing quiz...
still a work in progress getting the goals set up.

Here you can see the student computers, student work, and writing center.

The brown poster is for our FAIR and writing prompt data as that become available.
There is also the ST Math poster as well as the computer schedule.

On these shelves I have all my Evan-Moore "Take it to Your Seat" centers,
as well as other word work resources and the decodable stories for the year.

 

And here are the math resources.

Not too exciting, but my microwave and sink area, with our PAWS expectations,
hand-washing and birthday posters. Those binders hold the workmats for math topics 1-5.

This is my guided reading table with the storage behind for leveled readers and extra supplies.

Our learning goals and vocabulary, as well as writing binders above cubbies that hold the books for each table.

Our classroom schedule.

Our sight words wall.

After writing their homework in their planner, the students place their OWLS binders in these bins.
We are also using money to count how many days we have been in school.

Love the Bucket Fillers book by Carol McCloud! This is how we fill our buckets without taking up too much space.

Every classroom needs classroom management.
This is our behavior chart.

Every student has a job to contribute to our classroom family.

Part of our morning drop station. My class expectations as shared in a previous post,
my "no name" clip board, and even umbrellas and my boots for rainy days.

A closer look at my clip board. :)

The fingerprints of my students from this year and last...
most are the same since I looped with them. :)

The amazing white board I found at Kohl's for reminders. I am forever forgetting to
pass out the  "Take Home Tuesday" Folders... hence the reminder.

Anyway... this was a lot of pictures, but now its done! I hope you enjoyed a look at my home away from home.

Clock Labels

Since I'm teaching time this year, I decided it would be fun to have the clock labels I've seen frequently on Pinterest. Of course, being a little "OCDish," I wanted them to match my classroom colors. I'll add a picture of the clock later when I post my updated classroom pics next week, but I wanted to share the minute labels before the school year gets started.

 

Since I can't figure out how to make a link for a PDF file, if you'd like a printable copy, please comment with your email address and I'll be glad to send you the file.

Doing Away With "Rules"

In my classroom, I'm not a huge fan of "rules." Instead, I prefer to let the kids know what my expectations are. On Pinterest, I found a great sign which I quickly decided I wanted to make (with edits) for my own classroom.

Here is the finished product!

Thank you Creative Genius Art for the inspiration.

Money in an Apron

Last year, my behavior management theme was stars. The behavior chart was stars with numbers on each point, and the students turned their star if redirection was needed. Students could also earn paper stars to use to make purchases from the treasure boxes.

With moving to second grade, I'm also moving away from stars. A good friend of mine who is going from second to fifth grade this year shared with me how she used play money for rewards and consequences. A few times a year, she would set out this extravagant store in which the students could make purchases with the money they had earned. Seeing that we teach money in second grade, I decided to follow her lead and transition from a currency of stars to make purchases, to using money and real-world situations.

Of course, now I had to figure out how I would have the money with me throughout the day. I could buy a little apron somewhere... but would it have the right number of pockets? Probably not.

When you can't find what you want... make it!

Notice the owls! I knew this was the fabric I wanted as soon as I saw it.

Its hard to see in the picture, but this apron has seven (yes, seven!) pockets. Each pocket is made using darts so they stick out further and have room for plastic coins, and paper bills. 4 small pockets on the right, 2 long/horizontal pockets middle/leftish, and 1 vertical pocket on the far left. Yikes! That was quite a task, but quite a rewarding feeling when I finished them.

You can see a second apron made for a friend.

Colorful Owls... into PILLOWS

My theme for the year... colorful owls by Carson Dellosa. Love them!

In planning for my room, I always like to make some things that are my personal touches. Because I like to have a friendly library, I decided to make pillows to go with the theme. With some fleece from JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores, and an altered pattern for a pillow, I now have 5 colorful friends my students can read to.

I couldn't make them look exactly the same, but I think my kids will get the idea.

Moving In!

After school let out, I had to wait for a week until I could move into my new room. Thankfully I got everything boxed and ready during post-planning, and it sat in a corner ready to go.

After returning from the beach, my amazing in-laws came to school with me to help me move everything over. WOW! What a task! Because I like to document changes, here is what the room looked like when opened the door to move in.

Not bad... but some changes to be made.

All those blue labels were to go to another teacher... in another room.
Thankfully the custodial staff helped moved those.

Looking at the back wall

Those boxes were still from the old teacher. She came to get them in the middle of the week.

The front of the room and the corner with my desk

Looking at the wall with the entrance.
First change... move the shelves from in front of the window!

After quite a few hours of work, and a sore back, I had things organized and ready to rest for the summer.

Now looking in with shelves moved, and tables stacked.

The front of the room.
The items on the table closest to the door (left) still need to go elsewhere.

Chairs stacked in front of the window. to be moved once the carpets are cleaned.
Bookshelves against the back wall for the library.

 

Bookshelves, computers, and tables... everything to the edge for now.

Since I don't know how to rest, I've been working on quite a few projects for my classroom. Stay tuned to see the future results. I'm getting super excited!

Making a Change

For the past three years, I've taught first grade... and loved it! As there is for every teacher, there are good days, and not so good days. I've found through these three years, that my favorite days come nearer the end of the year when my students are developing more independence. This is why, I am now so excited to be given the opportunity to loop up with my current students, and become a second grade teacher with an amazing group of second grade students.

This blog is started with the intention of chronicling my adventures as a second grade teacher, as well as sharing any resources I find or create along the way.