Classroom Reveal 2015!

Friday finished my 4th day of school. My class is so sweet! We played our first partner math game Friday and they did a great job! Everyone was cooperative and had lots of fun. Well, one pair had a slight disagreement but for the 4th day of school I was thrilled to see them playing so nicely with each other. 

I hadn't gotten around to posting pics of my finished classroom before school started so here they are today- better late than never, right? This year my classroom is decorated with frogs and yellow and lime green polka dots.

Sorry about the glare, it was the best I could do. The calendar pieces are little light and dark green frogs in an AB pattern.

I love the look of pennant banners for bulletin board headings to I made these in lime and yellow polka dots.

This is right behind my reading table. Everything I'll need for my small groups.

I love having stuffed animals in my room! They're so cute and later they'll be reading buddies for Daily 5.

That larger empty bulletin board is for writing.  This is where I'll post anchor charts and student work. We'll start Writer's Workshop tomorrow. I'm excited! Hopefully this group will love it as much as last year's. Closer up the banner looks like this. You can get it free- just click on the pic. I'd really appreciate if you'd leave a comment below too!

 We did our If You Take a Mouse to School writing. I love this because it's cute and fun and the kids really enjoy it! I go over how to do the whole thing and then let them work. It also tells me SO much about their abilities. It's one of my favorite assessments. You can read more about it {HERE}.

My mom paint kids hand to make these flowers. After school she painted each child's name above the flower. It gives kids a place to put their jackets and lunchboxes during recess. Plus it looks fun!

Thanks for taking a tour of my home away from home! Leave a link to your classroom photos in a comment and I'll be sure to stop by!

Off to plan the coming week. What else would I do on a Sunday afternoon?

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Setting Up My Classroom- Day 1 & 2

It's that time again. Got my keys on Tuesday and worked a few hours yesterday and today. Here are the "before's" and "after's."

 BEFORE:

 Everything stacked up on the counter and covered with a drop cloth to keep it from getting too dirty over the summer.

 Furniture in rows? No thanks.

AFTER:

Getting things set up by my desk again. The double student desk will hold my laptop & projector. My DVD player goes inside one of the cubbies.

Today's goal was to get my library put back together and fill book boxes for Daily 5.

 Book boxes ready for Daily 5. They're just missing name labels.

I put about 10 books in each- just an assortment of fiction and non-fiction right now. I've got to find some phonetic readers (or make some) to add in.

 I inherited some new books so I labeled those and put them my library tubs.

 Yay! All my books sorted and on the shelves!

All that's missing are the labels on the tubs and my library is done.

Tomorrow's goals: laminate, organize a couple binders, set up my reading group area, purchase fabric for bulletin boards, have my hubby come and set up my laptop/projector/DVD player. 

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Currently for August

I'm joining up with Farley's Currently this morning. The last one before school starts again. Didn't my summer break just start a few weeks ago??

I've been loving these warm summer days! Time spent with family & friends, some fun days away with my husband, time with our new kitten. It's been great!

It's been fun to try some new recipes this summer- especially salads. Most recently my husband and I tried a kale and strawberry salad that is amazing! We'd never had kale- it's about time, right? We have wonderful locally grown strawberries so I like to eat them a lot while they're in season. The recipe came from a vegetarian food blog called COOKIE + Kate. Salads are my favorite school lunch. 

As for shoes, I need some really comfy ones. I'm going to the outlet center today to see what I can find. Years ago I had a pair of Rockports that were wonderful! They have a 15% discount for educators too. You can get their coupon HERE.

Reading Unshakable has inspired me to change a couple of things for this year. So a RAK of buying a flat of bottled water and some soda for the refrig in the lounge seems like a good way to start off! Hopefully it will make some people smile.

Back to School is certainly on my mind. I'll get my keys tomorrow or Tuesday. Our first PD day is 2 weeks away and my new kiddos come just after that. I'm looking forward to the TPT sale to pick up a few new things for the start of the year. If you're looking to get organized for the year, I've got some binder covers in my TPT store that will be 20% off starting tomorrow.

and

Remember to use the promo code BTS15

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