Classroom Digs: 2013-2014



Hey yall!

 

Its my favorite day of Teacher Week...classroom tour day!

 

 

We started school yesterday, so my class is in full swing. However, there are a few things that I still need to work on over the next week or so. You may not notice the things that are missing {or my students for that matter}, but I certainly know they're not there! Our classrooms are always a work in progress, aren't they? I am pretty sure I end up adding/changing things every year.

 

Anyways, here we go: my 5th grade classroom!

 

 

Here is the outside of my door. I love my little chalkboard square I got at Wal-Mart and the chalkboard sign with my name on it is from Hobby Lobby. I covered up the ugly brown sign, because it still says Pre-K {even though its probably been years since there was actually a Pre-K class in there). Since we are departmentalized in 5th, the chalkboard square will be where I write notes about things students need to bring to class that day or important 5th grade info.

 

This is the view when you walk into the room. Let's just start to the right and work our way around.

 

 

To the immediate right of the door, you'll find my conflict resolution wall and visitor's desk {school requirement}. The desk will hold my lesson plans binder, data binder, and conference binder. The peacemaker posters are from the amazing Cara and the friendship posters are from sweet Lyndsey.

 

 

These are my standards-based bulletin board. We have really strict requirements about these boards, but I won't bore you with the details. They will soon be full of student work, commentary, rubrics, standards, etc., etc., etc....

 

The banner says "Welcome to 5th Grade." You can purchase it here.

 

 

Student cubbies with their toolboxes. Each toolbox holds the essentials {pencil, colored pencils, glue, scissors, etc). Since we are departmentalized, each student in each class will have a number and they will use the toolboxes that correspond to their number. Note: even though I made 24 toolboxes, I only have 12 students as of today.

 

 

Another view of the cubbies. I got those awesome little baskets at Big Lots {2 for $1.20!!!}

 

 

This is the sink area and student mailboxes. Students are responsible for getting everything out of their mailboxes and putting it in their folders. These will also be numbered, so that multiple classes can use them. The green basket holds extra copies, so if a student loses something, they can find an extra copy of it there. The black baskets will hold....something :) Hand washing sign from Lyndsey :)

 

 

Small group table. The black squares are actually chalkboard contact paper, so the students can write directly on them and wipe them off when their done. The little can on the table holds chalk and chalkboard markers. I'm thinking now that I might go back and add a duct tape border to those squares...

 

 

Classroom jobs. I still need to add some {and fix the misspelled one...can you find it???} and a header. The glare from the lamination really makes these look dull, but in real life they are bright and colorful. These can be found in my Bright Chalkboard pack.

 

 

The is the view from the sink area.

 

 

Computer station. I am supposed to have 5 computers, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm thinking I'll need a bigger table when it does...

 

 

This is the calendar and rules board above the computers. The calendar set is from my Bright Chalkboard pack and the WBT rules were a freebie on my Facebook page.

 

 

The posters above are the birthday posters. That white space will hold a 4x6 picture of the kids holding a sign with their actual birthday written on it. For example, all the kids that have January birthdays will write their numbers on a chalkboard and stand together. I'll take their group picture and hang it on the poster. Make sense? This was definitely not my idea...I stole the idea from Randi :) I will post them as a freebie over on my FB page.

 

 

This is the door to our bathrooms. I put some of that black chalkboard contact paper up and used duct tape as a border. This is where I will write nightly homework.

 

 

Reading genres posters are from Rachel. Love this board! Her awesome pack actually has like 30 posters in it, but I just chose the ones that are mentioned in 5th grade CCGPS.

 

 

Reading strategies posters are from Lyndsey. See that black wicker chair? I rescued two of those babies from the trash! A new coat of paint and a colorful pillow make them perfect for my library :)

 

 

I made these READ letters last year, but they were a little torn up from the move. I just gave them a new look! If you have noticed those adorable subway art frames, I snagged those from Hope. I spread them all around the room and my kiddos love them! I heard them counting how many there were yesterday :)

 

 

The reading corner. I bought the carpets {it's actually two put together} from Wal-Mart and the pillow from Big Lots.

 

 

My pathetic book shelf. Since I was moving from 1st, I didn't have many chapter books {besides Junie B.} so these are just the books that came with the 5th grade classroom. I'm sure this area will grow as the year progresses. I LOVE that blue chair that I snagged at Christmas Tree Shops! The owl print is from Ikea.

 

 

See that banner up there? I got it at Wal-Mart, but quickly realized I needed another one to balance out the wall. They were out :(

 

 

View from the library. I am DYING to hang some lanterns, but our district won't allow us to hang anything from the ceilings :( They would make such a big difference, though!

 

 

My massive teacher desk. I seriously could do with one that is half this size, but that puppy was not budging. I know some teachers have chosen to forgo their desks, and even though I am never there during the day, I love having my own space in the afternoons to sit and plan.

 

I have a couple other banners that I need to hang on that ugly maroon thing, though! Those desks in front have pencil buckets, hand sanitizer, tissues, and the rack to turn in student work. The bulletin board behind my desk is where I'll put all those nonsense important papers we get from admin. Trust me, it will soon be filled!

 

 

View from my desk

 

 

To the right of the desk. The vowel posters are from Lindsey. The green, pink, and blue buckets are for holding table pom-poms.

 

 

Our schedule....but not really. My dear friend Rachel that help me set up those last crucial hours put these up for me, but they are not in the right order. I also need to make a header. Again, I hate how dull they look in these pictures! You can buy these here.

 

 

Those hamburger and hotdog hold it, fold it posters are from Mary. The cute no name sign was made by a coworker and the alphabet posters can be found in my Bright Chalkboard pack.

 

 

These pocket charts will hold our vocabulary and spelling words each week. I really wish I had two more purple charts, but I haven't seen them in awhile :(

 

 

This is our word wall. Since 5th grade is new to me, I wasn't sure how to handle this task. Our county uses Fry's word lists, so I took all 10 lists {1,000 words!) and wrote them on index cards. Students can use these cards to help them with spelling while their writing. They are mobile, so students can use them as needed. Again, not my idea! I saw this from Kristen.

 

 

What do writers write pencil is from Cara and Lindsey. The punctuation posters are from Rachelle. Don't you just love this bloggy community???

 

 

My room had these extra four cubbies to the right of the door in this cozy little alcove. I thought it would make a nice area to house all of our writing materials, but there isn't actually room for a desk or anything. I'm also using it to store all those leveled readers. Writer's eye posters from Cara :)

 

 

This is immediately to the left of the door when you walk in. Students will move their clips each day and the student that has the Attendance job will check to see who isn't here for the day. These are also found in my Bright Chalkboard pack.

 

 

This is on the back of our door. I got it at Target in the Dollar Spot! I also plan on making some vinyl letters that same "Reminders" at the top. This is where I will write any reminders for my students as they are leaving the classroom.

 

After looking back at all these pictures, I am just overwhelmed at how much stuff I have gotten from all you amazing teachers out there. Seriously....what would I do without this bloggy community???

 

Special thanks and shout-out to these ladies for making my room look fabulous:

 

Cara at First Grade Parade

Lyndsey at A Year of Many Firsts

Lindsey at the teacher wife

Hope at Second Grade Shenanigans

Rachel at the tattooed teacher

Kristen at Ladybug's Teacher Files

Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants

Mary at Sharing Kindergarten

Randi from Teach It With Class

 

So that's it! I still feel like there is stuff I need to do, but we're running with it for now :)

Off to check out everyone's classrooms!

 



About Me Monday

Hey yall!

 

I'm sooo excited that Teacher Week is finally here! And it just happens to coincide with our first week of school, so this is definitely a busy week for me!

 

 

Be sure to join all the fun over at Blog Hoppin' every day this week {after you've visited me, of course!}

 

Today is Meet the Teacher, so here are 10 facts that you may or may not know about me.

 

1. I have been married for 5 years to the funniest guy I know. Seriously, this man keeps me in stiches all day long. He is there for me no matter what and supports me in everything I do. Even though we drive each other ten kinds of crazy some time, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

We totally got photo bombed in this pic!

2. The hubs and I desperately want children, but that just hasn't happened for us yet. So instead, we treat out two long-haired Chihuahuas like our babies. They seriously bring so much joy to our lives, so we tend to spoil them just a bit.

 

 

3. I have always loved to read. I remember getting in trouble when I was younger because I would sneak my itty bitty book light to bed and would read instead of sleep. Or I would be reading instead of cleaning my room. I especially love to read books that make me cry or feel very emotional. I don't know why, but I do! I'm not really into easy, carefree reads. I love Jodi Picoult, because her books always make me emotional.

 

 

4. I have six (soon to be seven!) nephews and nieces. I am the youngest of five. My sisters are 14 and 13 years older than I am, so I was very young when they started having babies :) My oldest nephew is only 6 years younger than me! I love having such a large family, but we are all spread out so I don't get to see them as much as I'd like.

 

The hubs and I with Morgan, Ben, and Jeremy.

 

My oldest niece {and mini-me!} Tess.

 

My handsome oldest nephew Myke.

 

My youngest niece Alyssa. She's got a baby sister on the way!





5. I had my first bee sting at age 27. I always had an irrational fear of bees and ran whenever they were around. Well, apparently my fear wasn't too irrational, because when I did get my first bee sting, my hand became engorged! Apparently I'm allergic....so the running continues :)

 

 

6. Today I started my 4th year of teaching {5th in education}. I started out as an assistant teacher in a pre-k class, then taught 1st grade for three years. This year, I was moved to 5th grade! I'm really trying to embrace the change, but I was missing my babies today as I watched all the new first graders in the hallway and got a dozen hugs from the now second graders.

 

7. My new favorite snack is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. For some reason, I had never tried one of these bad boys until earlier this year. I gave it a try and man, am I hooked! Yumm-o!

 

 

8. The hubs and I are avid Widespread Panic fans {Spread Heads, if you will}. I started going to their shows when I was 15 and have been to at least one every year since then {give or take a year or 2}, usually for a couple days at a time. So far, I've think I've been to around 22 shows.

 

 

9. I am also obsessed with Grace Potter. I've had the opportunity to see her up close and personal a few times, and she seriously just rocks my face off every single time. I'm hoping to go see her again in September...she's doing some tour dates with the Allman Brothers!

 

 

10. When I eat toaster strudels, I always eat around the edges first. Then I take apart the two halves and lay them down: one with the cream side down and one with the frosting side down. Then I eat each side by folding it in half. Always.

 

Be sure to come see me again tomorrow for the big classroom reveal!!!

Good Intentions

Hey yall!

 

Have I been MIA or what???

 

I had good intentions of blogging about our amazing meet up in Greenville last weekend...

 

I had good intentions of blogging about my Monday made it...

 

I had good intentions of posting on Throwback Thursday...

 

But do you know what happens to good intentions on the week you go back to school???

 

They go right out the freaking window :)

 

So I have a LOT to catch up on, but I'm still too tired and busy. Instead, I'm going to join my favorite party that lets me be random :)

 

 

Okay here we go!

 

 

1. Last year, Alisha started a craze when she posted a picture of the chevron rug she found at Big Lots. I bought that rug, but it was pretty torn up from my kiddos last year. I found this baby at Wal-Mart this year and I LOVE it! I actually bought 2 :)

 

 

2. I made some cupcakes for our blogger meet up last weekend. This can of leftover frosting was still in my bag the day after I got back. Well, this stinker somehow got it out of my overnight bag, out of the plastic bag, and got the lid off. She {and her accomplice Dude} proceeded to eat themselves sick. Let me tell you....cleaning up after two sick puppies is not fun!

 

Please disregard my sausage toes.

 

3. I *officially* started back to work on Wednesday. As a treat to myself, I got some cutesy apple toes!

 

 

4. This year, our school has been put into "houses" {more on that in another post later}. My house has the theme of Hallway LIFE {Leaders Inspiring For Education}. My mom painted this awesome tree for our hallway...the Tree of LIFE. We are going to have the students use their handprints as leaves to go on our tree. {Holla, Momma!}

 

 

5. My room is finally ready! I won't do the whole reveal until Blog Hoppin's big party next week, but I'm excited to show yall! I spent the last 5 hours today getting everything together. Ready or not, kiddos are coming on Monday!

 

Currently Excited!

Hey yall!

 

Can you believe it's August 1st??? I died when I saw Krystal post this on her FB page today... {pardon the language!}

 

 

I have been in serious denial the last few weeks, but now I am in full-on back to school mode. The best thing about the fact that its August? Its time for a Currently!

 

 

Anybody watch the Discovery show Naked and Afraid? The title is pretty silly, but the show itself is fascinating! Each episode features a male and female that are dropped off somewhere, completely naked and with only 2 survival items {of their choice}. They have to live in the wilderness for 21 days and learn to survive. Seriously...its amazing. Go watch it.

 

I'm geeking out over here, because tomorrow I'm heading up with Elizabeth and Brandee to Greenville for the big bloggy meet-up! It's an overnight stay with lots on the agenda and I cannot wait! Want to see what shenanigans 30 teachers get into this weekend? Follow me on Instagram for pic updates!

 

I finally took the plunge and went into the school on Monday. Our county had sent out a mass email that stated they would not be turning on any A/C until the first day of preplanning on the 7th. Well, Open House is on the 9th and every teacher in our building is moving classrooms, so I knew I would be working in the heat. But boy, I was totally unprepared for how hot it would actually be! Georgia in the summer is like a freakin' sauna, and my room was well over 90 degrees. I got some work done, though! I went back in today to work some more and by some miracle, my air was working!

 

PTL for A/C! I feel much better about the progress I made today, so I'm hoping to finish it up on Monday. Its starting to come together and I'm in love with my new theme!

 

B2S must haves:

 

1. Teacher planner: every teacher needs a good planner. How else are you going to keep track of all those PDs, RTI meetings, faculty meetings, parent conferences, collaborative plannings, etc....??? Last year, I splurged and bought an Erin Condren teacher planner. I loved it, but honestly didn't utilize it like I should have for the price. So this year I found one on TPT and I am obsessed with it!

 

Click on the picture to grab your planner from Tiffany Ford...only $15!

Here's why I'm obsessed:

*its editable, meaning I can go in and add information myself. See that cute cover up there? I added my own text and clipart, so it depicts my own personal style.

 

*it has EVERYTHING I could possibly need in a planner!

 

*I can print only the portions that I need and forgo all the extras that I know I won't use. Personally, I type up all my lesson plans, so I don't need to handwrite pages and pages in my planner.

 

*the price! It was a steal for $15! Now, I am planning on taking it to Staples to have them print and bind it, so I'm sure it will cost another $10 or so to do that, but still....much cheaper than what I spent last year!

 

2. Coffee, coffee, coffee! It you are like me, you stayed up way too late over the summer. I am a night owl, so if I don't have to be up early for something, I won't be. And let's just say there wasn't a whole lot I had to get up super early for this summer :) My coffee will help ease me back into those early mornings.

 

3. Cleaning wipes. After being in my classroom these last couple of days, I realized how dusty everything gets over the summer. I've already gone through a whole pack of cleaning wipes, but yet still have a ton left to clean. I like to start the year out fresh, without any of last year's grime.

 

That's it for me, friends! Head on over and link up with Farley :)