Friday, August 17, 2012

Welcome Back Board

So, here is my board outside my classroom. I just love the owl  themes going on this year. I "borrowed" this idea from Erica Boerher. When I found this the owl at Kirkland's I had to get it and use is somehow and this is where he ended up. My classroom is ready to go for the kiddies. They will arrive on Wednesday for a half day and then full days from then on. Pray the heat doesn't come back like it was all summer. We've had beautiful weather the last week or two. Now I just have to decide which back to school activities I want to do since there are a ton of great ones out the on Pinterest and blogs. It would be nice to hear what your favorite back to school activity to do with your class is. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Sneak Preview of 1st Grade

 Here is my reading corner, meeting area and calendar area. I just love how this turned out. The boxes sitting on the desks are their math boxes I give them. We use Saxon math and they store their flashcards and math crayons in them. Our school starts on the 22nd and on the 21st the kindergarten and first graders can come to school to bring their supplies and find their desks. Several years ago we started this and found that it is VERY helpful. It solves a lot of  "where do I put this?" problems and makes them more comfortable on the first day. You should try it if possible. Back to the math boxes. I'll put them in their desks after they leave on the 21st otherwise the firsties think they are their pencil cases and dump everything in it. It works easiest this way. The blue pocket chart in the back corner is for the classroom library check out. They will put the card that is in the book they want to check out in their pocket (I still have to get those). The kids love taking home class books and I have yet to have a problem with them returning the books. They can only  have one book out at a time. Our school library books are sooooo old (we are a catholic school) that's why I let them take our class books home.
 This is our guided reading corner and small group corner. My class aide also sits here (if she is sitting, not too often). The clear box sitting on the chair still has to be sorted out, my job for Monday. The 6 and 7 on the shade will have their pictures. The sign says, How Old Are You? The kids love this. On their birthdays this is the first thing they want to do when they walk in, switch their picture over to the 7. This year I am going to take their pictures according to their birthday months and post the pictures by the birthday cupcakes. I saw that on Pinterest and thought it was so cute.

 I love these stools. Last year we made the small ones, which I recovered this summer and this summer we made the larger ones for the guided reading table. I just hope they aren't too low when the kiddies sit down.
 Does anyone use these chair socks? Our floors are unbelievably shiny and after about two weeks of the kids dragging the chairs in and out the wax is all worn off. So this was my big purchase this summer. I bought 20 sets. Now the chairs are so quiet and slide beautifully. I will tell you thought, it's the first thing you notice when you walk into the room. Some of the teachers thought I was crazy but I'll have the shiniest floors in the building. (lol!)
I'll have more pictures next week. I forgot to to take a pic of my bucket fillers. Now on to another project, taking my daughter back to school tomorrow. I dread packing the van and unpacking. At least this year she is not in a dorm without an elevator and the weather couldn't be any nicer, 78degrees and no humidity. Be sure to check back and have a great weekend.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

It's Heeerrre!!

School that is. This is my last official week off of school. However, most of us will be in this week to put the rooms back in order. The kiddies come on the 22nd but we start with a week of meetings on the 15th. I'm anxious to start but am really worried about the heat. We DON'T have air conditioning and as many of you may know we have had a summer of high 90's. I don't do heat well when it's been several days in a row.
So, pray for some cooler weather for the windy city! Other than that I have been working on projects from all the awesome blogs and Pinterest. As soon as I get the room together I will post pics. I love checking out other teachers classrooms for great ideas. Now on to more creating and blog hopping!!