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.

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.

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!!

The Color Run

Before the run. Look how white we all were.

After the run (walk). We were a fun mess!

Have you heard of the Color Run? Well, it's the newest 5K run out there. We just did it in Ypsilinti, Michigan last weekend . It was on the campus of Eastern Michigan near Ann Arbor. Anyway, it's a 5K run with the proceeds going to the local food pantries and homeless shelters. The proceeds go to different causes in each city. Chicago had one in June and the proceeds went to the new Laurie Children's Hospital. So the money is put to good use. This is how it works. Everyone (15,000 people) starts off in their cleanest white clothes. As you run along the volunteers spray you with a colorful powder at certain points. Sounds silly but it was a blast. By the time you are fininshed you looked like a rainbow of colors. Some of us got colored more than others. The goal was to get as colorful as you can. The powder washes right off and can't hurt in any way. It really was a great day. If you are interested in it they do these runs all over the country but you need to sign up on line immediately because they fill up within minutes of open registration. That is why we did it in Michigan. We missed the Chicago sign up.

We did the walk with some of my nephews and nieces and my daughter and her friends as well as my brother and his wife. I you look closely in the last picture you can see the powder clouds in the background .We are looking forward to doing this again next year.

Now off to do some much needed school work. I haven't touched anything for school this summer and I know it's coming fast. Today I am determined to recover my little seats I made from milkcrates for last school year. I'm don't know about you but mine got really dirty throughout the year. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

At the Lake

What a beautiful day on Lake Michigan!

Just Fun Pics!

So, our 4th of July village fireworks show was, once again, a blast (no pun intended). My daughter made these shirts after she saw them on Pinterest. They turned out so cute. My son thought he was funny by wearing the sample shirt and of course he wouldn't be seen in public with it on. In my opinion, he looked kind of cute with it on. He had it on long enough for a few pictures and then he was out of here. Even Bruno, our dog, was ready for the show. I will say it was HOT! 100 degrees here in Chicago is unusual and we had several days in a row in the low 100's. I'm not a heat person so I felt like I was a prisoner in my own house in the middle of summer. That usually happens in the middle of January around here. By the way, has anyone been to Costco lately? They have a laminator with 100 sheets of film for only $20. That's cheaper than buying a package of refills from Target. Needless to say I had to purchase 2 of them (I already have one). One for school and one for my daughter who goes away to school. If you don't have a laminator you should really get one. It's a lifesaver when you are at home and really need it. Now I'm off to my pinning! Thanks for stopping by.

Shout Out!!

A shout out goes to Traci over at Dragonflies in 1st for helping me with my header. I so appreciate it. On to the 4th of July. Our town is having their 4th of July parade and fireworks tomorrow, the 3rd. The good thing is the fireworks are set off right across the street from my house, so we have a ton of people sitting on our lawn watching. It's so much fun and we love the front row seats. The bad thing is that it is supposed to be 98 degrees tomorrow and I don't do heat well. So I'm not sure I am looking forward to it or not. (I'm tending towards not ). Anyway, I hope everyone has a great 4th and stay cool!!

Help Wanted!

I'm really hoping that someone out there can help me. I just can't seem to get my blog name in the hearder. I have been working on this for several hours and am ready to give up. I thought maybe someone would know and will be able to help me. So if I don't have a name on this blog for a few days it's because I am working on it. I know eventually I'll get it.
Thanks for any help I can get.

Thank You Cards

Okay, so I started out as a scrapbooker and then moved on to card making (that is, until I discovered teacher blogs). I haven't made cards in so long. Therefore, I decided to make thank you cards for my kiddies. You see, I always get a ton of wonderful gifts throughout the school year and the last day of school is no exception. Teaching in a catholic school does have its perks. These are the thank you cards I made for the kids. They turned out so cute, if you ask me. Today they were signed, sealed and delivered. Another item off my to do list.
I hope everyone is staying cool out there. Here in Chicago it is 101 degrees with a heat index of 112. I'm sure that may be normal for all the folks in Texas and other parts of the U.S. but in Chicago that is very hot. We are melting here. Anyway, stay cool and thanks for stopping by.

Bargain of the Day!

Well, I know school just got out but I am always on the hunt for cool, bargains for the kiddies. I found these clipboards at the store Deals. They were only $1 so I had to grab a bunch. I do have a set of clipboards in the room for when the kids are at centers or are reading the room but of course I don't have enough for everyone. These are so cute I couldn't pass them up. So if you have a Deals any where near by you might want to grab some now before they are gone.

If anyone sees any great deals out there please be sure to pass the info on. I'm sure all the wonderful teachers would appreciate it. Now off to my last grad class tonight and maybe even a few drinks afterwards.  Thanks for stopping by!!