Saturday, August 2, 2014

Classroom Reveal!!

I have just gotten through my first week at my new school and it was fabulous!  I have 22 of the most precious little faces.  I'm teaching at a year round school and there are 4 tracks.  My track started back this week.  Oh, don't worry about me...I'll have a three week break in October :)  So now for the big classroom reveal!  (Keep in mind I took these pictures BEFORE my new friends entered the classroom.)



This is my little area of retreat...  
This is my new TA and his little area.  His organization and my OCD are a match made in heaven.  I used my Silhouette to put his name on the front of his desk.
This is my little book area.  My sweet husband bought the rug for me at Target.  The open book shelf display will be for seasonal books that I want to read aloud.  I have a cute little cool down corner on the right (nobody has had to use it yet :)  The "3 ways to read a book" and "make it a good fit" posters came from Lindsey at A Year of Many Firsts.  You can get them from her TPT store for Free!  If you look over the cool down corner, I have a curtain rod with some pants hangers.  Anchor chart!  
Now lets get a closer look at the book area.  All of my pink and green tubs have the book levels on them.  The labels I got from Maria at KinderCraze.  Love them!  Well worth the money!
All the books inside the buckets have the matching level.  It was so easy for my students to shop and put the books back in the correct bucket!
My sweet husband, leveling my books...
I have ONE small bulletin board dedicated as a focus wall.  I bought all my standards from Deana Jump.  The headers that Mrs. Jump had with the pack were a little big for this board so I made some pennants as my headers.  If you like them and want to make them for your board, you can get them HERE FOR FREE.  Now there are a TON of standards and it was such a hassle digging through all the bags to find the right one.  One of the girls I worked with last year put them all on a ring!  Then, all you have to do is flip to the one you need and hang it up!  Duh!  
Thanks, Jordan!
And if you get Mrs. Jump's standards, each one lists what it is at the bottom.
I have my guided reading table in the back of the room.  That way I can scan during Daily 5 and make sure everyone is working.  Behind my table I've got my drawers for guided reading and for the days of the week.  You can read about my guided reading drawers in THIS POST.  The days of the week drawers are for me to organize all the papers and manipulatives I need to teach for the week.

This is my calendar math and gathering area.  We do some serious calendar math in first grade.  I used washi tape to separate the sections.  I'm still working on getting all the pieces and math companion made.  That post will have to come later :)
I found these cute little magnetic boxes from Dollar Tree.  They hold all the pieces for my calendar math perfectly!
I keep my rules posted right under the board where my little friends can see them every day.  I got the frames from Micheals and spray painted them yellow.  I got this idea from Maria at KinderCraze.  She has some really cute rules that I wanted to purchase but my school has a set of rules that are school-wide so I had to make my own.  You can check hers out HERE.  
This is the back of the room where all the computers and the writing center and word wall will be (still a work in progress).  The word wall pennant came from LaToya at Flying into First.  It's her bright dots and chalk pack.  She actually sent them to me as a little gift!

The pack came with some blank labels and I used them to make my table caddies.  The caddies came from the Dollar Store and I had some ribbon on hand that I hot glued around the top.  Then I used a white paint pen to write the numbers.  It just adds a little extra, don't ya think?

Inside these cute little bags are tape players for my firsties to listen to books on tape.  The green crate holds all the books and tapes.  To make it easy, I select three books, put the tapes in the players, put the books in the bags, and let them just choose a bag.  I'll switch out the books and tapes every couple of days.  These books on tape and the computers will be options for Listen to Reading during Daily 5.
I got this fabric from Joann's.  The yellow, green and hot pink matched everything in my room.  I was able to make curtains to hide everything underneath.
Even though it's organized, I don't want to see it!

What's new this year:

I got these little buckets 2 for a dollar at the Dollar Tree.  I used my Silhouette to put a little trash label on them.  Now my friends don't have to keep getting up to throw their trash away during activities.


I got this bead organizer from Micheals and labeled the sections with glittery pink stickers.  Now I don't have to dig through a big container looking for the letter I need.

I also got these little containers from the Dollar Tree - 2 for a dollar.  They have an easy pop top so my firsties won't have to struggle to open them.  I'll use these during guided reading for sight word scrambles.
I'll keep them all together in this little green crate.  Easy storage and moving!


And last but not least, my first day of school!

Good luck with YOUR new school year!!















4 comments:

  1. Love, love, love your calendar mat! That is fantastic! Your room looks amazing! I love that first few days of school where you are learning about your new little cherubs for the year.

    Enjoy your break over the weekend and have a wonderful week!

    Alison
    Teaching Maths with Meaning

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  2. My darling sassy school teacher, your room looks fabulous!!!! I'm so glad you have a room full of little sweeties!!! Your hubs is too sweet for buying that gorgeous rug- I'm loving it! I hope you enjoyed your weekend and are ready to start all over again!!!
    *Side note: you always leave me such sweet comments, but I have to track your booty down instead of responding by e-mail since it says you are a 'no-comment blogger'. If you're interested in changing that Megan Farve at I Teach, What's Your Superpower has a tutorial on how to change that. :)
    Erin
    Short and Sassy Teacher

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  3. I hope this blog post helps! Just copy and paste this URL...let me know if you need any help!
    XOXO

    http://www.teachingsuperpower.com/2014/07/get-connected.html

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  4. Looks amazing! Can't wait to hear about your adventures at a year round school :)
    I need to find those magnetic boxes from Dollar Tree, would be great for my office too!

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