So, we’re going to pretend that it’s not October and that I haven’t been in school for an entire month, okay? I’m finally ready to share my classroom with you!
Here’s the sad part though. I’ve had the pictures ready for a month, I just haven’t had the time to sit down and type up the post! Luckily, my sweet little girl (pictured below) decided that 5am was a great time to wake up this morning for a little while. Well, SHE went back to sleep, but mommy was up and ready so I decided to finally post my classroom. 🙂
Side note: this picture was from a few weeks ago. HOW is my little peanut already 5 months, rolling over, and sitting up (almost) unassisted? They seriously grow up SO fast!
Okay, here we go.
Welcome to Classroom Reveal 2014-2015!
First, here are some before pictures.
This is what I walked into when I went to set up my classroom. I moved rooms this year, so it was basically a blank slate.
This is the view from my door.
Other side of the room from my door.
And now, the after pictures. 🙂 I’m going to warn you. There are a TON!
View from the door.
Other side from my door. 🙂
Classroom jobs,birthday bulletin board, Daily 5 resources (here and here), and a little bit of my library. (FYI the cute little people on my classroom jobs posters were created by my awesome hubby who sells his clip art {here}.
Above my classroom job and birthday board, I have my Whole Brain Teaching Procedures Posters (click here to grab them for free) and to the left is my Pledge of Allegiance poster (grab it here for free). 🙂
Here is the from of my room. I LOVE that I was able to put my classroom library right in the front (although that’s not all of my books).
Here are my Whole Brain Teaching Rule posters (also available here for free). This is my first year using Whole Brain Teaching, and I really like it. A few days into school, my kiddos made these whole brain teaching student books to help us remember our rules. They keep them in their desks and I find them often reviewing them for fun!
Here’s my alphabet which I bought from Lakeshore my first year as a teacher. It doesn’t match my theme, but my kiddos always LOVE the animals, so I have used it every year. Above that is my new tropical number posters. I <3 them! They are available in my Tropical Classroom Decor Pack.
Right next to my board I have a little reading area. That pink chair is apparently the best thing ever. All of my kids always want to sit in it. Thank you $5 yard sale find! Also, <3 my READ sign! Also, Fred the Flamingo in the window up there is a big hit. If you’re wondering why his name is Fred, it’s because a student asked me, and the first name that popped in my head was Fred. 🙂
So, this year my school is launching the Core Knowledge Language Arts Curriculum, so I don’t have a word wall! I know, crazy, right? I’ve actually never been a big fan. We DO have a Tricky Words bulletin board which is kind of the same thing, but a little different. The only words that we put on here are non-decodable words, and there aren’t as many. I’m still not sure how useful this is. It’s too early in the year to tell. Also, another seating area for Daily 5.
Here is my area. I went desk-less last year and have never looked back.
Here are a few of my favorite things. 🙂 Numbered sticks for pulling names, quiet signals from Hawaii, m&ms a sweet student gave me (which I can’t have, but it’s the thought that counts. 🙂 ), and my brain sprinkles and shhh spray.
And of course, my area has a few pictures of my favorites. 🙂
I LOVE my Caught Doing Good Area. Each student has a fish with their name. If they’re rocking it, they get a sticker on their fish. When it’s full they get to take it home and they get a new fish. They LOVE it. 🙂
I love these big wooden storage cabinets. They’re huge and store a lot. Plus, they’re extra bulletin board space once I need it. They were super ugly, but I just covered them with bulletin board paper and board, and they look great now! Actually, that’s a lie. my awesome mom covered them. Thanks mom! 😉 Also, to the right you see my check out chart. There was no good place to put it, so unfortunately, my students can’t put their own cards in this year.
Here’s our group meeting area. The crate seat under the easel didn’t fit anywhere, so it’s just for storage right now. It works really well though. Also, the tan chair was another $5 yard sale find. My kids also love sitting their during Daily 5, BUT when you move it makes a creaking noise that kind of sounds like a fart, so there’s lots of giggles when someone sits there (or if I move while I’m reading). Haha 😉
Here’s my students’ desks. I had groups in the beginning, but have now gone to pairs. It’s worked out a lot better. 🙂
And now for some details. This is what my students’ desks looked like on the first day. The lanyard has their names on it so I could remember their names, and I saved them so they can wear them when I have a sub. The hope was that it would make it easier for the sub. However, they played with them SO much that by lunch I took them. I still love the idea, but for the first day, I’ll stick to name tag stickers. They also had their name in bubble letters. I had them color it when they came into the room. It was great because it kept them somewhat busy while I collected supplies.
It was actually a really, really useful informal assessment. I could easily tell a little bit about their personality, what kind of workers they were, what they liked, fine motor skills, etc. That afternoon, I laminated them, and then I taped them to their lockers in the hallways (of course I didn’t get a picture). They LOVED their personalized nameplates on their lockers. 🙂
I stole this idea from my pal Miss DeCarbo. These thing are AWESOME! The only word of caution, you want to really, really, really emphasize not playing/ pulling on them. I have a few friends who have already pulled theirs off. My next step is to hot glue them back on. I seriously have had very, very few pencils on the floor and lost pencils though. I bought them here. The site seemed a little shady, but they came in the time specified and were the cheapest I could find. Also, there were no random charges on my card, so I think they’re safe.
Here’s my easy, peasy attendance check in this year. They just move their number magnet to I’m Here if they brought lunch and Buying Lunch if they’re buying.
I blogged about this idea (here), but it’s worth mentioning again. This is my solution for privacy since I’m a pumping mom this year. The table cloth was from Target and I got it on clearance for around $3. It’s not all plastic. It’s the kind with the white felt-y (is that a word?) material on the back. It’s holding up great!
This year I’m using Whole Brain Teaching, so our smiley/frowny board is a very important area. 😉
Last, but not least, here are my quick and easy birthday prizes that are from my Editable Birthday Pack.
And that’s my classroom! Hope you enjoyed the tour! Let me know if you have any questions. 🙂
Before I run, I just want to let all of the first grade teachers know that I have posted my first 1st Grade Morning Work pack. My 2nd grade morning work pack is SO popular, I figured I should make one for first. (Plus I need it for my class since I’ve moved back to first.) It’s JUST like my 2nd grade version, so only 2 pages per week and can be completed mostly independently (maybe not so much at the beginning of the year, but definitely by the end). I have posted months 1&2 and am working on months 3&4. Each pack is 8 FULL weeks and costs $5, so it’s less than 65 cents per week! When I’m done, I’ll bundle them all together. 🙂
