A Look Back at My Classroom...a Work in Progress

I am rethinking some of the organization in my classroom.  Mainly, my hanging files, which are open in a corner where my teacher desk used to be.  I am feeling "antsy" to get that area more organized.  Not so much what is in the files, but more where I want to put the files.  I chose hanging files over file cabinets because my stuff is very accessible and I use it more if I don't have to open a drawer.

My room hasn't changed that much over the past few years, but I always consider it a work in progress.  I am currently looking for a rug for my read-to-self area/library.  I have carpet in the room, but I want something special to make the kids go there and "hang out" and read, read, read.

Here are just some photos over a few years to show the room basics.  Nothing fancy, love turquoise and lime green!  This year I surprised even  myself and threw some red in there because I fell in love with this red chevron border.  Then it turned out to be toooo bold, so I toned it down a bit by layering border and it was fine.  Just a touch of red to go with my Creative Teaching Press borders I already love.  (red chevron border: Isabella at Mardel.)

I am in the mood to go and clean some stuff out today...It's December 26th...AM I CRAZY?!  I love to go up to school when no one is there and I can just do what I need to do.  I'm not really going up there, but I want to.  Weird, I know. 

This is one of my favorite b-boards.  The fancy framed corkboard is from Hobby Lobby (80% off, of course! ) This year, I added some red chevron border under the brown paisley border.  It is really cute!

I added these graphic polka dot curtains to hide shelving last year.  Even though my lockers are maroon (who picked those?! fire 'em...and the person who chose RED chairs to go with the maroon...AND the person who chose the patchwork carpet, yikes.)  The brown does look fine in person  above the maroon.  I added this pennant thing last year.  Found it in Canton, Texas at the First Monday Trade Days.  If you are ever in Texas at the beginning of ANY month, you gotta go. Fantastic! Plan to spend two days if you want to see most of it. 

You can see my shower curtain wall map just to the right of the border.  It is from Target and you can still get it online.  BEST PURCHASE EVER for my classroom.  You can write on it and the kids look at it every day!

The corners of  my room have A,B,C, D there.  We use them to show our answers by walking to the corner of our choice.  I also have math "clue words" there as well, and when we are problem solving, we may just walk to the corner of the chosen operation to show HOW we plan to solve the math word problem. 

I painted paisleys on this old classroom chair to match the Creative Teaching Press border called "Paisley on Chocolate." It's one of my favorites! 

My own children went to the school where I teach.  When they brought me a great art piece they'd done, I framed it in black and hung it in my room.  I moved this display above my lockers this year to free up wall space.  Love it there!  It makes me happy to remember when my kids were little and came to school with me each day! (And then I remember that I got NOTHING done after school and left as soon as possible each day because they were ready to go home!  It was good, though. No regrets!)

So this is how it starts each year!

Then Daily 5 organization kicks in...

Bookshelves start to take shape.  Classroom library is looking more appealing!

Guided Math wall ready for activities!

Desks in place, (see my framed art above the lockers? Better!) 

Now I need to find that perfect area rug for the D5 area.  Maybe I'll find a great after-Christmas sale!! I think I took this walk down classroom memory lane to help myself to get organized for 2015, so thank you for bearing with me while I get ready for the new year!  

Merry Christmas!!!

Are you ready to reorganize some storage this second semester! Our color printer ink is getting a little low, and I might've gone a little crazy with the color ink this past semester!  These labels have impact but are all black and white. Merry Christmas from me! They are so cute for book boxes or book bins (alpha order?)  or any way you want to use them.

Get them at TPT or Buy Sell Teach! 

Blessings-

Intentional Kindness

After the past two days of tattling, being mean to each other, and more unkind things than I care to type here, I had to do something.  I have a GREAT class, but when they are not with me, they (ok, three of them) are not too kind to one another. Some ugly things have been said, a little pushing, a little tattling, and I'm ready to have a class meeting.  So I did.  I told them that we are going to be kind to each other even if we are not best friends.

After school was out on Tuesday, I grabbed these library pockets that I bought because they were pretty - having NO idea what I was going to use them for. I stuck them to some black poster board. (They had adhesive strips on the back.)

 I reinforced the top edge with some clear tape.  I put each students' name on their pocket and inserted an index card with their name on it.

I hung it up at a level they can all reach and stuck cute letters saying, "Kind Words" over it.

I shared with the students that they can go get another student's index card out of their pocket and write one very kind sentence on it and go put it back.  I demonstrated some ideas for them. We discussed things from compliments on clothes to real compliments on behavior and etc...  They were SUPER excited. During "Work on Writing" today, I told them they could try it out. There was a line of about 10 kids waiting to get a card today during Daily 5.  Today was just our "try it day." Other days, they will be able to write on a card after they are finished with their morning work.  

I'm going to keep tabs on what they write and make sure they are all receiving messages on their cards.  I'll add some compliments as well.  When their index card is full, they get to take it home.  So far, I'm loving it!!!  How do you help your kids to show kindness?

A Couple of Tweaks: Voila, Much Better!

I have been staying late at school "fixin" things that are bothering me or seem incomplete in my classroom.  One of the things I have worked on is how to improve my clip chart discipline system.  I like the system alot! I found it on TpT and I think it was free...if you know who created it, I need to give credit because it's really cute!  I just felt like I wasn't rewarding the kids who clipped up enough.  So many of them were clipping up once and then I would kinda forget to watch really closely, and they probably deserved to move up higher, but I got busy.  I do have an immediate prize for those who clip up to the very top. But like I said, there were even more kids who clip up one level and they never got anything. It is enough just to be recognized and get to "clip up."

 I just want to encourage them to keep trying and that their hard work will pay off!

I just put their names on a $1.99 chart, framed it with some border and made up some prizes for clipping up 5, 10, 15, 20 times.  The prizes go all the way up to a stuffed animal (fortunately, I have a stash of them from a sweet parent who gave me a sackful one year, all new!)

These are my prizes for five clip ups.  This may be the best thing I've ever found on clearance at Target.  These awesome little "squishies" (remember Finding Nemo...Dori said, "you will be my squishy" - favorite line) were 70% off in the dollar section...that's right .30 each.  So...I shoved another teacher to the ground and grabbed all of them.  Seriously, there was someone watching me dig through the the mess and get every last one of them.  I'm sure they'd never seen someone clean out a bin like that.

Anyway, one of the best things about adding the chart system is that I can see who is never getting to clip up so that I can make sure I recognize them when I see something.  Why does stuff like this make me so happy?  Is it just me?

Another little tweak I made was - instead of passing out the cursive strips that came with our book, I punched some holes in them, stuck a large paper clip through it and hung it on a Command Hook.  Before, I had them keep them in their lockers, hanging on a hook, but when winter came, coats and backpacks crushed them and they never were the same! Our strips are WAY to big to go in desks.  What were the cursive folks thinking?  These things are huge. ANYWAY, problem solved.  The kids can just go get one when they want to.

What little things have you done lately to make your teaching life easier?  

Room Reveal...the Middle

I posted the "perimeter reveal" a couple of posts ago.  Here's a little peek at that again:

Then there was this little problem with that middle area of the room...

It's so much better and kids' desks are ready with their little activity to get them "settled" in during those first few hectic minutes the first hour of the first day. 

I LOVE my class.  They are so bright and sweet and mostly EXCITED to learn. I'm really excited to have a self-contained class for the first time ever.  It's such a sense of school "family."  I am going to love it!

Here are the "after" pics!

I have three tables of 6 desks...and I'll probably need more as the year goes on!

Part of my library area.  See our D5 book boxes?! 

Please excuse the little mess on the bottom shelf and the big paper sack in the foreground!

 Behind my book boxes is my "teacher area."  I did away with my desk last year, and I love it, but I still have to have some storage and computer spot.  The hanging files next to the computer are my go-to files for daily things.  I found that I wasn't using all the good stuff I had because I hate digging through a filing cabinet.  I just have everything out in the open, and I can get to it in a second.  It isn't beautiful, but it's efficient!

More of my D5 library

I hope everyone has a fantastic year!  Pray for an early fall here in Texas...we NEED recess and it keeps getting cancelled due to temperatures!

Progress Today!

I worked on my classroom today (we report the 18th.)  The air conditioner was on, so I took advantage!  I would like to say I'm done, but as you can see, only parts of it are even close. 

One bookshelf...done! 

I found this cute duct tape at Target (of course).  It's only 3/4" wide, so it covered one side of my clips for the chart! 

Kids' names go on the untaped side.  They will turn it over if they have to "clip down."

I got the reading chart bulletin board done!  

Daily 5 tubs full and ready for practice! 

You're thinking, "Wow, Julie. You got alot done!" I did actually accomplish some things today.  On the other hand I only worked around the perimeter of my room. Here is my reality.  I think I'll apply for federal disaster aid!

Teacher desk area, oh my.

Book box shelf :o(

See the middle?  Disaster!  But I'll get it done and you will get yours done, and on the first day, we'll be ready for the kids!

I'll post pictures of the finished room after next week!