Loving My Classroom This Year {15-16 Reveal}

Hello bloggy world!

It's hard to believe that I just finished up my third week with my new crop of kiddos. They are a great group and yet completely different from my class last year. Nothing like a teaching to keep you on your toes, right? :)

Anyway, three weeks in and I am loving the way my classroom was set up this year. Second year in the room was so much easier. Thank goodness!! I think I used my wall space so much better and found ways to create the learning spaces I wanted. Yes!

Let's take a tour.

Our room from the door. 

I love only have 4 table groups this year.  

We end up with so much more space to work around the room. 

You gotta use every little bit of space possible, right?

The back of our door has our Bingo Rewards, Class Goal, Transportation info, 

and Leadership Chart Rewards.

I love having my chart paper hanging all the time. Why did I wait so long to do this? LOVE.

I use the giant red pocket chart for student unfinished work, that way we all know what needs to be completed and hopefully papers don't get lost in desks.

Just a little inspiration at the water fountain...

I'm most proud of my teal and black drawers that I spray painted this summer. Those old drawers look almost brand new this year. And the color hides everything that has been stuffed inside, lol. 

Scrabble Rewards is new to me this year, but so far it has been a hit! We draw a letter whenever our class earns a compliment. It's neat to see what they try to cover up first.

Always have to have my favorite quote. 

The Writing Wall is waiting to be covered with writing tips and tools. 

My tree is ready for vocabulary...fingers crossed I get this rolled out soon.  :)

My library makes me happy!

Mastery Club has proven to be a huge hit! My kids love it and I love that it gives them a purpose for using technology daily in the classroom and there is ALWAYS something to do.

Finally found a bookshelf that fits perfectly under my Smart Board.  It stores books and give me a place to lay out all my paperwork for the next day.

Class jobs are easy to change since everything is magnetic this year. 

Here is my little teacher nook. 

Does anyone else feel like they could always use another giant white board?  

This year I sectioned my white board off for schedule and objectives. 

I love they way it turned out.

I made my own NOISE letters this year. My class last year loved this management technique, even when I just wrote the letters on the board. We have upgraded to cute apples and magnets.

  

The IKEA book boxes are a staple in my room every year. 

They never fail me and the kids love being able to take them home at the end of the year.

There we have it... my 2015-2016 classroom. I love the way everything came together this year.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking things out. 

Now it's time to have a great school year!! Hope you do too!

Keeping Meet the Teacher Night Fun, Simple, & Successful

Happy Sunday y'all! I wanted to pop in today to share a bit about Meet the Teacher night. 

Meet the Teacher is always an exciting night. The kids are so excited to see their friends and visit their new classrooms. And although we teachers spend the whole day running around the school like chickens with our head's cut off pulling every last minute thing together, it is sooo worth it to see the excitement on the faces of your new students! Not to mention all the hugs you get from former students (which may actually be my favorite part).

Our Meet the Teacher is only an hour so things go by quick! I have to be super organized to get everything done in the small amount of time I have and I MUST prioritize.

First, I make sure my room is clean, organized, and inviting. 

I have been working very hard this year to make sure I don't have stacks of anything anywhere. Nothing on top of my book shelves or storage cabinets. No extra stuff out or stored on top/out of the way. My goal is to make sure everything has a place.  #organizationaldream

I always set up desks with the most important information and a post-it with the student's name. One of the first things I ask my parents to do, is check that name post-it and make any name/spelling changes on the post-it before I start labeling things all over the room.

Another goal this year was to downsize all the paperwork I burdened parents with on this night. I kept the absolute essentials. Everything on the left is what I asked parents to complete before leaving and I got it down to 5 papers!  Yes! 

My essentials include a transportation form, Parent 3-2-1 (student info), correspondence report, Edmodo permission slip, and *new this year* a class Instagram account information page. I'm absolutely LOVING the class Instagram account. You can get the same great resources for setting up your own classroom Instagram here! 

The folder on the right had all the goods and forms from the office. And on top of that was... the ultimate 4th grade Handbook Flipbook filled with great information and most frequently asked questions in 4th grade. I'm totally obsessed with it!  

It was super easy to modify and put together. I put a magnet on the back and asked my parents to keep it on the fridge so it would be handy all year. I addressed everything from homework expectations to our 4th grade grading policy on those pages.  I'm hoping it is a great resource for my parents.  You can find the one I used here. 

I do talk for a few minutes but mostly to introduce myself, explain the paperwork and give quick instructions. Then I mingle with parents and students and let my rotating PowerPoint do the rest. Easy peasy!

I try to keep everything easy for parents from the beginning. I always have my contact information posted and I always make sure there are enough pens on the desk for everyone and their younger sibling to use one.

Meet the Teacher is also a great night to get volunteers! Our amazing PTA puts together sign-up forms for us and delivers them to our room before the big event.  Aren't they awesome?  I also put out a Fall Conference Sign-Up sheet. 

Finally, I always include The Giving Tree.  I got smart this year and printed my apples on red paper. For things that are really specific, I just print pictures off and put those directly on the board. So easy! I include things like baby wipes, colored pencils, index cards, ziplocs (all sizes), books, expo markers, glitter, and lunch bags. I'm always amazed and grateful to how much gets donated to our classroom.

Meet the Teacher night is always a whirlwind of excitement and fun for students and teachers! I enjoy spending my time meeting my new parents, getting to know my new students, and reconnecting with families from the past.

What do you do to keep Meet the Teacher night fun, simple, and successful? 

 

Top 10: Best Things about the Start of the School Year

August is here. It's hard to believe...this summer has sailed by.  I'm not sure I'm fully ready to go back, but ready or not school is just around the corner. I do know I'm ready to start buying school supplies and back to school clothes.  I already scored some spectacular TPT products during the BTS15 sale.

It's also time for the monthly Top 10 list link-up with Hailey at The Third Grade Nest.

This month the topic is...(well, what else?!?)... back to school!

1. New supplies are simply the best.

2. I'm chomping at the bit to see my roster this year. Will I have any siblings?!  I hope so. I love getting to keep families from year to year.

3. Choosing a first day outfit means going back to school clothing shopping.  I'll probably need to get a few outfits, so I have choices for the first day... right?

4. A new year brings a blank slate. I love that. No time to dwell on the things I wish I had done better. The time to push forward is here. Go forth and conquer!

5. I love books.  Organizing and restocking my library is a huge part of my classroom set-up, but it's pretty much my happy place.

6. Setting up my classroom is one of my greatest joys. Everything is so clean and so organized. It will never look like that ever again during the year, but that's okay, lol. Sometimes learning is messy. :)

7. Routine makes me happy. 

8. There is nothing better than seeing your former student run into your room, scream, and give you a big hug!

9. It's finally time to try out all those create bulletin board ideas I've been pinning on Pinterest. Here's to hoping I have enough wall space.

10. And the final reason back to school is the best is... that school is starting. I still love school. I love learning new things, creating projects, playing games, and doing activities. I may be the teacher now, but school has always been an exciting and wonderful place for me to be. I hope I can continue to create that experience in my classroom and truly foster a love of learning in the children that walk through my classroom door each day.

What do you love about going back to school?  Please tell.

Hop on over to The Third Grade Nest to link up and join the fun!

Computer Log-In & Password Solution

Do your students have tons of log-in and password combinations to remember?  Mine sure do.

The problem is that in an effort to simplify things within my district, all of their usernames and passwords are supposed to be the same, but they end up having small differences like the username sometimes HAS to be capitalized and sometimes not. Sometimes you include all of your numbers, and sometimes only the last 4. It's craziness!! And soooo frustrating for my kiddos to remember.  Who can blame them?!  I have trouble keeping it straight myself.

So, this year I decided to do something about it. Fingers crossed that it makes the first 15 minutes of every computer lab session just a little bit easier.

My students have a technology folder for the computer lab. This is where they keep writing drafts they are working on publishing and directions for computer lab activities. Everything goes in the folder. In year's past, I have simply written the most frequently used log-in and passwords inside the folder.

This year, I'm upgrading to this...

Front

Back

What do you think?  It's super simple, but I didn't want anything too complicated that required more than just making a copy, lol.   

I plan on having students write their log-in information on this sheet at the beginning of the year and keep it in a sheet protector in their technology folders. This way (hopefully) we will have all our log-ins and passwords right at our fingertips each time we go to the computer lab. I'm hoping this simple solution will help my 4th graders and myself maintain our sanity in the computer lab, because it can get craaaazy! :)

What do you do to help your students remember all their passwords and log-ins?  What tips do you have to make life in the computer lab just a wee bit easier?

Happy teaching!!

What I'm Laminating Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone! I have been a busy lil' racoon this week... creating, printing, laminating, and more laminating. I'm so excited about all the awesome things I have already created for my classroom.

First up... Bluebonnet Book QR Code Book Trailer Posters

I got the idea from a Scholastic article who got the idea from Jessica at Dandelions and Dragonflies. Jessica's awesome book nook was featured in Scholastic Instructor Magazine and for obvious reasons. It's amazing! My favorite part was the QR code posters as book recommendations. 

I "stole" her idea and created QR Codes for all the upcoming Bluebonnet Award Nominees. I know my students are going to love scanning the codes to watch the trailer and find just the right book. I'm hoping to get 100% voting participation this year in my classroom. If you are a fellow Texas teacher, click here to download a copy of these QR posters for your classroom too.

After that... Mastery Club

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about this whole program from Mrs. Renz.  Mastery Club is a differentiated independent study challenge program for your classroom that basically runs itself. I love the variety of learning objectives included.  There is truly something for every child and every interest level. I am so excited to get this up and running in my classroom this year. Click here to snag your own copy from Mrs. Renz. One of the things I love about her product is that you can customize it your classroom. Great purchase!!

Then... Patriotic Kaboom!!

Kaboom was my class' favorite multiplication game last year. Click here to read all about using Kaboom and playing it in my classroom.

I love how my game cards turned out. To save ink, I printed in B&W and just used red paper. The red really pops and it is still easy for my students to read. I know my kiddos will love the updated version of this game. 

And...Birthday Balloons

Last year was the first time I pre-made all my birthday gifts during the summer and I can't believe I waited so long to do it! It made my year so much easier and my kids thought they were really cute. My pencils haven't arrived from Really Good Stuff yet, but I have printed and laminated my birthday balloons to create the next batch for my birthday bucket. These super cute b-day balloons came from Where the Wild Things Learn.

Finally...Polka-Dot Classroom Job Labels

Aren't they cute?  Not sure I will need all the jobs, but I wanted to keep my options open and I like having the flexibility of changing out jobs when something isn't working or something else is needed. 

Angela from The Cornerstone has a great post on classroom jobs that I found very helpful and recommend for new and seasoned teachers alike.  I like her idea of having some jobs that are indefinite jobs and others that follow a very simple rotation. In years past I have had students apply for a job, but it made it very time consuming for me to change job roles throughout the year. With some indefinite jobs, I have the flexibility to have some students stick with one job or leadership role that really suits them (and me) and everyone else can rotate through the others weekly.

You can grab a copy of these polka-dot classroom job labels for free from my TPT store by clicking here. If you download, please please don't forget to leave feedback! It means the world. Seriously. :)

As you can see, I still have some cutting to do, but it feels sooo good to have a few back to school things out of the way. Now I just need more laminating sheets...

What have you been laminating lately?!?

Back to School Essentials {A Linky Party}

Is it too early in the summer to start talking about back to school shopping? Because... I've already started the shopping.

Like many all teachers,  I stock up on back to school goodies for my classroom during the summer. Luckily, over the years I have become more disciplined with what and how much I buy.

I remember my first few years, I purchased every composition notebook I laid eyes on from June through August. No... seriously... EVERY SINGLE ONE! I had no will power! I just knew I had to have enough and apparently I never had enough. After storing ALL my leftover notebooks, notebook paper, and unused packages of pens (because I seriously bought that much!) I finally learned what was essential and what was fun! (Basically... wants verses needs)

Now I have gotten pretty good at buying what I like to call my essentials. These are the things I purchase each summer to replenish the diminished stock or replace the old.  It's just part of the summer time routine... every year... without fail!

These have become my Back to School Essentials!

 #1 IKEA Book Boxes

I love these things! They last all year and the kids enjoy taking them home at the end of the year. It's quick and easy. I have nothing to store over the summer or clean out. Simple. I like that. And, if you don't live near an IKEA like me, then you can just order from Amazon! 

#2 Really Good Stuff Calendar

Best. Calendar. Ever. 

I will never go back to anything else. It's double sided, so you can choose which one you like the best - the colorful primary or the more sophisticated intermediate (shown above).

#3 Multicultural Construction Paper

 

This paper is great for all those back to school portraits at the beginning of the year. 

I usually purchase 2-3 packages at the beginning of the year.
**Update** You can order this construction paper from Amazon or from Classroom Direct.

#4 Eraser Tops

My students just love having an excuse to cross things out on their papers, but not when I have a stock pile of these bad boys on hand! The best erasers I've found are from Classroom Direct. They come in a box of 144 erasers for under $5 and they are really high quality. They actually erase. I hand them out like candy.

#5 Mr. Sketch Markers

Oh, the childhood memories! 

I buy a new box every year even if my old ones are still in working condition. 

I just love 'em.

#6 Post-it Notes

Because...honestly... can you ever have enough?

#7 Ticonderoga Pencils & Pilot V5 Pens

It's the only pencil I will use. I really am a total pencil snob. 

Also, a bit of a pen snob. What can I say? I like what I like. :)

#8 Books!!

This is probably my biggest expense, but I spread it out over the summer to make it more palatable.  Every summer I read and blog about the upcoming Bluebonnet Books and Battle Books through Fiction Friday.  I always purchase the books so that 1) my kids will have access to a classroom copy all year and 2) if I LOVE the book then I have a copy myself. Hehe. It's what I like to call a win-win!

And... That's it! Those are my essentials. Those are my no questions asked HAVE to be purchased items. Of course, there is still plenty of impulse purchasing throughout the summer. I still can't go through the school supply section without getting something. And who can resist perusing the school supply ads on Sunday to hunt down the best deals?  Not me. :)

What is in your list of essentials?  What do you purchase EVERY single summer without fail for the upcoming year? Share your must-haves below or link up with your own blog post.

I can't wait to hear from everyone. I have a feeling that I may be adding to my list, but that works for me. I'm also a little worried I left something obvious off the list, lol. Let me know!

If you link up, please make sure to include the Linky Party button and link back to my blog.  Thanks so much! 

Happy (early) Back to School shopping!

An InLinkz Link-up

Classroom Reveal 2013-2014: My New Digs

Reality has set in. I start school tomorrow. Summer is really over and even though I have technically been back at work, somehow it doesn't feel real until the kids show up. I had so many things I wanted to share with you guys last week, but I was EXHAUSTED! I would come home from school and just collapse on the couch unable to formulate a coherent thought. That being said, look for some good stuff to hit the blog sometime soon.

For now, I wanted to show you my new digs! I love my new classroom and my new school. It's so clean and all the chairs are the same color, and I have 4 walls.  That's right FOUR full functioning walls AND a door! If you don't remember how...let's say "special" my old room was, check out some of my old tours here. 2012-2013 and 2013-2014

See! There's the door. I even have keys for the door. This is a big deal. LOL!

I also have a crazy long bulletin board outside my room. Seriously, it's HUGE!  I had to get creative to fill the space, but I love how it turned out. A big thank you to my new teammate, Jillian, for helping me with the tree. That's basically her tree. I just crumpled the paper. 

I'm still at a Leader In Me school, so I'm excited to keep going with the 7 Habits.

Here is the other side of the door. You can't really see the sink, but it is hiding back there. I'm so excited to have a sink IN my classroom. Woot! Woot!

My leadership roles bulletin board and my classroom bingo board.

My file cabinet has been turned into my no name bulletin board for now. The tags are hard to see in the picture, but they are super cute. I have Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics to thank for those cuties. Love.

This is the cubbie nook in the back of my room. The door to my classroom bathroom is directly across from  the 7 Habits tree. That's right! A bathroom! I have a classroom boys & girls bathroom just off my room that I share with one other classroom. This set up is a teacher's dream!

 This is the data door (aka the teacher's dream bathroom door). 

I'm all set up for our first two classroom goals:

#1) Reading at least 5 Bluebonnet Books 

 #2) Learning those multiplication facts

We will be attending attendance as soon as school starts. And then...who know?!?

The rest of my cubbies line the back wall. I'm not quite sure what those bulletin boards will be yet. I'm thinking of using it to simply display student work and projects. I love my anchor charts, but I love to display student work more. 

The star that appears to be in the middle of the wall, is actually hanging from the ceiling to mark my table groups. I'm still using the Gandhi quote because it's my favorite and I'm sticking with the IKEA book boxes.  However, I ordered them from Amazon this year instead of making the pilgrimage to the store. I may have paid more per box but I most certainly saved on gas and my buddies at Amazon Prime got them to me in 2 days flat. You can't beat that!

This is my back wall and guided reading table. Excuse the mess. Those are leftovers from Meet the Teacher Night. I love my new Writing Process status chart courtesy of Really Good Stuff. I've flipped the inserts around so that I can reveal them as I teach the steps in the writing process.

Also, do you see those windows up top?  I haven't had a window in my classroom in three years! I'm so excited to have natural light. I forgot to take a picture of the full length window that on the other side of my guided reading table. Huge window! Tons of light! I'm in love. 

I mean... just LOOK at this view. 

Beautiful, right?

 My library looks really different this year due to confined spaces. I love my new room but it is substantially smaller than my last room. I pulled books that were old and unread and made sure to stock it up with books I know kids in 2014 want to read. 

I'm also really excited about my TPT tools. Not Teachers Pay Teachers tools, but Total Participation Technique tools. More on all that down the road. :)

I made sure to stock up with magazines this year too. I've got Sports Illustrated for Kids, Zoobooks, and National Geographic for Kids.

This is my book recommendation chart and reading log bulletin board. Kiddos will keep track of all the books they read by writing/drawing the title on half an index card and putting them on their reading ring.  This way kids can keep track of everything the read for the year. I've modified this idea from The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. 

I basically have books stashed all over my room. This carousel will be great to highlight a series, an author, or other popular books. 

My picture books and non-fiction books are stashed in here. I'm rotating books in and out this year to accommodate the small space. For example, all my books on the Titanic and Mummies are at home for now.  There will be a great reveal later this year, where I will bring in my other books and take these books back out. My hope is that by changing out the books, the library will stay fresh and exciting. Kids will keep going back and keep looking for something to read. Fingers crossed.

I just had to take a picture of my phone because I actually have a phone in my classroom this year! No more walking to the office every time I need to call parent. Woot! Woot!

And finally, here's my birthday board...

Aren't these birthday balloons the cutest?  

You can download them for free from Where the Wild Things Learn on TPT.

After flipping through ALL the pictures I took of my classroom, I realized that I did not take any where you can actually see the whole room.  Not one desk has been pictured, except mine. Apparently, I was only focused on the perimeter when I took these pics, lol. Oops. I will snap a few more shots tomorrow and update the post. My walls are also looking very bare because I haven't put up any posters.

It's actually amazing how much different this room will look in a week.

So, until then...

Happy back to school! Happy teaching!