Classroom Tour

Training starts next week and I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone by! As much as I love summer and my time to relax, I always anticipate the start of school again. Last week, I posted some of the recent "remodels" that I did to my room. This week I thought that I would take you on a quick walk through a few other parts of my room.

I must state my disclaimer first by saying that I do not have desks set up yet, and not everything is perfectly where I would like it, but that will be taken care of next week during the afternoons.

This first picture was posted a few weeks ago, but I had to post it again, because it is one of my favorite things about my classroom. I used twine to string the pennants together, and then I hung them above my Smart Board. I am selling these pennants for kindergarten through fifth grade at my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and they are on sale through Saturday. You can buy them here.

This next picture is my reading corner. As you can see, I still have some organizing to do on top of the bookshelf, and there is a clock that needs to be hung on the wall once I replace the battery ;). I love this corner though because it is the perfect size for a couple of comfy beanbags. I also like how well organized my library is. Each basket is labeled with a few guided reading levels. Every book in my classroom is also labeled. Students are tested each quarter to see what level they are, and then I give them three levels that they are allowed to read from. This ensures that they are reading books that are slightly challenging, but not so far above them that they won't comprehend. The light blue bulletin board will be my "Awesome Author's" wall, but I can't hang up the folders until I get my class list.

I am laughing at this next picture; I should have taken the time to straighten out the names, although I will be making new names once I get my class list. This is my whiteboard. I have a Smart Board in my classroom, so I don't use my whiteboard very much. I have turned it into an organization area for my centers. I will have to do a whole other blog post later on how I do centers, because it is a bit complicated. I originally got the idea from Serenade to Second Grade. You can read Tasha's blog post here. I took her idea, and then changed it to fit the way I teach. Look for another post about this soon.

This is my corner. Now, if I am not careful, this corner can easily become messy and cluttered. I did my "summer cleaning", so I am hoping that I will be able to keep it a little neater this year. I love using a pocket chart for my schedule because it is so easy to change it around each morning. On my calendar board, I also keep track of table points with a mini whiteboard.

This last picture shows my classroom jobs. It is a little difficult to see, but I love these because I don't need an entire bulletin board for them. They are hanging with magnets on my metal cabinet. Every student has a job every week, and I can change their jobs easily because their numbers are stuck on with velcro. The students LOVE their jobs, and will remind me Monday morning if I forgot to switch them.

As I get my classroom back in order over the next few weeks, I will be posting more. Since school is starting soon, I thought I would post a few things that I made for my first week.

I love reading the book "Never Spit on Your Shoes" to my students during the first week of school. This is an adorable "craftivity" that goes along with the book in which students get to brainstorm their own silly class rules and illustrate them. Click here to be taken to my store where you may purchase this.

I use this next activity with the book "The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners", but it could be used with any book about manners during the first week of school, or in the middle of the year, when students might need a little reminder. You can purchase this activity here.

Well, that is it for this week. I hope you all have a great first week of school!