First Few Weeks FUN!

It amazes me that we have already been in school a month. To say that my class is simply amazing is an understatement. They are precious. We have done some really cool projects so far. However, there is no tired teacher like a back to school tired teacher. Can I get an amen? Exhausted in every way possible. Feet ache because you have stood all day long in shoes that are SO not comfortable. Bladder is exhausted from not being able to use the restroom all day long. Welcome back large blue circles under my eyes from staying up late grading papers, putting grades into the computer, and planning for the next week. I think I forget every year how tired I am at the beginning of school year. I can really tell that I am OLD!!!

We have gotten so much accomplished though in such a short amount of time. We have talked about rules, procedures, gotten to know each other and also worked on working together. We started the year off with a couple of Pinterest type inspired activities. We made these webs telling about ourselves.

Students had to create a collage based on magazine clippings of things that they liked. 

We also made a pencil glyph by the good ole Glyph Girls from Alabama. They have some of the most unique and cute glyphs for all age levels. I used some of them in K last year as well. They are truly talented.

Here is a peak at our weather unit we are working on.

More to come later as we are trying to get through homecoming week!!! Hope everyone is having a good week.

Classroom REVEAL 2015

Drum roll please...............................Please stand and give a round of applause for all the people that helped this classroom come together (mom, dad, Lee, and all the yard sale people I met along the way).

Take a look at my home away from home......

Here is what it looked like prior to the painting, moving, etc.
The yellow wall and dark purple wall were painted. I painted the yellow wall a coral color and the dark purple wall I just lightened up with a lighter color purple.

This is a look from my classroom door. 

My desk area is really messy. Please excuse the mess. 

Behind my desk you will find this cute little area. I love how the hula hoop tied with ribbon turned out. I keep all my teacher resources on the tall green bookshelf. 

Calendar board and Busy Birds Board that was repurposed. I bought this from my hairdresser. I know a little weird right??? However, she and I love to repurpose things and she had this and well let's just say I begged/bartered for it. Don't you love friends who enjoy the same things you do??

I really wanted to set up a cozy reading area. I still would like to purchase a few more pillows, but I think it turned out pretty cute. My mom had the old deacons bench that I just painted and added the polka dots to. I also made the cute pillow to match. The bench had been in storage from when I previously taught third grade. The rocking chair was the one I had in my K room, I just spray painted it. :) Curtains on the shelf came from a thrift store we like to frequent. The curtains were actually shower curtains that I cut up to make them fit my counters in my classroom. I think I got a set of two shower curtains for $1.98!! SCORE!!! Needless to say, I took the serger to them and wahla you have curtains. Simple and functional. Excuse the pooch in the picture, she likes to go to school. She should be a very smart dog as much as she has gone to school this summer. 

This is the bulletin board behind my small group table. I divided the board into two sections and made two focus walls. 

The Dream print came from my sweet friend, Kristi, who gave it to me last year after reading on my blog that I wanted to add it to my classroom decor. Thank you my sweet BFF.

Reading Focus Wall

Blue and red pocket charts came from Target in the dollar section. The reading text evidence posters came from a free download off Pinterest (not sure where). I made the prove it letters by watching a Periscope that Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans did. The reading and math banners were made from burlap pennants bought from Hobby Lobby. I painted them and then added the letters 

from Wal-Mart.

This is the math side of the board. I bought this from Amy Lemons at Step into Second Grade. I plan on letting my students make each person when we talk about the math function. 

The small group reading table is probably one of my favorite areas in the room. My dad made the crate seats for me. I love the way he added casters to the bottom of each. These are great because they have storage and they roll. I added the tablecloth type fabric found at Hobby Lobby to the top. It is slick and can be wiped off easily.

Word Wall-I got the letters from Erica Bohrer's TPT store several years ago. I think I have used them in every classroom I have been in within the last 5 years. I got the idea of adding the students names from Amy Lemon-Step Into Second Grade. She did a Periscope on making locker tags. I don't have lockers in my classroom so I just made them as an addition to my word wall.

This is my center shelf. I house all my centers on this shelf (Math and Word Work).

These are my Daily 5 book bins. These are actually ice bins from Dollar General. They were like $1 each. 

I got this AR idea from Step Into Second Grade-Amy Lemons. She used these AR point trackers posters. I just added 12x12 scrapbook paper to the back.

This idea came from Pinterest. I saw where someone had a VIP table. I thought how cool would it be to have a VIP desk for girl/boy. So I created a camouflage boy desk and a polka dot girl desk. The tables were old ones I had in my garage. Mom and I covered each table in fabric and made a table skirt. The boy table skirt is made from burlap. The girl table skirt has just plain broadcloth. Then we added embellishments to the top. So far the students have loved it and it has really been an incentive for positive behavior.

This is the back of my classroom door. The Did You Know facts came from Third Grade Thoughts. You can find them HERE. The pockets are for their AR cards.

This is my computer area. We are very blessed in my school system with technology. I have 2 laptops and one desktop student computer.

This beauty was created by my sweet mom. This filing cabinet was like old, I mean really old. I wanted to do something with it. Mom suggested we cover it with this super cute contact paper. I think she did a fabulous job. I purchased the contact paper from Amazon.

Super Improver Wall -Whole Brain Teaching....I am a firm believer and lover of Whole Brain teaching. It truly WORKS!!!!

This is where my students will file their graded work. They will take these folders home once a week with all their graded papers tucked away nice and neat inside.

I downloaded these birthday balloon tags from a free download on Pinterest. I attached them to straws.


And there you have it. I hope you have a fabulous week. I can't wait to share some of the activities we completed on the first week of school!
Blessings,
Elaine

Moving on up to the big time----3rd grade

Well, as you can see I have been MIA for a while now. I have been transferred to 3rd grade. While I loved K and will miss all my teacher friends and especially the kiddos, I am excited to begin a new journey in 3rd. I have taught 3rd before, so this won't be new territory for me. I have been Pinteresting and creating things for my classroom all summer.

 Let me just say, when we started it was a HOT MESS!!!! I had boxes everywhere. Who knew you could accumulate so much stuff over 10 years of teaching??? Yes! I did say 10. This year starts my tenth year. I can't believe it. Time has flown by.

Then a miracle man appeared. LOL! A guy came in and painted the yellow and purple wall. It looks sooooo good. Thanks so much Brad!

 So here were some of my color choices. Stay tuned to see what I went with!!!

So I am not going to give the grand reveal yet but I will give a glimpse of some of the goodies I have created. 

 Pinterest anchor charts have been laying around the house all summer! Teachers work never ends!

 I bought this from a dear friend of mine (thanks Katie) and turned it into my classroom job board.

 Yard sale find turned into a Writing Center.

And last but not least the pizza pans purchased at the thrift store for a dime each spray painted and repurposed. 

Stay tuned for the GRAND CLASSROOM REVEAL soon!!! Still working on a few things. We start back this coming Friday! Have a great weekend!

Be Blessed!

Elaine

Groundhog's day, Birthday and Valentines--OH MY!!!

Wow! February is flying by and well it has been so much fun!!! February is one my favorite months of the year. I love pink, red, and purple all of which are included in the Valentine's decor.

Groundhog's day was a blast with my kiddos. We did a prediction on if we thought Phil would see his shadow. We were sad to know that he did see his shadow and we would have to endure 6 more weeks of winter.

 I got this from Pinterest. Sorry I can't remember which website to give credit.

 We made these super cute Groundhog crafts that I got from my mom.

If you are in need of a Valentine's day craftivity, then go check out First Grade Blue Skies she has tons of cute ideas that can work for K or 1st grade. I love that she is so practical and it helps that she is an Alabama blogger too!!!! I bought this on TPT. I used almost the entire unit.

Froggy's First Kiss

Her entire unit is based on this Froggy book. My kiddos love Froggy books. I have read several throughout the year. This one my kids giggled throughout the entire book. Kissing just makes 5 year olds snicker. Hehe!!!!

 Here is how our Froggy and Froggilina's turned out. I thought they were super cute. I had everything pre cut for my little ones and I modeled step by step on how to assemble it. 

This makes my heart smile. I do love my K kiddos. 

 We made these super cute bags for our Valentine treats to go in. They turned out so cute. The large heart in the center is a foam heart that came in a pack of 20 from The Dollar Tree. Super cheap and already cut out!!!

My bestie brought me this super cute heart donut. She is killing my diet, but it sure was good. I do love sweets.

My birthday also happens to fall in the month of February. I forgot to mention that might be another reason I love this month so much! :) My parents have always made a big deal over birthdays. We celebrate for an entire week. We made some pictures, of course, with my parents and the dogs. 

 This dog has my entire heart! She is a complete diva and loves her mommy!!!

 These people make me so happy! Love them all dearly!!!!!

Gabby and Gabe 

My bestie bought me this print from Hobby Lobby that I had been spying for months but wouldn't buy for myself. I had posted in an earlier post that I now have my dream job and I was going to purchase this print for my classroom. She read my post and came in on my birthday with this. I could have cried. I love her dearly and thank God she was placed across the hall from me. She makes me laugh everyday. Who doesn't need friends like that? 

I am finished with my Bird Decor that I have been working on for months. It turned out better than I could have ever imagined. Check it out here.

I hope you have a warm weekend! It is icy here in Alabama!

Blessings,

Elaine