Kindergarten Kindergarten

Another Little Peek at my Classroom...

Today I thought I would show you my desk area. It will never be this clean and organized again...so enjoy!

I spend more time at work during the school year than I do at home, so I need my space to be comfy and cozy with a few personal touches. Things that make me smile...family photos, quotes from Pinterest, and more of that silly garland that I made.

Here's a close-up of my shelf with my favorite teacher books, office supplies, etc. Now imagine it with piles and piles of papers that I know I shouldn't throw away but don't really know what to do with either...that's reality!

 

Here's one thing I could never live with out-- my Raskog cart from Ikea. It's my portable teacher desk. I wheel it to my teacher table when I work with small groups; I wheel it to the kids' tables when I conference; I wheel it to my easel when I'm teaching whole group. It has everything I need, so I don't have to waste time running around the room trying to find things. 

The top shelf has pens, pencils, stapler, date stamp, scissors, etc.

The middle shelf has teaching and assessment aides--magnetic letters, pointers, flashcards, etc.

The bottom shelf has all of my monitoring notebooks and anecdotal notes.

I've had it for 2 years now and can honestly say that I'm in love. Even if the middle shelf is a little wonky because I cannot put Ikea stuff together without messing something up...Oh well...nobody's perfect.

School starts in exactly one week for me. That thought is absolutely terrifying. I think I'll go to bed and try not to think about it.

Sweet Dreams!

Welcome to my Room!

Happy Friday!

I'm still working away in my room. I had a meeting all day long, so I didn't accomplish much. But I'm not freaking out...not at all!

So as promised, here is the entryway to my room. The kids' cubbies are right inside the door. I covered the bulletin board in the same burlap that I used outside and added an owl that I made a few years ago. I'm going to put our class pledge up there so that it's the first thing people see when they come in the room. I will write the pledge with the kids on the first day of school.

The little banner is for our gold stars. Our school hands out gold stars as a whole-class reward for walking quietly in the hall or doing a great job in the cafeteria, library, etc. (They come from other teachers and adults in the school--not me.) When we get 10, we get a treat, like lunch in the classroom or pajama day. Every time we get a star, I clip it to the banner. The numbers help the kids quickly see how many more stars we need to get our prize. Bonus--it really helps them develop "ten-ness"!

I have a little basket to put box tops in, a basket with my Diet Coke money (super important), pens, nurse and library passes, hand sanitizer and anything else we might need on the way out the door...

A note about the pens: I never have any "grown-up" pens in my room. I have a million pencils and every color of crayon and marker you could imagine--but never any regular pens. It's embarrasing when you have to sign an important document with a cherry-scented Mr. Sketch marker. So this year, I fancied up a bunch of pens by wrapping them in yarn and attaching pom-poms and flowers. We'll see how many I have left come October.

And here's my bulletin board tip of the day: I have been using a lot of black die-cut letters. The staples stood out and were really distracting. So I colored them with a black Sharpie. It was so quick and easy. The staples blend in now. (Okay--maybe not close-up, but they do from a few feet away--I promise!)

I'm going back in tomorrow and I'll be sure to update you on my progress. But now--I'm going to go watch Project Runway. See you soon!

K is for Kindergarten

Hello! I'm back...

I cannot believe it has almost been a full year since my last post. Last year was a crazy year for me, personally and professionally. Some good, some bad, mostly just super busy. But I never forget about my little blog. I'm always snapping pictures and jotting down ideas in the hopes of posting again. 

I've been setting up my room this week and decided it was time to stop planning and start doing. So I thought I would take a few pictures every day and show you what I've been up to. 

The first thing I did this year, before I even unpacked one box, was decorate the bulletin board outside my classroom. 

I'm going with a burlap and brown kraft paper theme this year. And yarn...I'm digging yarn right now. I don't know why. I'm weird like that. I covered the bulletin board with the burlap ($3.99/yard. Cheap. Even cheaper with a 40% off coupon!). I used a plain black border left over from previous years and crumpled up brown kraft paper strips for a "ruffled" look. 

I cut the K from a cardboard box and wrapped it in colored yarn. I cut the "frames" out of random scrapbook paper. Later, I'll put black and white pictures of my kids there. (Black and white because color photos would be too busy...LOL).

As a final touch, I strung a garland across one corner. I made the garland by punching circles from scrapbook paper and sandwiching string in between them. I also threaded on pom-poms and styrofoam balls wrapped in more yarn. I love that garland. I made a lot more! You'll see it all over my room. (Squee!)

So tomorrow I'll show you the area right inside my classroom door. Another bulletin board. And more burlap. Seriously--who chooses burlap as a classroom theme? I think I've really lost it this time. Stay tuned!