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!
