My 6th year of teaching has begun!! 

And now it's time to reveal to you my home away from home for this year <3

Let me start out by saying these pictures were taken one week into the school year. In other words, students have had their hands on everything and have completely messed some areas up made it their home! 

One more thing I want to say is...I didn't have to buy a single piece of furniture this year!! 

*insert happy dance here* 

Our amazing district was able to provide us with BRAND NEW flexible seating in all K-5 classrooms!! 

Bye-Bye heavy and cumbersome kidney table and desks....Hello Awesome-ness!!

(Never mind that the kids trip over the enormous bean bags)

 I have 3 of these bad boys in my room- 2 remain stacked for now until rest time

 A new detail, but one I'm super excited about is my new classroom cubbies! We painted them with black chalkboard paint. It was a process for sure. 

First, taking off the hardware (thank you hubby!) then spending a good amount time painting 2 coats (thank you Mom!) 

For now, they have yellow post it stickys with names. My classroom is currently a revolving door with students so once I feel it's solid, I'll add their names with some super cute Cara Carroll-inspired chalkboard lettering :) 

 Right now, I have seats for each child at a table but the option for various seating during Writer's Workshop and stations have been so much fun.

I love how the tables are super easy to move into any shape I want in order to accommodate different classroom activities.  After my routines and classroom expectations are set in place (I'm thinking October) we will have the choice of where to sit. My ideal situation would be for kids to choose where they feel they work best. Some students genuinely prefer to be in a chair at a table but we all know that other kids just want to have more freedom.

Hosting parents last night for Curriculum Night and having them lounge back on the couches or sprawl out in the bean bags showed me once again that our kids need to be comfortable! I finally feel like my classroom is exactly that- comfortable, and HAPPY!! 

Have you linked up with Blog Hoppin's #teacherweek to show off your Happy Classroom? 

Click on the pic below

Thanks for stopping by! 

O.M.G 

It's finally HERE! Meet the Teacher is TONIGHT and after a solid month of prep, my classroom is FINALLY ready. (and no, I didn't even change rooms) 

After attending the "I Teach 1st" Conference this Summer, my "to do list" grew ...
and grew...
and grew...
I may not be completely finished checking things off the list, but I can finally share my "classroom digs".
I'm so excited to start the year and can't wait to have my classroom be a true learning EXPERIENCE!!!  

Enough talking... let's see some pictures! :)

When you're standing in my doorway, this is what you see...



And yes, our rooms feel HUGE because of our amazing vaulted ceilings. Love them!

I have 2 main meeting areas in my room for different reasons. 
One large space in front of the Word Wall where I do my read-alouds and word work activities...
...and another space in front of the Smartboard (where all the magic happens)
Our school is so blessed by our PTO and there incredible generosity- all of the teachers are so spoiled by technology.

Here's a little close up of my 50+ sock monkeys I have in my room... ha!

 

Love having a wide variety of pointers for the kids to use- the chomping shark is for sure the class favorite!

 Next to my Smartboard area, I have the student's book boxes and such...
(Once school starts, the numbers on the boxes will be replaced with photos of their cute little faces)

Read about how I use these monthly storage units HERE!

If we zoom in a bit, you can see my Great Expectations board. Our school is not a GE Model school (yet) but we are pretty darn close!! You won't see a clip chart {GASP!!!} or classroom "rules" in my classroom. Instead, we have 8 classroom expectations the kids are expected to follow. Our classroom is based on a Climate of Mutual Respect and we refer to a Magic Triad throughout the day that encourages the kids to make good choices.
I love me some G.E!! :)
 My Writing Center may be my favorite spot in the room. It's probably because I LOVE teaching Writing!

I found that long paper roll thingy at IKEA! Jackpot. My girls will love to pull that out to draw on.

I got the adorable pencil from The Teacher Wife :)

The kids LOVE the Class Shared Journals! Be sure to visit my post on how I use these in my classroom. Click on the picture to get your FREE Journal Covers!


If you move a little further down the back wall, you will find my Science Area!
(Those ugly brown cabinets up top won't be ugly for long...they will soon be covered with student work!)

And did you spy the Red "CONFIDENTIAL" folder on the board? That's a part of Cara's Math Missions pack!! SO excited to use it this year!!

 Around my Math board I have hands to help us Add by 5's... and dots to help us add by 2's...
(I went to a conference last Summer that mentioned how we should say "Add by" and not "skip count by" because essentially what the kids are doing is ADDing... why not call it that? Hmmm)

Hope King is a straight up genius, and her Setting the Stage to Engage has been the forefront of my mind as I prepare my class for my firsties this year. This quote will forever be engraved on my mind! :)

Found the adorable balloon idea from Reagan Tunstall! I used Laffy Taffy I found from Sams!

Can't wait to get the kid's pictures in the squares for my birthday door...
(Behind the door is a bathroom- with a SUPER tiny, little potty)
No, I don't let kids use it...and yes, it houses a TON of junk storage.

My desk/ kid-proof area...
Last but certainly not least...

So I'm linking up with the oh so cute Kickin' It In Kindergarten to show some essential things I have had on my teacher shopping list. Let's be real... the list is NEVER ENDING!! 

My goal this year is ORGANIZATION. This is my 5th year teaching, and I have yet to master that skill. I keep acquiring STUFF with nowhere to put it all. When I heard Cara Carroll's idea of using monthly tubs to store her decor/thematic unit games/thematic manipulatives- I HAD to steal that idea!! You can find hers here !! (They are way more cute and colorful than mine). 

I feel like I hit the jackpot when I found the Sterelite tub drawers at Big Lots- but these were extra amazing. They were the taller 5 drawer sets! I had no idea they made such a thing, and they were calling out my name. At 25 bucks a pop, I just had to have them. After decorating the drawers a tad, here's how they look! 

I'm not finished loading the drawers up with all of my goodies, but this gives you an idea of all of the junk necessary items I need to put inside each one! :) 

So if y'all are on Pinterest at all, I'm sure you have seen these cushion crates floating around everywhere! 

I found  these from Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants and her directions were fabulous!! I had to make some for my Guided Reading table as well. 

I headed off to get all of the necessary supplies! 

**FYI: The majority of time spent on this project is running all over the place to gather everything, but it'll be totally worth it!**

-You'll need to head to Walmart for the crates- finding 4 black ones at 1 location is nearly impossible. 

My poor gas tank. If you hit up the Back to School Sale, you'll get the 50% price for around 3$ each.

-JoAnn's Fabric had the PERFECT fabric that matches my classroom. I bought 3 yards and still had extra. Don't forget to download their app for the extra 20% off!

-THEN I went searching for the foam topping. Y'all. It's NOT cheap. To make 4 crates, I would have had to spend 35$. On foam. No thank you.

Thankfully I was with my GENIUS of a Mother and she suggested to use a 9x9 pillow for the topping! These bad boys were 50% off and only totaled to be 24$ for 4 pillows. That's not only a better price, but my crazy sweet little first graders will have way more cushion on their bums! DONE! #thoughtfulteacher

-Next, bring one of your crates and head over to your local Lowe's Home Improvement Store. They love teachers there! Just flash your innocent smile and use your charm to get the best price on plywood they have. If you find a guy like I did, he'll measure everything (and REmeasure 4 more times) because the dimensions for the crates are tad bit tricky. It may have been a 45 minute wait time. Poor guy. 

Just keep flashin' that smile! :)