Have you been to the stores? Can you smell the new school supplies? While some of you are still in the middle of summer vacation, others are gearing up for Back to School 2015! We start back in just a little over two weeks so classroom setup and decor has been on my mind! My new(to me) classroom has had a complete makeover since we left school in May. I can't wait to show you the before an after photos once everything gets set up. In the meantime, I CAN tell you that my new room colors are tan and black. Each year, I fall in love a little(but really...a lot) more with the "simple yet effective" classroom design which is why I am loving the new Chalkboard Brights design from Teacher Created Resources. Their entire line lets me keep to my clean and black theme while adding in pops of color to brighten things up. I already have their welcome sign and could not wait to grab a few more items before the new school year. I am just LOVING this lesson planner and ...
back to school
Showing that we CARE
Last night was Open House. It was fabulous! I had a lot of students and families come, and I was so glad to have the opportunity to share our classroom procedures, learning opportunities, and other curriculum information with the families. Freebie from @Sheila Jane Teaching Freebies We loved putting this writing activity together for our parents. We showcased our data notebooks from Briana Beverly, reading and math notebooks, Lucy Calkins writing folders, a cute Back to School picture, and some Math About Me friends. However, today's post is about more than just our Open House event. It is actually about what happened in the last 72 hours BEFORE our school's Open House events. In the past, my teammates and I had thrown around the idea of hosting some sort of gathering with our second grade parents. We wanted to connect with parents on a level that was more informal, more personal, and outside of the typical classroom setting. That idea was just swimming around in ...
Teacher Week- Where I Live
Today's Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week feature highlights where we live! Of course I don't mean our house! I mean our "other" house! Let's be real-we spend enough time at school that it is practically our second home, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't have a big reveal to share with you today. My classroom is in a growing phase at the moment. I say "growing" because I am in the process of making a lot of changes to our classroom in regards to design. I am slowly pulling down items that are too colorful and loud. I am keeping my laminating of new resources to a minimum because the glare can be distracting to students and can actually prevent them from reading the document. I do love color, but I am trying to stay with items that are gender neutral so that ALL students feel comfortable in the classroom. There are some other changes going on as well. I was blessed enough to be able to leave behind my desks when I moved to my portable ...
