The big reveal! Dun, dun, dunnnnnn!!!! I was very fortunate to get into my room earlier than expected. The total time it took to get the classroom were it is now was one and a half days. Not bad, if I say so myself. I want to thank the amazing custodial staff for helping move the big pieces and my fiancé for coming in one afternoon to help with the decorations and such. :)
I would love to hear any suggestions or answer any questions if I don't explain everything. So please feel free to comment, I love hearing about different ways to do things!
Here is the bulletin board and door to my classroom. I have not finished my other bulletin board but when I do I will post pictures.
The "Welcome" bulletin was purchased at Lakeshore.
The door is covered in positive phrases of what the students are when they enter into our classroom. They say things like, " You are scientists, you are respected, you are explorers, you are special, etc. I found them as a freebie on A
Teacher's Treasure blog.
Now, here is the view inside my glorious room! Not sure why I can't get the pictures to sit next to each other. Hopefully, you get the idea.
Right when the students walk in they will read a daily welcome message or quote on the blue picture frame and they can turn in their take-home folders into the black folder basket ( I am in the process of making a cute label for the basket). I love having a table right here so I can put any important forms/papers that need to go to the office near the door. I also have helpful signs I use in the classroom or during transitions. Some examples, are "Eyes on Me", a stop sign, or "Raise your hand". My students love holding them in line, too! To the right of the door is our daily schedule. I will post a link to that freebie when I find it. If you look closely the blue basket hold our recess toys like chalk and a kick ball. Excuse the mini mess to the left of the cabinet. I have not set up my laptops and Waterford computers.
Next, here is the area where the students hook their backpacks. You might notice those cute green and blue baskets. They will be my student's Daily 5 book baskets. They each have the student's number, according to alphabetical order and other tools to help them during Daily 5. I wish they would all fit on the bottom but that's not a huge deal. :) Anyone spy my Tattle Turtle??
Here is the view from my guided reading table which is just to the right of the backpack area.
My kiddos love referencing these animal posters. Each animal reminds them to do a certain skill or task relating to reading. Switching vowel sounds and skipping the word are just to name a few.
Here is another picture of my guided reading table. I keep the all kinds of manipulatives in the storage cart with multicolored bins. Check out those awesome ottomans!
Here is my desk area! The green and blue frames will be where the standards will be written for the students to see. Turn 180 degrees to see the next area. The sink and another big table to use for centers and such. That area leads right into our library.
This area has to be one of my favorite places in the room. As you can see, I have tons of books. I can't resist a Scholastic Warehouse sale or even Goodwill ( I find tons of Scholastic titles there). I want my students to LOVE reading. I know sometimes reading can be hard and discouraging.But I find that if I can interest a student by subject matter they are more motivated to become better reader. The library is categorized by labels from Lakeshore Learning. I don't want to level the library because the student need to find books that interest and challenge them.
In our library we have "banana phones" for the students to read quietly to themselves. The Common Core posters on the wall tell what the students should be able to do relating to reading and comprehension. I purchased them from Primary Punch on TPT! They are highly recommended.
Another view of the library, see the cute lanterns? Love them! Also, I found the student's chairs for $5 a piece at Walmart last summer. Most of the classroom learning games, flashcards, and puzzles are organized on the right side.
I use this beehive chart for a whole class positive incentive. Every time our class earns a compliment they earn a bee. When we reach our goal, which changes throughout the year, we vote on what kind of reward we would like to have. Some past parties included popsicles, ice cream, and popcorn!
The last area of my room is our writing station. There are more Common Core posters relating to writing and communications to the left of the bulletin. The students have folders in the pink basket were they can keep their finished/unfinished work. I also keep a little storage box where they can pull out writing prompts from the first drawer, supplies from the second, and paper from the third. On the green bulletin board are the five steps of writing. Each student has a stick they place in the corresponding step they are at in their writing. During the year we had more posters that relate to writing. Right now there is one poster that asked the students to make sure their name is on their paper, did they use correct spelling, etc.
I use the two white storage units on the bottom to hold prize items, classroom decorations, extra learning games, and more. I hot glued cute scrapbook paper to the inside of each drawer to hide the contents.
Lastly, here are some pictures of the front of the room. The FACE board correlates to the Daily 5 and my wonderful teammate made the headers and "I can..." statements. I put all of them up for Meet the Teacher but during the year we will add each statement as we go.
At the front of my room is a special chair that serves many purposes. Sometimes I use it to reward a student who is doing the right thing and can sit in it during floor time ( I move it to face whichever direction we all face). Or when students "publish", read aloud, their stories they get to present it in this chair!
Thanks for checking out my room. I want my students to feel welcomed, excited, and supported when they come in! Let me know you think!
