I am sooo excited that my classroom is mostly finished and ready for students on Wednesday. All it's missing is some posters on the wall, my alphabet, my fish tank, and name plates. I also bought an Epson document camera. They are very expensive, but I had one for the last 2 years at my old school and I just can't bring myself to teach without one! It was cool to see that 3 other teachers in my grade level have an ocean theme too. There are 10 of us and it's a huge school! Anyway, here's my room, I hope you like it!
Calendar bulletin board....I have to change the actual calendar so this is just holding its place. The weather wheel and wooden number board are from Target dollar spot.
Hallway bulletin board... it's too small for posting student work for all 21 students and I hate picking and choosing. I've never done student of the week or month but I just might start. I also love interactive bulletin boards so I might use it for that.
This is actually two bulletin boards that are put together in the hallway. I have no idea why they were put so close to the ceiling! Right now it's completely unfinished. The plates will become picture frames once students arrive. They will be writing acrostic poems from their names on the decorative paper.
Here's my unfinished door. I have a poster that will go above the flip flops after it's laminated.
This is my incomplete job area. The sign says, "Wanted: Helping Hands" and is made out of the classified section of a newspaper and my job posters. More of the hands are being laminated and I need to get more double sided tape for the rest of my number line that will continue above them. The green bin and collapsible basket from Walmart still need to be labeled with the words "library books" and "lunch boxes."
Here's the area next to the door. Reminder notes for dismissal are hung here. The cork boards are from the Target dollar spot.
Here are my bathroom sign out sheet, bathroom chipboards (students flip the pink to their number if they are girls and soccer ball if they are boys), passes, and sanitizing / first aid station. I get tons of paper cuts so the bandaids are right under the baby wipes! We don't have sinks, so this area is important. As you can see, I attached a pen to the clipboard with a lanyard. That means no more missing pencils!
Here's my objective pocket chart that is attached to the chalkboard. I have never left an objective up longer than one lesson, so we'll see how long I can make it with writing them on sentence strips!
This is what the Journeys focus wall posters look like. They get changed every week. I wish I could get rid of the creases and make the spelling and vocabulary words bigger! I can also put it up on the Promethean Board in larger form.
Closet door with birthdays - have to personalize them! I wish I had time to cover the doors with fabric or paper.
Here's the math bulletin board. Anchor charts and visual vocabulary will be added. I will have fish and an aquatic frog in the tank once it's cleaned and filled. (The surfboard is a mirror. It's reflecting a wall and supply shelf next to it!)
I've always done the pencil cups, but I got these cute pencil cup labels from the Peace, Love, Learning blog and taped them to empty metal soup cans.
My desk area...I never sit there unless I'm checking homework. To be honest, the only reasons I kept the desk are I was told there was no room for it elsewhere, some items such as tests need to be locked up, and I like the idea of students sitting at the desk as one of their rewards. I showed a pic of what's on the shelves behind it in the last post.
This balance scale is part of my whole group behavior system. I have to put labels on each side that say, "positive behavior" and "negative behavior." Each time our class gets a compliment from another teacher / administrator or does something extraordinary as a group etc., they earn a marble or marbles. When they misbehave for a specials teacher or substitute or argue on line or on the playground etc., marbles go on the negative side. I found this works much better than a regular marble jar. Once the positive side touches the desk, students win their reward.
Here's the corner of my desk. I blogged about my substitute binder before and I'll post again when it's finished. There are 2 set of 5 color coded folders, one for each day of the school week in the magazine holder. I got the idea to use the dish drainer as a teacher's edition holder from Pinterest. Since it's black and the magazine holder next to it is also black, it's hard to see. The utensil part holds scissors, pens, my staple grabber, and other stuff like that. I love my huge pencil that I got in Minnesota! It's made of a tree branch so you have to use a knife to sharpen it!
Here's the area next to my desk. The poster reminds students of what they need to do before turning in a paper. To the left of the dry erase board, you see the 3 cookie tin lids that I turned into decorative magnet boards.
Here's my homework basket, which is next to the finished work basket. As you can see, there's a coconut cup from the dollar store with pencil top erasers in it. I keep a spare pencil for students who forgot to write their name on their paper inside the area where the straw would have gone and a calendar for them to write the date. I taped my Stop, Stop, Put Your Name on the Top poster next to it along with a highlighter for them to highlight their name.
Here's the corner of my guided reading table. My organizer is actually a beverage bucket that helps me stay organized. Behind it are reading strategy posters.
Here's part of my closet. The hooks are numbered. On the first day, students will be put in ABC order by last name and will get a number. They will put their belongings on their number and wear the lei. There are 5 tables and 3 colors of leis, so the students wearing orange will be allowed to pick a seat within the orange table, while there will be 2 blue and 2 pink tables.
I got the idea to put copy paper box lids in student desks and use them as drawers from an Occupational Therapist at another school. It keeps students much more organized and less things get lost or damaged!
Here are my writing and art centers. Writing process posters are to the left and the word wall is on the right. The ? and ! posters have words to use when writing exclamations and questions. The poster right under it has words that describe emotions.
These bar stools are used when sitting at the counter. The clipboards are used for center work like Read the Room. Directions are clipped on top and the materials go inside.
These drawers will contain different writing materials such as index cards, envelopes, different types of paper, and lots of graphic organizers for students to use once they are introduced. This stapler and tape dispenser are for students. They can't use the ones on my desk because I went through 5 staplers in my first 3 years. They're so rough on them!
I used a coffee cup caddy to hold my scissors. I used Solo cups in a wine rack to hold my markers. Students can grab the whole cup or just one marker. I think I saw the cup rack idea on Pinterest but can't find it again. Let me know if it was your idea!
Here's my easel and reading area. This poster says, "1,2,3, Eyes on me! 1, 2, Looking at You!" The easel didn't have a dry erase part, so I just bought one and turned it sideways. I can take it right off or put chart paper on top.
Here's my library aka private reading beach. The only things left to do are put a new shelf in place of the desks that are hidden by the palm tree there, buy 2 more baskets for the books in the box underneath, and attach basket labels. As you can see, I didn't have room for a carpet, so I used a beach towel with a non-skid piece underneath and put my beach chair there. It's going to be a no shoe zone so we don't have tripping accidents. The signs say, "To the Beach --->;" and "Relax."
Inside my library, I have this magazine rack. I bought it for $50 when I was student teaching and a teaching store closed. I put the books that are relevant to what we are learning. Right now there are fall, back to school, chapter books about third grade, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
Front view from my desk - the hammock is a soap holder from Bed Bath and Beyond. I use it for paper clips and odds and ends.
Side view from my desk - I spy the Promethean Board!!!
Front view from the door - my new shelf is in pieces on the floor!
Side view from the door
Side view from the door - posters are missing from above the back bulletin boards
Management area next to my computer- dry erase stickers from Walmart for reading, math, and spelling homework; schedule dry erase poster from Target dollar spot, Crayola dry erase sticker poster from Walmart, behavior management clip chart and number magnets, and Prediction Pete materials.... reward board cards are being laminated and go in the blank space. Those brown things are large double clipboards that my students use for artwork, centers, or writing on the floor. Someone gave them to me, so I have no idea where you can get them...try an art supply store!
So...would you like to relax on Battista Beach?!
