My Classroom

Linking it up from the beach! We are in Gulfport, MS for a few days! 

This week's topic is Classroom Decor..

I have not been up to school this summer yet to set up my classroom ( I refuse to get up there until it's at least the first week of August). So this is last year's pics of my classroom. I have a SAFARI theme with lots of turquoise and animal print accents. 

I am working on a few Classroom Decor Sets for TpT that I am SOOO excited about! I hope to have some ready by the end of the week.  

Here is a sneak peek at one of the sets...

Stay tuned for it's premiere on TpT sometime this week.

OK, here are my classroom pics from last year!

I really love setting up my classroom for a new year. Bringing in new ideas or throwing out old ones, it's always something I have enjoyed. This year, we have full classes with 24-25 students in each 2nd grade class. So this year has been all about MAKING ROOM! (Our district had "open enrollment" where students could transfer within the district. We are at an amazing school and well, many students came! ) I had to clear out 5 lockers normally used for storage and extra school supplies so that there would be enough lockers for the students. My desks are rearranged into cooperative groups of 5...and there are 5 of those groups! Here are a few pics...

It actually doesn't look all that crowded now. :)

I've changed up how we take lunch count now. I did have a homemade pocket chart poster that was stapled on this wall but the problem was I only had 22 pockets for students. I have never taught over 20  so this year with 25, I had to make a change so I went with the buckets. The kids will come in first thing and take their popsicle stick person from the purple bucket (sticks not shown) and place it in the right bucket to make their lunch count choice. 

 Here is my computer and Reading Corner area. I was worried that with the extra kids I may have to lose this space but it worked out. I allow 4 kids at a time to cozy up in the reading corner with a good book. We have 6 computers in the classroom (3 PCs and 3 laptops) and 2 iPads. I'm considering storing the laptops in a more compact place and just have the kids take them to their desk to use since they ARE laptops and that would save me some more space. :)

 Just a pic of our front board with our Behavior clip chart, engagement meter and my 

"Smile Sparkers" above the board. Smile Sparkers are for when a student notices another student in the class did something kind and it makes them smile....they write on the frame with a dry erase marker and share with the class at the end of the day. I leave the Smile Sparkers up for a few weeks at a time once they are all filled out and then we wipe them off and start over. Example "Smile Sparker" would be "Jane made me smile because she helped me find the page number in our book." :) Anytime I can promote kindness and respect in the classroom, I do! It seems our world is in need of more of it!

 Here is my desk area. I swapped out my old fashioned teacher desk a few years ago and just doubled my guided reading table as my desk. It certainly saves some space and has worked well over the years. I just use the plastic drawer organizers to hold my supplies and "desk" things. This pic also partly shows my "Hanging with the Best" wall where I display student work. I use clothespins with the kids' names on it and attach their work to the vines on the wall. Which reminds me...I need to get those clothespins ready and on the vines!

 Here is my math area where I have a math cart filled with manipulatives and on top are some math books, games etc. The zebra and leopard bags are our math bags that the kids take to their desk with them to work since a lot of our math is hands on. I have cubes, number lines, clocks, and mini hundred chart in there now. We try to change them out over the year as we need different things. I only have 20 of them so we will have to have some kids share this year!

I also organize our earbuds in the white jewelry organizer shown next to the pocket chart. They store their earbuds in their numbered pocket when not in use and it helps a little in keeping them from being lost or broken. 

 Here is how I will be displaying No-Name work this year. In the past I didn't have a place, I would just call out student names and whoever I didn't call must be the no name papers. But I decided this would be a more time efficient way and less embarrassing way for the kids to get their papers. 

 Here is our turn in area. I have a tray for each subject area. I have highlighters for the kids to highlight their names, just to be sure they are on their paper. This is where we store our glue and glue sticks. I also have a bin for "lost and found" items found around the room. 

Ha! I'm laughing at my yellow sign hanging above my turn in trays...I put that up last year as just one more reminder to have that name on their papers! I forgot about it until I took this pic. Guess I'll leave it up for this class...see if it helps!

So that is a little tour into my world at school. It is still a work in progress and as I am writing this post I have a "oh man, I forgot about this" to-do list going. I don't think a teacher ever feels that their classroom is 100% ready but what I have learned over the past 9 years is that it all works out. The students still thrive and learn and have an awesome time. Looking forward to a fun and exciting year!