Teacher Week 13: Classroom Tour

Hey bloggers!

I'm joining in for Teacher Week Day 2: Classroom Tour (a few days late)!

Well, I still have a week until the kids show up...but my room is pretty much ready to go! I still have a few small things to do here and there but not bad at all!

First up, my word wall. I am {in love} with it!! I made the alphabet headers myself and the ribbon I got at hobby lobby for 50% off!

The words that start on the wall are the words the kids are supposed to know when they exit kindergarten.

These are on the same bulletin board as my word wall...more things that the kids can use to help them in their writing! The word family cards I found on pinterest as a free download...but now I can't find it! Did these come from you?? Let me know so I can link to them! The phonograms/digraph cards I made!

This is a picture where you can see them next to each other.

This is behind my guided reading/math/writing table. Most of the things in this area are for me...which is why they are covered with curtains! I also have extra student & teacher supplies in the colored boxes up top. The teacher toolbox you see in this picture holds craft supplies (google eyes, pom poms, popsicle sticks, etc).

This is also behind my teacher area. I got the dry erase/magnetic boards at Walmart! I love them. I think I'm going to put my workshop management chart on them...maybe. We will see. The rainbow cart on the left has reading supplies in it (dry erase pockets, letter & word flashcards, letter & word strips, foam puzzles, finger pointers, etc). The rainbow cart on the right has math supplies in it (flashcards, 120 charts, pattern charts, dice, dominoes, counters, ten frames, counting ropes, etc). The tubs on top of the carts are my tubs for guided reading. I keep the books, lessons, & student notebooks in the tubs. The drawers in the middle hold more supplies (plastic baggies, envelopes, crayons, markers, colored pencils, dry erase markers, calendar items, etc). On top of the fabric drawers I have paper holders for comprehension activities & magnetic letter holders.

This is above my library area! I got the Dr. Seuss cut outs from the Target Dollar Spot and the Cat in the Hat doll from Kohls. The letters for READ I bought at Michaels and covered with scrapbook paper, buttons, & string!

These are the bookshelves directly below the quote. I used the chevron shelf liner that I purchased on Amazon. I love it! :)

Here is the rest of my classroom library. The large dark blue tubs I ordered from Really Good Stuff. The small light & dark blue tubs I picked up at Deals. The small yellow tubs are from the Target Dollar Spot and the large yellow tubs are from Big Lots. The red & green tubs are from Walmart. They are tubs that I have been collecting over the last few years. The green, yellow, & red tubs are organized by level...I don't have specific levels on them though(I know what they are, but the kids don't). The large dark blue tubs are all non-fiction books organized by topic. The small blue tubs are fiction books organized by topic (Clifford, Arthur, Halloween, etc). The puzzle mat I ordered from Amazon and the hanging polka dot lanterns I bought at Party City! The crate seats I made last year are for the students to sit on during independent or buddy reading.

Here is a close up of a group of desks. There are four groups in my room and each has a color name (green team, blue team, red team, & yellow team). The 3 drawer cart next to the group is new this year (purchased the blue at Target, the rest at Walmart)...I want to try to house some of the materials in these for each team.

The top drawer is math supplies (cubes, place value cubes & sticks, counters, etc for each student are in this drawer). The middle drawer is writing supplies (the pens & writing folders for each student are in this drawer). The bottom drawer is for miscellaneous supplies (student markers, extra glue bottles, etc will be in this drawer). I'm hoping that this works out well! It will keep me from having to pass out math manipulatives when we need them and they will be accessible to the students at all times!

This is how I attach the name tags. There are 2 pieces of velcro for each name tag. That way when it is time to move desks the kids just take their things out, pull up their name tag, and move to their new spot! If you are doing this, just make sure the you put the velcro pieces in the same spot on each name time so that they line up correctly when the student moves to a new desk :)

This is my desk area! It is the last area in my room that I left to organize/clean up. The chevron shelf liner I purchased on Amazon. The corkboards I purchased at Walmart and fancied up with duct tape that I also purchased at Walmart. You can also see another Teacher Toolbox...this ones holds all kinds of supplies (stapes, paper clips, rings, brads, push pins, erasers, pencils, markers, post-its, etc!!). I love it! It makes it so easy to stay organized. On my desk, you may also see my pencil holder! It's another one of my favorite DIY projects and looks great on my desk. Another thing you'll see in this picture are my day of the week containers. I put all of the things I'll need for the week in these drawers (read aloud books, lessons, worksheets, etc). It's great for staying organized and equally great if you have a sub...everything is right where they need it!

I have my paint sample calendar (I keep student things on this calendar, not personal things) and my fabric board for posting the lunch menu & newsletters right as you walk in the door. The student mailboxes are directly under these (apparently I forgot to take a picture). They are the first thing you see when you walk in the door (& the last thing you see when you leave...so the kids can grab anything they forget on their way out!)

This area is new this year...it's our listening center! I have always had a listening station in my workshop, but the students just sat at a group of desks for it. I really like the idea of having a separate area in the room for it, away from the other students. I bought the tables at Walmart, the green stools at Ikea, and the soccer stools from Hobby Lobby! I love them.

This is our meeting area. The students have assigned seats at the rug.

This is our writing station for writer's workshop. All of the paper they need will be in the drawers and I keep writing charts that we create on the board behind it. More will be added as we make them together throughout the year!

And then we have the sink & cabinet area...nothing too exciting here (unless you don't have a sink in your room, then you might find this very exciting!!). The curtain is from Walmart. The crate that you see there holds all of my student portfolios.

The transportation clip chart is by the door, it will have clothespins on it once I know the names of my new little friends! The clips typically stay in the same place each day but if there is a change, I have the students move their clip where it needs to be for that day (if they are after school care that day instead of a bus rider or something).

I keep my management chart on the cabinet, which the kids are responsible for moving when needed. On top of the cabinets you see my center storage and my guided reading books in their leveled tubs. The polka dot posters that you see are ones that I have made {here}.

Inside the cabinet is my construction paper, holiday decorations, and other miscellaneous supplies.

This is our computer area. We use these during math workshop, writer's workshop (when publishing), and reader's workshop. I love having computers in my room!

This is our lost crayon area. The crayons you see in the containers to start the year are the ones that my kids last year donated for this next group of kids (so sweet!). If someone is missing a color (or if someone finds a crayon on the ground) this is where they go. I have the labels that I made posted for free {here}.

This is outside my door (in between the two 1st grade classrooms). The rainbow we made with our first graders last year & just couldn't take it down! The banner I made and can be found as a freebie on my facebook page! We are going to be adding 3 posters below the banner (2 first grade teachers & 1 student teacher). The posters will be All About Your Teacher posters so the kids can learn a little about us!

And finally, here is our hallway bulletin board display for first grade. We just got our class lists today so I will be writing the kids' names on smaller monkeys and adding them to the tree!

I hope you enjoyed my classroom!! :)

I also recently announced the winners of my teacher planner giveaway:
1. Jodi Golden
2. Cassie Thompson
3. Karen Moler
The email that was listed for Jodi doesn't seem to be working so if you know her (of if you are her!) please let her know to contact me! :)