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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Classroom Pictures!

So I have been working in my classroom for three days now. I meant to diligently take pictures after each day so I could really see my progress and how much I've done. Of course, I forgot to every day. So no measuring my work and seeing how much I got done. However, today I was determined to remember aka I set an alarm on my phone to remind me. So here it is! My very first classroom!!

This is the view from the door. To the right is my carpet area, the left is my rainbow table and straight ahead are the kids' table spots!


Please ignore all the junk on my rainbow table, but here is my small group area where I'll do guided reading and math groups. And I really like my student work clothesline. At my school, we have four required bulletin boards, and guess how many are in my room? So I had to be creative about where to display kids' work, but I really like it. There is another one on the other side of the closet that says Work so together, the two say Student Work


Turning around 180 degrees, here is my carpet area. Despite the fact that I have a Smartboard, I decided to have a traditional carpet area since I have never worked with a Smartboard before. So until I get used to it, I don't really want to focus my lessons on it when I don't even know what I'm doing! But here is also my classroom library too! Sidenote, the big whiteboard on the wall just fell off today. It's good thing Evan was there to help me since I don't know what I would have done if it had fell and it was just me in the room. Or worse, if it was me and the kids...I'll have to get to maintenance to fix it tomorrow!


Close up of my library. I made the labels myself - nothing fancy - and I am sorting the books by genre so the kids can find them easily. I thought about making it an authentic library and doing authors' names, but that seems way too difficult, even for me, since I like things to be categorized in ways that make sense. For me, I almost always know what book I want based on the title or what the cover looks like or what the story is about, but never ever by the author. Therefore, I sorted by genre. 


This is my wishing tree. When parents come in for Meet the Teacher night, they can take a sticky from the tree. Each sticky lists an item that I'd love to have for the classroom. Most of them are snacks for the kids, but I also have pencils and ziplocs on there as well. Plus, when school starts, I can just change the words and keep the tree - I was thinking the classic Chicka Chika Boom Boom tree :)


Back of the room. My lovely yet empty word wall is just waiting to be filled and more kids' tables plus a heap of books that need to be organized, put away, and/or returned to the book room as I found out that I have about 50 books that should have been turned in at the end of the year but weren't! And as for my teeny, tiny windows, I found a Welcome Back window cling that I got at Target last year - before I knew my classroom would have practically no windows. However, it fit perfectly up there!



Lastly, my class rules. I thought about making them with the kids, but I also wanted to have rules all set and ready to go. I actually first saw rules like these on Sandra's blog, Sweet Times in First. I adapted them just a tiny bit to better fit what I expect my kiddos to do and how to act.

I still have some things to do of course so it's still a work in progress. But I still have Thursday and Friday to work in it! Tomorrow, we have actual training and then next week is when the hardcore stuff begins. Oh yeah, and the first day of school is next week too - is this real life??



6 comments:

  1. I so want to see your first classroom pics...but they are not showing up :(

    Apple Blossoms

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  2. Yikes, thanks for the heads up! They are all fixed now :)

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  3. Congratulations Liz! So exciting to have your own space and get your own ideas in motion! You've been working hard! Can't believe you are back already. We are cherishing our last precious weeks until our countdown begins. Best of luck to you!
    ~Christy & Tammy

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  4. Congrats on your classroom! I'm so jealous of your area rug :) I think I will also categorize my books into genres..They are visually appealing to me in genres too rather than author's name. Best of luck to you!

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  5. Yup...it's real life! crazy huh? Your room is coming along great! I am sure the kids are just going to love it!

    Tonya
    Tonya’s Treats for Teachers
    I’m having a 40% off sale at my TN store! Come check it out!!!

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