Is It August (Almost September) Already?!?!?!

I am a terrible blogger.  I have completely neglected my blog ALL summer.  It was a busy one, though.  And it went by way too fast! 

 

Well, to get back into the swing of things, I figured I should share my new classroom color scheme and table arrangements.  Last year I wrote a post about my messy and non-color-coordinated classroom. You can see the plans and before pics here.

And BEHOLD, the after! 

 New tables (-ish, these were found lurking in an unused classroom), decor, even new curtains! 

 

I have a TINY class this year (only 13 students!!  I know, right?) so changing over to tables will probably be an easier adjustment.  I hope.  I have four tables and each table holds up to 7 students but I pray I will never have a class of 28!  Right now I have two groups of 4 and one group of 5.  But I can tell you, after less than 2 weeks in session and that table of 5 is becoming a chatter box!

 

 

Here is a close-up of the book shelf I have set at each table.  It is the perfect size to hold all of their supplies but not so much in the perfect color.  I am regretting ordering the white.  It is already showing an incredible amout of dirt and grime.  I hope to keep it at bay with Clorox wipes and diligent handwashing.  We'll see.  I'll probably just end up painting them black for next year.  Each shelf has several bins to keep all of their smaller supplies.  I either got the boxes from Dollar Tree or from walmart.com.

 

 

I even gave each table their very own pencil sharpener.  This has completely changed our pencil-sharpening routine.  Even though my class is small, the line for the sharpener is NON-EXISTENT!  But the kids always have a sharpened pencil, ready to go.  It takes no time at all to get this little chore done each morning.  Of course, the sharpeners came from Classroom Friendly Supplies.  I even got my principal to order the 36 pack for our WHOLE school.  Everyone loves these. 

 

I also built (well, actually, my father and husband did) this really cool sofa table to hold all of my "stuff" up by my desk.  I got the plans here.

 

It's virtually empty now, but I sure I find something to fill it up with!

 

Here are a few of my new bulletin boards, too.  I plan to keep the black paper and crumple border all year but change out the sayings at least once a quarter. 

 

This board shows the writing we did on the first day of school.  I gave each student a small can of playdough and told them to sculpt something from their summer.  It could have been a trip they took, a ride they went on at the fair, something they saw, etc.  After they finished their sculpture, they wrote about it.  Most of the class was able to fill the entire sheet of paper!  That's pretty impressive for the first day!

 

This board is another steal from pinterest.  To engage those Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), students are given an answer and they need to think of a question that would result in that answer.  For the most part, the class stuck with addition and subtraction sentences, but I tried to get them thinking about other subjects: "How many planets are there?" or "How many boys are in our class?"

I plan to change the answer each week and give the class time to come up with their own questions.

 

And finally, here are some anchor charts the class and I made the first few days of school to remind them about what each of us needs to do to have a good year and what reading LOOKS like.  Of course, I totally stole these ideas from pinterest.

 

 

So that's all for now!  Hopefully, I can get back into a posting routine!

 

~Stacy

 

 

Re-Work It and Oh, Boy! New Stuff!

 

I'm linking up with Mel at the Frogspot again for her Re-Work It Wednesday linky.  Last week I shared my "Thanksgiving on Thursday" unit.  You can read that post here.  I finally got the updated version posted at my TpT store so be sure to head over there to check it out!

 

Instead of one of my products, I have decided to re-work my classroom.  I've been teaching in this room for 7 years and I am growing a bit tired of the view.  I'm a BIG follower of Pinterest and I've seen some UBER-CUTE classrooms that are color-coordinated.  So I'm taking the plunge. 

 

 

I'm starting with the color scheme.  I recently came across this color combination and fell in love with it: Red and Turquoise!

I found some great decor at Oriental Trading.  Here I have some red chevron chinese lanterns, turquoise polka dot fans, red striped and polka dot pennant banners, turquoise striped and polka dot pennant banners, and red tissue balls.

I also plan to make some curtains that will compliment this new scheme.

 

 

Now here is the biggie!  I'm changing over to tables instead of indvidual desks!

I found these 30"x60" work tables at School Outfitters for an incredible price.  A single student desk is half the price of these tables and these will seat up to 6!

 

Now, I teach 2nd grade, so there are a lot of supplies that come along with the students.  In addition to text books, we also have art boxes, rulers, pencils, glue, scissors, folders, notebooks . . . You know what I'm saying.  I spotted a  great solution on Pinterest: 

Each table would get its own bookshelf.  These I found at Walmart.com and they come in 4 different colors.  I'm thinking about getting them in white to go along with my color scheme better but I think black will hide the dirt better.  What do you think?

 

These shelves will hold all of the books and bins of the students sitting at that table.  Every day, there will be a "Table Manager" who will be in charge of handing out books or other supplies.  I'm even considering giving each bookshelf its own pencil sharpener.  These from Classroom Friendly Supplies would work perfectly!

 

  I still plan on keeping my rainbow-colored supply bins for the tops of the tables.  These have been such a time-saver.  Students don't need to dig through their desks to get an important supply and everything is communal.

 

 

So that's it!  I'll be posting photos of the new set-up once I get it done!  Perhaps I'll even get the walls painted . . . . Hhmmmmmmmmmm?!?!?!

 

  

 

And of course I made a few purchases from TpT's Teacher Appreciation Sale.  I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin to share what I bought!

 

First, I bought Leanne Prince's My Plant Observation Journal {and other activties}.  This will go perfect with my gardening unit.  I just wish I had found it sooner! I could have used it this year! 

 

 

Next, I bought The Teacher's Cauldron's Second Grade Common Core Bundle. This bundle includes a Common Core gradebook and statements.  This is an amazing set and I hope it will streamline my lesson planning!

  

  

 

Third, I visited Charity Preston's store and picked up her Pacing Guides.   The Common Core can be daunting, at times.  I hope this ELA pacing guide will keep me on track next year! 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I just COULDN'T leave without getting something from Melonheadz!  I've had my eye on these for awhile and the prices were just too good to resist!

 

Link back up with Frog Spot and Blog Hoppin to share your great ideas!

 

~Stacy

 

My Classroon & a FREEBIE!

I thought I'd start out by showing you some things I use in my classroom.  Some of these ideas I totally swiped from Pinterest and others I came up with on my own.  The building I work in is getting up there in years and is nowhere near as color coordinated as most of the uber-cute classroom pics I've seen on other teaching blogs.  BUT, I have a certain pride in it simply because this is one of the classrooms that I spend my own youth in.  Yes, that's right, I teach in the very district that I myself attended for elementary, junior and high school!  It sure is a trip to teach the children of former classmates!  So anyway, the color scheme isn't as put-together as I would like but I guess that's not such a big deal. 

I have 21 students this year, which is a pretty large group for our school.  The kiddos you see in the back are my own rugrats Cameron and Benny.

Each desk has a caddy with all of their important supplies.  I grew tired of waiting for the class to dig a pencil out of their desks so I implemented this system.  It also helps to remind them to sharpen pencils at the beginning of the day.  Graphics and font are from DJ Inkers.

 

So this is one of my Pinterest steals ideas.

 

This is my library.  I have painstakingly organized, sorted, and labeled each book in alignment with Accelerated Reader.  This way the students are guided to choose books that within their zone of proximal development.  I have been using this system for about 5 years and it has made a huge difference in the growth of their reading abilities. 

 

 

Here is the chart I created to help the kids remember what color they are allowed to get.  I change it out each quarter or whenever I move a student up.

 

As I said, I have a rather large class this year and the congestion in the library during SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) was so bad that they were spending more time LOOKING for a book and less time actually READING said book.  So I designed this.  Each table gets a bin to match their table color.  The books inside the bin are specifically chosen to match the AR level of each student in that group.  The students just grab their bin and set it on their table when it's time for SSR.  Now the kids are spending MOST of the time reading!  

I made this to keep track of what books should be in each bin.  This is the Orange table's bin.  They have students reading in the yellow, green, blue and purple AR levels. 

These graphics are also courtesy of DJ Inkers.  Love that lady!

 

That's all about my classroom for now.  But in celebration of starting my new blog, I wanted to share a freebie!  Over at my TpT Store I offer Cootie Catchers.  Here is a fun catcher to use throughout the year.  Whether you have "Star Student" or just want to do something special for a student's birthday, these catchers are perfect.  Just have your special student fill in the answers to the questions before running off a class set.  Directions on how to fold the catcher are included with the download. 

Click here to get it!

 

 Enjoy and be sure to follow me to see the great things going on!

 

~ Stacy