Apparently, twelve hours of sleep on Friday was not enough. I got about ten hours last night and could not get up the energy to get ready for church.
So we watched online. Which is not the same, but it worked for me today, let me tell you.
My entire plan for the day is to work a little on my September version of the Just Fold! Mini Books and then rest. Because I’ve got another full week in front of me with brand new first graders and I plan on CONQUERING IT, thankyouverymuch.
I am Teacher. Hear me Use My Teacher Voice.
I have to break up my Classroom Reveal into a couple of posts because I went a little crazy and took pictures of every itty bitty thing. And now I have too many pictures.
And, yes, I do see the weirdness of breaking up pictures into two or three posts, but not breaking up sixteen thousand words into separate posts. I know. It is weird. I get it. But I can’t help it.
So here is Part One:
view from the door
I LOVE MY WINDOWS. I did not sew those curtains. They are white fabric from Joanne’s. I cut it. Then I stapled it above the windows. The End.
The name tag holders got a ton of buzz on my Facebook page yesterday. I have actually blogged about these puppies before. They are that awesome. I highly recommend them. They are from Really Good Stuff and they are called Desktop Park and Props.
However, let me be clear, they are not cheap.
I paid for them out of my own pocket, much like everything else in my classroom, besides the desks and chairs. And the walls. BUT. The name tag holders are five or six years old now and they look, feel, act, etc. like they are BRAND SPANKING NEW.
I use velcro to adhere them to the desks. Then, if we are having a class party and need to put butcher paper or table cloths over the table groups, we just take our Desktop Park and Props off and store them in our desks. I have not bought any new velcro, either, in all these years.
I do caution you, though. You are going to get a kid that thinks his/her Desktop Prop and Park is a pencil box. And he or she will try to put as much stuff in there as humanly possibly, such as fourteen pencils, six erasers, a whiteboard marker, twenty-two crayons, half a sandwich, and some Doritos.
I am very clear on what is allowed.
A PENCIL. AND THAT IS ALL.
We use it when we are gluing or have important pieces that we cut out. We store the caps to our glue sticks in our holders, and little pieces that we don’t want to lose while working on a project in our holders.
But that is all.
Otherwise, those Doritos are fair game.
Now you can see my door. And my desk. Which does not have a fun little computer or laptop like I’ve seen in so many other classrooms. But I have a phone. See? It’s on the wall. I call that technology. I made my Teacher Name Flags myself. The flags are a freebie in the blog post found {HERE}. I promise my name is not on it. 🙂
My door poster in action. And I made those rules on the right, but they were inspired by someone else that I can’t remember, nor can I find it on my Pinterest boards so now I am afraid someone is going to come after me and yell at me. Please don’t. I will give credit where credit is due if someone can help me. I used my own frames, my own clipart, my own fonts, etc. And FYI: I just hung that ribbon on the wall and then stapled the rules on top. I tend to cut corners. I’m a Corner Cutter.
Oh. And isn’t my Fire Extinguisher awesome?
This is my new Math board that my friend Heather did. So I copied her. Heather also made a Boggle board. So I copied her. I am a Corner Cutter and a Copier. Boggle found {HERE}. It’s FREE from The Teacher Wears Prada. Math Word Wall found {HERE} from Teaching and Tapas. The whole idea of both of these boards is to keep us busy in line. I laugh at this. Ha ha ha. Because right now, we are barely IN our lines. And we talk. A LOT. But we are working on it.
I love this idea and I know I’m late to the party. Heather also came up with the idea of hanging a basket right by the board with the extra letters in it. BRILLIANT. Now I don’t have to store the letters. And I (Heather again) hot glue-gunned mini clothespins to the board so it will be a piece of cake to switch out the letters.
This is our class library. It is just on the other side of my desk. I’m never in my desk so I have a clear view of the kiddos in here from wherever I am in the classroom. I have a rotation because there are too many kids. Table One can visit the library any time they have extra time on Mondays, Table Two has their turn on Tuesday, etc. It works really well.
The flowers on the window are from a DJ Inkers Bulletin Board pack. I got mine at our local teacher supply store eons ago, but you can find them {HERE}.
I love the library. I got the chairs from Ikea. They are new this year. They make me HAPPY. All the little frames are the $1 frames from Michael’s. I painted them myself last year and used clipart and fonts for the pictures. The little lamp is not turned on because I need an extension cord to reach the plug and I do not have an extension cord so there you go. It is purely for looks.
The posters hanging on the back of my rolling cart are from Lyndsey’s Daily Five pack. They are FREE!
I made the flags for the library myself. The flags are a freebie in the blog post found {HERE}.
That’s one side of my classroom. I’ll show you another side tomorrow or the next day.
But I’d also like to show you how the room looks with real, live, actual human beings in it.
I wish I could play some Haunted House or Horror Movie Music as you scroll through the next few pics. It would be the soundtrack I would pick for what you’re about to see.
Prepare yourself.
DUN DUN DUN!!!!
AAAAAHHHHH!!!!
TRASH!!!!
AAAAAHHH!!!
BACKPACKS!
SWEATERS!
FEET!
AAAAAAHHHH!
IT’S SO CROWDED!
LOOK AT THE PENCIL!
THE LUNCH BOXES!
THE BACKPACKS!
THE KID SITTING ON HIS KNEES WITH HIS
CHAIR TURNED SIDEWAYS!!!
AAAAAAAHHHHH!
MORE TRASH!
IT’S EVERYWHERE!
🙂
Adorable room. I love your colors. Pure cuteness!
I like the pictures of the mess.
Oh! I like the pictures of your room too. 🙂 Love the colors!
I'm totally a corner cutter, too. I'm all about the "staple the ribbon on the wall and then staple the rules on top." And stapling the curtains!! Totally my style! 🙂 No one has to know!! And it's still adorable!!
I am so jealous of your windows and all the light that comes into your room! And I'm jealous of all of your bright ideas (and Heather's too). You room is lovely! Can I come be your student?? 🙂
Looking good, but my favorite it the "real" pictures. It's so mice to see that I am not the only one who has organized chaos in my class.
Renee
Fantastic First Grade Froggies
I love it!!!! And hey we need to cut corners or I would have been at school until 5 today. I know, call me crazy, but really this job is 24/7 once school starts. Then summer is 0/7. Thanks for the pictures and the ideas. It makes it easier to visual (verbally). I just told the hubby, we NEED to go to IKEA next weekend (and he is like "for what now?". And I love that you showed reality (kids making a mess)! Ahhh, tomorrow is our first day, so now I am ready!!!!
ahhh!! that's going to be me on the first day…screaming in silence! haha!
I really want to get those desk parking thingies… i just need to somoene to hold my hand to buy them though! ahh!!
lol
♥ Jen
Teacher by the Beach
A Splash of Life Blog
I Love a room that looks like kids live in it! 😉
Very cute room! I love your sense of humor!
Very cute room! I appreciate the kids in action – the way it really is! My class looks like that too, particularly at the beginning.
Looks great, Teeny! And I love the mess 🙂
Beautiful room, as always!!! I love the colors!! You cracked me up (and brought me back to reality) with your last pictures…we all know what goes on in our beautifully-decorated rooms 😉
I love you and your corner cutting!!!
❤Teri
A Cupcake for the Teacher
A teacher at my school had the brilliant idea to make her own park and props and it worked so well we all copied her. All you need is someone handy with a couple power tools, a little wood, and a little bit more time ;). Really not hard at all and waaaay cheaper than the real ones. By far, one of my best teacher items ever. The ONE pencil only rule solved all out pencil issues instantly!
Gorgeous classroom!! I love the colors!!
✿Sue✿
✿Science for Kids Blog✿
Haha! I love the pics you posted at the end. We spend so much time making our classrooms look great and those kiddos just mess it up! Your classroom looks amazing. Great job!
I just started following your blog and have to say that it is my new favorite! I absolutely love your sense of humor when dealing with the little people of your world. I can relate as a kindergarten teacher! I love your Ikea student chairs! Would you mind sharing how much they were? I am interested in getting some as well. Thanks!