Classroom

A little late but here's the final product of the classroom:

I have my guided reading table nestled in the corner. In the picture, I have "stations" for my parents to rotate to as they come into my classroom for meet the teacher night.

Here is my college corner. We are a NEU (no excuses school). My school, Sam Houston State University was taken so I am representing my sister's school. Go COMETS!

I have my bookshelf with my personal books that I use with my kids for read-alouds located next to their cubbies. I found the baskets at Dollar Tree.

The front of my classroom. I have an interactive word wall which i printed and stuck magnets to the words. The students are allowed to take the words to their desk during word work. 

The back of my classroom has bulletin boards that I made from cloth and border. I am not a real big fan of that brownish color paint.

I love, love my window. The other classes do not have a window that has natural light from outside so I am very thankful for it. 

I will have more pictures posted with more details as the year progresses. I have to make time to get on here at least once a week. It is definitely a goal I have to make. Hope everyone is having a great start to the school year!

Crunch Time

I can't believe how time flies when you get busy! Let's recap.

A few weeks ago I went to a training on balanced literacy that had Susie Page as the presenter. She was very informal and made me feel good about what I have been doing in my classroom in regards to guided reading. I am definitely on the right track!

At the end of that week, I was in Lubbock for Whole Brain Teaching with Farrah Shipley. One word describes it all - AMAZING! She welcomed us with open arms and kept the crowd wanting more. I had previously started WBT last year in my classroom after seeing a video of WBT in action on youtube via pinterst. The rules worked somewhat last year. I really appreciate the opportunity to have seen Farrah live in person. She made me feel confident about using it in my classroom this year. I even bought a few things from her TPT site to help me with my class.

I moved my stuff back to my classroom last week and have been trying to put my class together. Needless to say, I am still not finished. It's okay though. I'll get it done before my firsties come :) I also met with my mentee today and tomorrow is our first official day back on the clock! It's going to be a great year. I can feel it!

Learning

It's about time I start a blog about my teaching to reflect and remember all that I do throughout my years of teaching. It's probably quicker than writing in an actual journal - not to mention the fact that I can add pictures and easily tab things. Just thinking about it makes me dance inside :) I am learning slowly but surely how to create a blog. I finally figured how to create a background so that's a step for sure!

I just received great news this morning! I was asked to be a mentor for new teachers. I have a training tomorrow so I am very stoked to have this opportunity. I think it will be a great learning experience for me and not just the new teacher - maybe I can learn a few things from her/him.

On another note, I started my school supply shopping late last week and still going at it. It never gets easier and finding bargains... you really have to run for those deals!