Valentines Day Love

I know... you are probably thinking this is going to be some sappy love story about my husband or kids or my students BUT its not.

You are probably wondering where I have been hiding at.... and I haven't really been hiding just working over at Technology Adventures as tomorrow is the big day.

Buuuutttt.......

I had to interrupt my work over there to share some very important news with you. 

Sigh............

Did you see this?? I have been drooling over it all morning. It is the NEW CHALKBOARD CHARM classroom from SchoolGirl Style. I am totally over-the-moon in love. Its PERFECT! Its just what I wanted. Add in a few squiggles here, and a few polka dots there, and maybe some damask just because and perfect. 

This is on my must buy list for March!! Anyone want to guess what my classroom is going to be decorated as? I have been staring at this for hours. Shhhh! No tell my bff that while she has been stressing about coding issues I have been drooling. 

Melanie... you have completely stolen my heart!

More Classroom Photos & a Giveaway

So at last... here is what my classroom looks like, full view instead of the closeups of certain boards I posted earlier.

This is the view from the front of the classroom. 

Ignore the water stain on the floor from a spilled water bottle! See the green and yellow striped board... that is the CAFE board. Everything to the left of that is reading/phonics related. And those small black book cases and the one with the globe on top is our classroom library. Everything to the right is the calendar wall. 

Whiteboard Wall

Under the TV (which is not connected) is the teachers desk area. The science board and then the white board. The white board is covered in charts of site words, grammar anchor charts, and vocabulary. Remember - there are two grade levels in this room so you are seeing double for a reason. By the clock is the ASL alphabet. We use ASL for hand gestures and to support language acquisition. There is no teachers desk just the table with the computer on it and the small group table. 

Front of the room

The door is open to the hallway. Here you see where our projector is. This is the main white board we use. Above the teachers desk is the written in schedule. The green line on the board is UoO duct tape! and above the board it says "Win The Day!" and has a number line. Blue desk tags are first grade, orange is second grade. If you look closely you will see the first graders sit in closest to the projector board. 

Back of the Room

This is our storage area. The students mailboxes and book boxes are back there. A sink with a facet and below that cubbies for backpacks. I will explain more about how we group students another day.

The front and back walls are painted yellow and the two side walls are dark green. The bulletin boards are all painted dark green as well. This is room is known as "Oregon Ducks Territory" directly across the hall is the "Packers Room." We can no longer be friends as of next week as I am a bears fan!

 So sad... no football today! =(

Since there is no football game... I am doing a giveaway!! I have had this one in my back pocket for awhile now and am bringing it out. Remember these??

How would you like to win your very own?!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much to LilCookies for sharing her talents with us! 

Winner will be drawn on Sunday, September 9!

Classroom Photos & Schedule

I haven't told ya all about what I am up to now that I have left Kindergarten. For the next 16 weeks, I am completing practicum in an ELD (English Language Development) 1/2 combo classroom.

This is the writing process, the CAFE board, and the I PICK bulletin board by the library. These items are located in 3 different areas of the classroom. Notice the colors - yellow and green. The entire classroom is done this way. She even painted (yep found out we CAN paint!) 2 walls yellow and 2 walls are green. Anyone wanna guess what school she went to?

Give me 5 and the Scientific process. These are on the same bulletin board. I am thinking of recreating these for my own room so I have close ups of what they say. =) School: University of Oregon. She even found UoO duct tape! I gotta show you that.

This is two walls combined. I was trying to get the strategies for writing and the journal rules. see the wall colors? Oh and there is here clip chart. Sports style. The motto of the classroom is Win the day! also the motto of UoO.

See the fan -- It is DESPERATELY needed in the classroom.  Our AC is set at 86 degrees; its 115 outside. The classroom is always warm. It is directed to blow on the students as they work in front of the board. We have a project that uses this board and on Friday everyone got a document camera. HAPPY DANCE!

Can I have a smart board too???

I took a bunch of pictures of the things pertaining to my current course: reading and assessment. I need to take pictures of the classroom as a whole. I will try and remember to do that on Monday. My mentor is amazing!! She just mailed off her National Board Certification Package. She missed it by 2 points last time but she will nail it this time.

I have learned soooo much from her! She describes her classroom style as a game of double dutch. Daily 5 and stamina building is the key to success.

As there are 2 grades they are learning 2 separate things. 4 hours a day is English and 2 hours is math. We are not required to teach anything other than those two items.  While one grade is working independently the other is working at the carpet near some board getting instruction from the teacher. They switch off constantly throughout the day.

Our schedule looks like this:

7:55-8:15 morning routine

8:15-9:15 DOL & Grammar

9:15-10:15 Writing

10:15-11:15 Reading

11:15-11:55 Lunch

11:55-12:00 Read Aloud

12:00 - 1:00 Oral English

1:00-1:20 Calendar

1:20-2:10 Math

2:10-2:25 Number Talks

2:30-3:00 Specials

Everything has to be in blocks due to the type of students in the class. Number Talks is A~MAZ~ING! But I will share that with you in another post.

More Classroom Love!

Yesterday I went and helped a friend of mine set up her classroom (beach theme!) and I forgot to take pictures.=( I know... I know shame on me!

Now we will have to wait for Bethany to post them for me. It is her room after all. =) However, I have pictures of my son's third grade classroom to redeem myself!

Bethany and I have a running joke about how picky I am. I even suggested we iron the bulletin boards yesterday and was told ummm... no. We're not gonna even if it does have fabric fold lines. I love Bethany and her carefree attitude! I wish I could be like that but it will never happen.

She's right - I would be in the middle of a lesson and say "stop, stop, stop! I can't take it anymore!!" and then run over to iron the bulletin boards to get rid of the wrinkles or move something just a hair so it would be perfect.

Oh Beth--an--y!!

I found my twin!

Let me introduce you to my baby's teacher Beth!

SHE ironed her bulletin boards!

SEE??? 

I am not so crazy afterall!

Or maybe I am and just not willing to admit it. 

Anyone else out there who irons the fabric for the bulletin boards?

Anyone? 

Someone?

Please??

 

I will just assume one of you confessed! =)

So pictures anyone? 

 In our school districts bulletin boards are arranged from the floor almost to the ceiling all along one wall. Teachers are expected to utilize this entire space. There are 5 different "panels" of bulletin board space that are connected.

I love how she used the fabric (and ironed it) to create the various boards. The ends are the same the centers are different. The borders are alternate from one board to the next.

Look up on top... see the alphabet? She used border to cover the original design to create a coordinating piece!

The other neat thing was how she used the designer cut outs for creating steps and posting strategies. Name tags are used for the word wall.

Every classroom has a shelf of built in cabinets and cubbies. This is the only place to store student belongings, there is no place to store backpacks. This drives me crazy. I wonder what she is gonna do with backpacks? I may have to email and ask.

Why does only one cubby have stuff in it? That is my son's cubby. I brought all of his supplies on met the teacher night. None of the teachers were prepared for that. Oopsie! But they let me put it in their desk or cubby for Monday. 

Instead of keeping books in the desk they are all kept on the back shelf in easy reach of the student. Between each one is a book and stuffed animals. These are part of the collections that you can purchase at Kohl's each quarter. She buys the complete set and then uses them to feature an author in her classroom. You can see a few others if you look closely at the upper shelves.

My third grader LOVED this. He wanted to stay just because of the books and cuddly friends. Note: his teacher used to be the school librarian so she has tons and tons of books. Another reason my son already adores her.

Oh! And she gave him a cookie last night and asked him about multiplication at meet the teacher night. He also got his first homework assignment and has been diligently working away. He loves that he got homework but he is disappointed that it is not math. Its an all about me poster.

Poor kid -- still math deprived. 

On the bright side, his brothers are JEALOUS about his homework. Yes, my two who HATE homework want to know why their teacher's didn't have cookies and homework. My oldest doesn't have meet the teacher night until Tuesday so there is one mystery solved but alas he is still jealous.

Great idea! She divided  a long bulletin board into two sections. The orange looking thing is a clear page protector.. All of the boards have them on there to hold objectives throughout the year.

The classroom economy. She took a piece of small poster board and again with the border created her own poster. She used the small bulletin board letters to match the set for the title and printed her own classroom money.

This is the schools mandated behavior management system. She used the designer cut outs to create the information to go with it. She simply used construction paper to coordinate the levels to the cards in the pockets.

Here it is again -- more creative ways to use the name tags, designer cut outs and posters. She bought the helpers, calendar, and welcome kit that also match the set but what to do if you can't find a poster set you love? 

Why create your own!! Her she took a number chart that had the right center colors but the wrong outside. She trimmed off the edges and glued it onto one of the mini charts. Wala! It instantly seamlessly flows into the design.

So you know I had to ask.... what did this cost and about how much time did it take? 4 nights of intense labor and about $400 at the teacher's store. I am thinking that she didn't do so badly at all.

Classroom Makeover & an Unbirthday Celebration

I got a call yesterday from one of my mentors asking me how my summer went and inviting me in to see her classroom makeover. I couldn't resist. She is such an amazing teacher and each time we talk I learn so much from her. She has also become such a great friend!

Plus... she decorated in RED, BLACK, & WHITE!! Dr. Seuss theme... ahhhh! How could I not love it!

Wanna see pictures? 

 

So what did I learn from my trip in?

1 ~ Using the same type of bulletin border throughout the room provides uniformity and makes it less busy. I am not going to head out and purchase about 5 sets of my favorite border. I am not. I can resist the urge to shop. I can behave... I can. I can. I can!

2 ~ Using a slightly different border makes a great accent/focus piece.

3 ~ Changing the fabric on the bulletin boards is enough to distinguish them as different.

4 ~ Think outside the box when it comes to what you use on your bulletin boards. You can use the old stand-bye of butcher paper or try fabric, plastic or paper table clothes, wrapping paper, a tarp... the options are limited only by the size of your board!

5 ~ Its true.... glitter does make everything better!

6 ~ Every teacher needs at least 1 glue gun and a good one at that as well as lots of glue sticks. Oh and tape and modge podge!

7 ~ Pinterest is EVERYWHERE!!

8 ~ Sometimes something is merely for decoration and has no purpose. =)

9 ~ Shop the sales and ask your teacher friends to warn you about the sales as they come up.

10 ~ Consult with others for ideas on how to do something better. There are always ways one can improve!

I am heading into a friend's classroom on Thursday so will probably be posting more pictures on Friday! She is putting me to work. I asked to learn and so I shall have my first lessons on how to put together a class.

Monday is a big day. I am sooooo nervous. 

It is my first day back at a new school not "my" school. I will be finding out if I am in 3rd or 4th grade this year. I will help set up, attend meet the teacher night, and be in this classroom off and on all year long. I will complete my practicum and student teaching here.

I also find out about those test results FINALLY!

And the little two start school... my oldest still has 2 more days of summer while we are away at school. He has BIG plans. He is gonna sleep in, play video games all day without the advice of his little brothers, and eat junk food as his mama isn't there to tell him no.

Speaking of little ones - my baby just had his 8th birthday. He wanted no decorations, birthday songs, balloons, cake, or even presents. He wanted cash, to go swimming at Grandpa's, and a key lime pie.

WHAT??? 

He is 8 not 13! 

So wrong I tell ya.

I am not ready yet! 

I want presents and decorations!

I wanna sing the birthday song!

He told me I can have it for my birthday.

So we had an unbirthday birthday celebration.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

But I did break the rules just a weee bit!

I found a great idea on Pinterest and copied it... 

I didn't go all the way to the floor for fear of Piggy eating it. No worries she jumped up on her hind legs and did it anyways! The night before they were talking about how they wish they could tear into something so I figured they would have a blast with this. There is a sign facing in that reads "happy birthday."

Wrong!

The two little ones share a room.... they thought it was a decoration and so crawled under to leave their room. Hubby had to tell them to go tear it so as not to disappoint me. 

They took a trashbag!

To clean up the mess

Cuz 

this Mama doesn't do messes!

I came out about then and hubby was trying so hard not to laugh but I laughed hysterically! I had to explain to them how to do it. Now that the procedures have been laid out and the mess approved by Mama .... they want me to do it again!

I'll think about it....

Classroom Photos

Another class completed and one more class closer to graduation! I am also half-way done with my SEI endorsement as required in Arizona to be a "Highly Qualified Teacher."

This class was a difficult one, not because of content but because of the instructor. This is the second time I have had an issue with an instructor and am sooooo not happy with the way that the university handles these issues.

The issues are not me-related but instructor related. For example, this class the teacher's only living parent was diagnosed with a terminal illness. He has a few months to live. So she was gone as expected so several of asked for another instructor. This seems reasonable, right? Its not her fault but ummm... we need someone to grade papers and answer questions.

And that's where the problem began. So I am anxiously awaiting my grade as my teacher hates me. Yes... seriously. She has not spoken to me since my request. She gave me a D on an assignment for being 3 words shy of the minimum word count. She graded me down on a lesson plan for not starting every sentence with "the student will..." Sigh...

So enough whining and complaining... time to move onto the good stuff. Check out these photos from classrooms I visited during my practicum.

This I have seen in SOOO many classrooms lately. It is the floor-ceiling-bulletin boards. When I first saw them I really loved them and now... I am not so sure. Every inch of the room is covered!

This is another popular type of board where each student has there own place for their work. She laminated construction paper and uses paperclips to hold on the student work. In another room, the die cuts were glued onto clothes pins for a similar effect.

 I like how the papers here were crinkled up to make them appear older.

This is another floor to ceiling bulletin board. Each one is set up as a demo board. She has chart paper tablets hung on the boards so she can write on the board. The clip boards to the side usually hold sentence stems for ESS/ESL students.

Check out the robot! It is the colors, shapes, alphabet, number line, days of the week, and months of the year all in one little area. This is right next to the calendar in a first grade classroom.

This is a poem outside the classroom about the Bad Words "I can't." Students see it and are reminded that this is not allowed in the classroom each day as they enter it.

This is the teacher section of the classroom. In the center is a bulletin board just for the teacher! It has all of her reminders, her schedule, her degrees on it. next to it (on the left in this picture) is a pocket chart with yellow folders. This sorts things for her use. The white board on the same side have the objectives for the day, the vocab, the groups, etc... In front of the desk is the printer and turn it in section. The other side is the flag, calendar, and materials for the week. The white board is showing today's schedule.

One thing I noticed - these are ELL classrooms and nothing is labeled. This was the #1 recommendation to help these students learn vocabulary. Labels created with words and pictures. I wonder why what we are taught often does not make it into the classroom.