Wednesday, September 25, 2013

My home away from home...

I'm a bit of a geek when
it comes to classroom arrangement.
Like I actually enjoy drawing
out a new classroom arrangement
in the summer.
(Hey, I already said I'm a geek!)
But after 20 years of 
working with short people,
I do believe this is my favorite
arrangement yet.


Come on in and
make yourself at home.

I like how your striped table cloth
matches your number line.
(Hilarious!  I've never noticed that.)




I've wanted one of these carpets for years!
They're awesome because each student has their own square.

What a fun row of seats!

My Classroom Library


I absolutely LOVE garage sales.
I would prefer $100 at a 
town-wide garage sale than
$1000 at the mall.
Not. even. joking.

Check out this comfy couch.



And these colorful chairs.


Love the chairs!
(I know right?!)
Both are garage sale finds.
The comfy couch was 
from a dorm room.
The chairs were from 
a doctor's office.  
Add a few cans of 
spray paint and voila!

Ironically, the bookshelf is also
from a garage sale.  It actually
bends in the middle so I've used it
as an "L shaped" shelf over the years.

My library is organized and
user friendly thanks to this
super cute library label set.
The baskets are labeled.
The books have 
corresponding labels.

Easy peasy!
Want them?  $4.50 and
they can be your's too.
Click here for the link
to the TPT seller
that I purchased them from.

Reading Buddies 



Each of my students has
a small "reading buddy"....
a.k.a. a Beanie Baby sized animal.
They also have a stick
with their name on it.
Why?  Good question.
When they remove a book
from one of the labeled baskets,
they place their stick there.
Once they're done, they have
a visual reminder of where the
book belongs.  

Chalkboard?



Yep.  That's a good 'ole chalkboard.
However, it's so covered up the kids
have no clue that it's actually there.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Smartboard!
How did people ever teach
without Pinterest?
Like seriously?!
When the Internet's down,
it. is. not. pretty.
Just saying....
(Uhmmmm....
can you say 
"JEALOUS"????
My school doesn't have 
Smartboards
OR the I-pads 
that I see on Pinterest
sitting nicely in other 
K teachers' classrooms,
AND Pinterest is currently
off limits on our school websites.
Don't the Powers That Be Understand
The Impact of Pinterest On Education?????
Have they seen my Pin Pages?????
1000s of Pins that will blow your mind!
At least they blew MY mind.
If they don't impress you...
keep your comments to yourself.
I think that's all I have  
to say about that!)
I am sincerely sorry.
Your students are missing out! 

Reading Lamp



This isn't that big of a deal...
...at first glance.
But this is a big, fat, hairy deal
in my classroom.

Whenever I read them a story,
we shut off the lights and turn
on the reading lamp.  Spray painting
the shade yellow makes the 'glow'
that much more comfy.
The kids say "oooooh" 
whenever the light goes on.
Corny, but that's how I roll.

Listening Center


I was fortunate enough to receive
a technology grant to purchase
more CD/cassette players
and headphone stations.
Remember all those books on
tape you bought a
l...o...n...g time ago?
Yep, I have them too.
Now I can use more of them
with the extra tape players.
'Course it does take awhile
to explain to the kids what 
a cassette tape is....and
that you have to actually rewind it!
(My listening station is a cd/tape player
with no headphones attached.  The
 cords on the headphones
are the bane of my existence,
so they have been exiled from my room.) 

Side Note (If you're under 30 DO NOT READ!!!  
Angela, Girrrrrrrrrrl we are getting old!
Let me tell you....younger teachers out there are going:
"Tape players,are you kidding me???" 
It's like when we first started and we saw the 
big huge record players that the older teachers were using, 
or their mimeographed print-outs...
remember those inky, blue lined papers?
Remember them?  I used to LOVE
holding those hot papers and inhaling deeply
at that sweet smell of the fresh purple ink.
Now, we're the "older" teachers....
why don't I feel wise?
We inhaled too many purple papers!

Display Board



Have you seen this on Pinterest?
You hot glue gun a thumb tack to
a wooden clothespin.  VOILA!
Perfect for hanging artwork
throughout the year.
(Thanks again to Jess,
my AWESOME student
teacher from last year that
made these for me.)

Windows=Display Space

I'm noticing the cracked window for air circulation...
You weren't kidding about no air conditioning!
(Girrrl!  It's been incredibly comfortable
this week in comparison to
our Sahara Desert conditions a couple weeks ago!)

These blinds will continue to fill up
with charts and other posters.

Writing Center




I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE DeeDee Wills.
I use her writing center
all year long.  Like them?
You can get them here.

When we start writing letters
to each other, this is where
they will deliver them.
BTW-I don't have 22 Wal-Mart
employees as students.
My students' pics are hiding under there.
I love the idea of using shoe pockets for
sorting mail....Clever girl!
(Clever?  Nah...saw it on Pinterest!)

  Home Living Area




My daughter, Abby, donated
her kitchen and all of her plastic
food to my classroom.
A quick trip to the dollar
store, and I have plates,
silverware, and other
kitchen items.
The conversations I overhear
in this center are HILARIOUS!
Do you like the writing set
on the wall?  You can find it here.

Book Boxes



Books boxes are a HUGE part
of our classroom.  We add a couple
emergent readers a week.  Once
we start Guided Reading, they start
adding "store bought" books to them.
They each have a whisperphone,
(LOVE THEM), a reading pointer,
and a pouch for flashcards,
and Bee tickets 
(school-wide incentive).  
Their Poetry Books are also
stored under their Book Boxes.
We add a couple poems each week.

Word Wall



Do you use Jolly Phonics?
We started using it a few years
ago and WOW!  It has really
helped the kids master their
letters and sounds by adding 
those silly little hand motions.

Awesome Pocket Chart Area

My husband is all that and a bag of chips.
But I feel bad for the guy.
Why?
Well he didn't read the fine print 
on our marriage license.

Your wife will gain will 50 pounds over
the next 20 years.  You will have to build all sorts
 of things for her classroom until the day she retires.  
SUCKER!
(My husband married a Flight Attendant, 
and ended up with a Kindergarten Teacher....
How did THAT happen?)

I found something similar to this on Pinterest
....where all good things come from.

One side is the storage area
for my students' graph tickets
and lunch tickets and lunch chart.



One side is a magnetic 
word work area.


The last side with the pocket
chart faces the carpet.
This set is from a
"Through the Year" bundle

I bought on TPT.
Click here if you'd like to check it out.




That's it...
...my home away from home.

 photo FairyFuntasticSignoff-2.png

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