Hey there bloggy peeps! I have a question! When I comment on someone else's blog, how do I make it so that the direct link to my blog appears after my name?
Monday, September 17, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Jumping Right IN!
Well, I have been working hard at posting over at my classroom blog so that I can hook some parents onto commenting! My goal this year was to get more parent traffic on that blog.
Hop over and see what we have been up to at
Hop over and see what we have been up to at
Also----any suggestions for how to get parents more involved in posting on the blog?????
Thanks!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Great First Day
We had a great first day of first grade! 3 teeth fell out today. One of my students lost one of his front teeth this morning and the other one this afternoon! Too tired to post too much more than that! 
Sunday, September 2, 2012
New Blog Design!
.Go and visit her! She does beautiful work!
Thanks Barb!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Room Tour
Welcome to my Classroom!
We will start the tour with my room sign! I made this with my Cricut last year and have made one for each of my team members (and assisted with a few others). They really perk up the hallway!
My door. A little Cricut hello and some gel clings for the window. (I have gels for each holiday/season) I love the stars but my very tall son helped put them on. I told him that the tiny first graders will not be able to see their names all the way up there! You can see that he really listened to me, right?
A lot happens in this area. Lunch count, clip chart, extra supplies, bathroom passes. My "Poet of the Month" Poems are going in that lovely blank space to the left of the the white board.
My sink area. My school rule bees (found on Pinterest). Our rules are: Be respectful; be responsible; be proud; be ready to learn. During the year, I add examples of how to show these rules on strips under the bees. I was thinking that I may do some photos of children showing these.
Mailbox area. I have a bigger table here this year so it may work out better for us. They turn in their communication folders here and the blue baskets are my "inbox" and "outbox". I store the library return crate andthe art smock basket under this table. During the day it doubles as a workspace.
Smartboard. I love her. Yes, it is a girl. "Smart" is in her name, that is how I know! :) There is that Author of the Month bucket (isn't it pretty there?) and the blue bucket holds the monthly/seasonal books. Lots of Fall and Back-to-School books in there right now.
This table is a new thing for me. They re-wired our smartboards this summer and we now have to have the computer that runs the board, in the front of the room. I have my how-did-I-ever-live-without-it document camera up there too but I had to put a table cloth on the table to hide the 30 miles of cords that were hanging behind the table. The throne is also in this picture. Much of the paint has chipped off (I had not learned the importance of priming back then) but the back cover that I made for it makes up for the paint chipping off.
The library. That wooden cart has a back side that it equally loaded. I can't remember who the incredibly SMART teacher was that suggested bath rugs but I bought these 2 blue ones and they are GREAT! They are really soft and do not slip at all. I am going to keep adding these little beauties around my room.
Reading corner. As I looked at this I noticed that it looks kind of bare but I like to add strategies to the bulletin board and anchor charts to the metal door as we move through the year!
My desk area. If I am sitting at this desk after school, I can hide behind the crate and files and sometimes people don't see me. Sometimes.
True Confession......this is what my desk looked like BEFORE I cleaned it off for the picture.
This is the shelf that my computers used to be on. We will be getting netbooks and a laptop instead so we don't need the counter space. I use the blue cupboard doors for the word wall.I am currently using it to hold a bunch of
This is the room from the doorway. It is ready for children and many great memories that are waiting to be made! Thanks for visiting and I hope everyone has a lovely Labor Day Weekend!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
From Ugly to....Not-So-Ugly
Well....I really wanted new mailboxes this year but I was unable to find this kind again. The only ones that I could find were $70. Not in my budget this year so........I bought a roll of really cute contact paper and went to work.
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| ug-ly |
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| Remnants of past students under the name labels. |
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| The back.... |
 |
| This stuff is STICKY! |
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| A little touch-up with the sharpie... |
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| Ta-da! |
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| Not perfect but much better! |
Bee the Change~~
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Author of the Month & Bucket
One of the things that I promised myself that I would do this year (I somehow did not have time to squeeze it in last year and I MISSED it) is Author of the Month. I love how the children get excited about the Author of the Month and are really able to identify certain authors/illustrators by just hearing and looking at the books. I have a fairly good collection of the certain authors that I like and am always "on the lookout" for more copies at garage sales, library sales and book orders. I also go to the public library and clear their shelves of that particular author!
Some of the authors that I have used in the past (and will use again) are listed below. I have linked all of them to their websites. There are often interviews and other fun things on the websites that will enhance your author studies!
I also decided that I would make a special place in the classroom for the monthly books. In the past I have used a washtub or a basket but this year you will not have any doubt where they can be found!
My lovely assistant Natalie holds up the "before" picture. It is a metal tub that I bought at The Christmas Tree Shop years ago and holds (or used to hold) my magazines.
I decided to paint it yellow. Many of the baskets in my room are yellow. It makes the long, cold winter seem sunnier! Used Krylon....think that I like my Rustoleum better but it worked for this project.
Why is it that I thoght that this would work???? Never underestimate the power of PRIMER!
After 2 coats of Rustoleum 2x Primer, I was ready for the YELLOW!
I love the way it turned out. Very bright and cheery. (My spraypaint table is a chunk of tile and plywood floor that came out of our dining room when we remodeled, I did not paint directly on the floor!)
Ta Da!! Now all it needs is the books! I wonder which author will be first?
Who are your favorite authors?
Bee the Change~
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