My New Classroom!

I've been working tirelessly the last few days to get my classroom ready for our first day! We started on Thursday and we had 4 days to get into our newly reconstructed classrooms!!! They look wonderful and the students and families love the new set up! Here a few pictures of my new classroom :)

Our Door

Clip Chart

From the Doorway

Front Whiteboard 1

Front Whiteboard 2

Desk Area

Organized Files

Reading Table

Classroom Library

Back of the Room

Back of the Room

Jobs

Calendar

Super Star Board

Crate Chairs=Success!

As you might know from my previous post, I attempted to create the oh sooo cute crate chairs! With the help of my dad, I was able to put these wonderful new chairs together!

It took me FOREVER to gather all of the materials (mainly because I was extremely picky with the fabric!). Here is a list of the items I used and where I got them from!

Black Crates-Target <3

Plywood (6-13x15 pieces)- Well, that came from my dad's shop! I'm a lucky girl to have his direct access!

Fabric (approx. 2 yards) and Ribbon (2 rolls)-Walmart (the fabric is lime green although it looks a bit yellow and it SPARKLES)

Foam that went over the plywood-Ollies which is a small store in Cleveland with EVERYTHING you could need at a cheap price :)

Staple Gun- I already had at home.

When I totaled my spendings, it was roughly $14 per chair. It was such a fun project and I cannot wait to put these around my reading table! Hopefully I can get into my classroom on Monday! Our classrooms are almost finished but they are still under construction! I'm a bit stressed since we start August 23rd!  If you have the time, I highly recommend creating these!

Graphing Weather Owls and Weather Spinner!

By request, I have created....Weather Owls! These cuties can be used to track the weather in your room on a weekly/monthly basis.
-This product includes 6 sets of weather owls (rainy, snowy, sunny, cloudy, partly cloudy, and windy)
-The small owls were created to fit a 1.5”X 1.5” weather pocket chart. -The small and larger owls can be used to graph or chart the weather of a given week. 
-Two week charts are included to chart the weather for each day of the week. 
-This pack also includes a weather wheel and arrows that can be used to display the weather for a given day. 
Hop on over to check out this product! Weather Owls

In other news, I found out that I will be able to get into my new classroom on Monday!!! I am MORE than ready to get started and I'm trying to gather/create all of my last minute materials! My next project is constructing those cute crate seats for my reading table! I first saw this amazing project here!

Well I hope everyone else is in their rooms and enjoying the set-up process! I will be joining you all soon :)

OWLS Math Workshop Center Rotations!

This year I am looking to make my math block more center based! I think that this will allow me to meet the varied needs of my students. I have created math centers that are structured in rounds and use the acronym OWLS. You don't have to have an Owl themed classroom for these centers but it would go well with one too! Click on here to grab a copy of the O.W.L.S. Math Workshop Stations!

The O.W.L.S program was designed to be used as a center based math workshop implementation. These centers represent multimodal learning to adapt to the needs of all of your learners. The centers are sectioned into 4 rounds. Depending on your math block the times will vary. IN order to keep groups fluid, the student group cards were designed to be moved from week to week, or even day to day. Adapt the center rotation cards to fit your classroom needs! That’s what they were designed for!

The acronym is as follows:

O- On your Own- This station was meant to allow for individual math work. This can be seatwork, an individual math game, or a worksheet.

W-Work with Your Hands- (My personal favorite) At this center, students work on activities that use manipulatives. Many of the math games that I use in my classroom fit into this category so I use this station for games as well. 

L- Learn with Your Teacher- This center was designed in relation to a reading group. This can be where you use direct instruction or intervene with small groups.

S-Solve Math Facts and Problems- This station is the “problem-solving/fact recall” station Depending on your students’ needs, you can have students work on math facts or problem solving activities. This is also a great place to have a parent volunteer to help with flash cards!

This Pack Includes:

-2 Math Workshop O.W.L.S Headers

-Small, medium, and large O.W.L.S explanation cards

-A set of small Rounds cards for the side of the board

-Small, medium, and large group number cards to indicate which group students are in.

-Small group cards to place student names under

-2 sets of blank student name cards

       -Set 1- with Owls

       -Set 2- Plain Cards

-4 Center titles to place above the task cards to indicate which activity will be completed at the center

-65 Task cards to place underneath center titles (Blank cards included for personalization! ***I will customize these for you if you would like!***)

-1 picture to show how the bulletin board is set up

 O.W.L.S. Math Workshop Stations

That's all for now :)

Bright and Owl CAFE Poster FREEBIES!!

I just finished planning the first 3 weeks of The Daily 5/CAFE with my teaching partner! I am thrilled to be using these programs next year and I feel that I will be a much more effective reading teacher! In order to effectively implement this program, I have created a few Daily 5/CAFE posters that I will be hanging in my classroom and I want to share these FREEBIES with you :) Click the pictures below to be directed to these free posters at my TPT store. Enjoy!!! P.S.....I hope you're not surprised by the Owl theme that carries into a few of these posters :)

Repost

Bright Classroom Jobs, Owl Birthdays and the Worry Rock

I hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics as much as I have been! I am getting super excited about watching the replay of the Woman's Gymnastics tonight at 8!!! The gymnastics portion is my personal favorite! I was blog hopping today and I stumbled upon and Olympic Craftivity created by one of my favorite bloggers, Amy Lemons! Hop on over to her blog (Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons) to check out this CUTE craftivity that would be perfect for the first weeks of school! As I have been watching the Olympics, I've been busy getting a few more Back to School packets together! My most recent include my Bright Classroom Jobs, Owl Birthdays, and The Worry Rock (A FREEBIE!!) Click on the pictures to grab a copy of the packets below!

This pack includes 27 job cards with a set of 18 blank cards for personalization. Each card has a graphic to indicate the specific job. Two Classroom Job titles are also included. The cards come in pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Jobs Included:

-Messenger

-Mail Person

-Calendar Helper

-Teacher's Assistant

-Recess Basket Carriers

-Paper Passer

-Floor Sweeper

-Line Leader

-Caboose

-Electrician 

-Lunch Helper

-Weather Reporter

-Door Holder

-Center Inspector

-Table Washer

-Reading Log Checker

-Recycler

-Desk Fairy

-Librarian

-Lunch Money

-Computer Helper

-Pencil Helper

-WOrd Wall Pointer

-Materials Manager

-Board Cleaner

-Clip Mover

-Chair Checker

These birthday cards are designed to be formed into a poster. Cut out the individual month cards and assemble them on a poster board. You can simply cut and tape them on your classroom wall without a poster board. Write the dates and student names in the white sections. 
This Pack Includes:
12 Half Page Owl Birthday Month Cards
12 Large Owl Birthday Month Cards
2 Titles

The Worry Rock is a tool to use in the classroom for kids who have concerns or anxiety. The idea is that the students will share their worries with the Worry Rock and by voicing their concerns, the Worry Rock will take the students’ worries away. Whenever a child is feeling worried, they can go over to the Worry Rock, hold it, and share. Place the Worry Rock in a quiet corner so that the students feel comfortable approaching that area to voice their concerns. Use the attached sheets to help students through the verbalizing process. They can read the poem or just start to speak to the rock. 

This pack includes:
-Worry Rock Poem
-Worry Rock Instructions
-Worry Rock tent/sign

Primary Word Wall

As we are quickly approaching August, I have noticed that many teachers are starting to think about resources they need in their classrooms. Word Walls have seem to be a popular product and if you have been following me, you will know that I developed word walls for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade. By request, I have put together a "Primary Word Wall" that encompasses the first 300 Fry sight words, 6 bright word wall titles, and letter cards. Click on the pictures to hop on over to my tpt store to check out the product!