Ahhh the good ol' first week of school.
Mine went very well. I was exhausted of course but this year I actually stayed awake until 9:00pm (GASP!).
I'm ready for this short 4 day week ahead.
So...I promised a room reveal and then I got swamped with back to school. So finally...here it is folks.
Miss Kate's Classroom 2014-2015
This bench in my classroom library was inspired by Maria Manore's (Kindercraze) bench. I used a shelf from Walmart, 3 fabric drawers, a Target bench cushion, and ribbon to hold it. I also used little kitchen shelf grippers to put under the cushion to also help hold it in place.
I am itching to change my calendar. I bought it my first year of teaching at a teacher supply store. The rules posters are in my TPT store.
My main teaching area. I love this huge Lakeshore carpet. I also don't know what I'd do without that big dry erase cart. It is my command central. We use it for EVERYTHING! On the right you can see my little black and metal desk. I tossed the HUGE desk I had before that took up a boat load of space.
This little bulletin board by my door houses our lunch calendar, line leaders (I use index cards cut in half on binder rings, not pictured). I put the book order and also newsletter on this board.
This is my biggest change this year...my classroom library area! This use to house my small group table in this corner but that table needed to be moved to help with space. I am loving this new spot. It's red, it's blue, white, and pattern crazy! My reading strategy posters are featured on the board. Find them in my store!
Here is the zoomed out version of my classroom library.
I made that ribbon chandelier my first year of teaching. I also inherited the reading area from a first grade teacher who realized her kids were too big for it. The cart by the trash can was a big book cart but is currently housing our writing station on top of it. That's where I store the pencils, crayons, paper, and more for Work on Writing. I like this year that this little reading nook is right next to my small group table. I'll be able to see and hear it better.
At the back of the room my small group table has it's new home. The board behind will start filling up with student name cards, and other items. The shelf behind the table houses all my small group and RTI materials. Also, you can see in the closet all of "my" books...the ones that the kids leave alone.
Here is the long window side of my room. I'm blessed with lots of storage. Most of our Daily 5 things are stored here.
Work on Writing area. I purchased the tables and stools from Target a couple of years ago. They are starting to get a little dinged up but still work. Yes, that is a tiny fan. If you are in an old building with original windows like me...the beginning of the year can be toasty in the classroom. This year my word wall is right in front of the writing area. :) I'm excited about this. The overflow area for the other 2 kids who will be writing is at the table where I took the picture from.
So that was the main parts of my classroom. Here soon I will do a "details" post. I didn't change a ton except for my library area in a new spot and had a makeover and I got a tiny desk and got rid of my extremely large metal desk.
