classroom snapshots

I started back to work Monday! We have a full week of Professional Development before the kiddos come back next week. We've had some meetings and training sessions, but we've also had a decent amount of time to work in our classrooms. I'm hoping to post a video tour for you later in the week, but for now, I'll leave you with some lots of snapshots of the progress I've made. Keep in mind, I had to move to a room that is half the size of my previous room, so I had to make the best of the situation.

This is the little reading area right outside my classroom.

My back-to-school door. And yes, I know I need an apostrophe...I lost the one I made. The kids' names are written on the gumballs. As of right now, I only have 12 students on my list. That number will likely rise, but please cross your fingers for me that I don't get tons more! A small group would be ideal for Kindergarten.

Due to the small size of my classroom, my rug wouldn't fit without putting furniture on it, but I still think it made the room look a lot more homey.

My pencil system. I keep sharp pencils in one cup. When a student's pencil breaks or is dull, they put it in the other cup and take a sharp one. It always works out really well for me and my students. They know exactly what to do, and don't have to interrupt class for a new pencil. Then I sharpen all the dull pencils after school for the next day.

My classroom rules. Notice the last one :)

Here's the Word Wall. It looks bare now, but every time we learn a new sight word, I'll add it to the wall under the correct letter. Then students have a reference when they need to know how to spell the words we've learned. We'll end up with 100 words on it!

My student work display. Right now, they are just empty clothespins. Next week, they'll have work hanging from them!

Look who made it to the new room with me! Pete the Cat and Llama Llama! These are always favorite characters from books we read throughout the year. Especially Pete! I always get asked to reread the Pete the Cat books...they're so fun!

Math Center storage. I love these buckets...from the Dollar Tree!

These are from my first year teaching. We're supposed to have the Character Counts pillars that we focus on posted somewhere on our walls...so here they are. I'm not crazy about them, but they'll do.

The one thing I love about my new room is the yellow wall at the front! Last year I had a poop-brown wall, and I hated it. Yellow is my favorite color, and I think it really brightens up the room! I also think these numbers are pretty cute.

My library. The shelf on the right is on its last leg, and I wouldn't be surprised to go into work tomorrow and see the whole thing in a pile on the ground.

One of the first things we learn about in math is 2D shapes.

Well there ya go. Like I said, I plan to do a quick video tour later in the week. Tomorrow is Open House, so I get to meet my new little lovelies and their families! It's always a very interesting event. 

xoxo, wife.