While everyone is headed back to school, I thought I'd share a few little tips that have helped my classroom setup TREMENDOUSLY over the years. You might have already seen these before, but just in case you haven't, I thought I'd share them again :) Whatever helps....right?!?!! Last year I added command hooks in all of my academic areas with the intention of storing my anchor charts for each of those subjects. I just attached the anchor charts to binder rings for hanging. That turned out to be one of the best things I did for my classroom! My kids were easily able to access all of our anchor charts so when they had a … [Read more...] about A Few Little Tips
classroom
Here We Go {Again}!!!
Tomorrow’s the day. The first day of school. The first day of Kindergarten for my 18 little babies. I’m bound and determined to make it a memorable one…and you can guarantee it’ll be full of FUN! I’m putting my boys to bed tonight and waking them up tomorrow as a preschooler and a kindergartener. Sniff, sniff. I’m pretty sure there will be A LOT of tears in the morning…and they’ll ALL be from me!!!! I CAN’T WAIT!!!! In the meantime, I’m linking up with Deedee and sharing my first day visual plans with y’all. I’d share them all, but I’m experiencing a little technical difficulty on my end … [Read more...] about Here We Go {Again}!!!
A Whole ‘Lotta Back to School Randomness
And so it has begun. Another new school year. As cheesy as it sounds…I’m SO excited! Another year to grow…to try new things…to do things better…and to love on {and teach, of course!!} a new bunch of sweet babies!! This year is extra special to me because BOTH my boys will be with me…the littlest love will be starting Pre-K and my first born is starting Kindergarten! STOP.TIME.NOW!!!! I really tried to savor every last bit of summer that I could. That meant that I stayed out of my classroom until a few days before teachers started back….which was this past Monday. I work way better under pressure … [Read more...] about A Whole ‘Lotta Back to School Randomness
Chalkboard Swagger…a Giveaway!!!!
Hey y'all! I got to spend the day being professionally developed. The topic?! Administering the DRA. I've been assessing kids using the DRA since I started teaching 11 years ago and ohmiword...I still learned A TON!!! Such GREAT info!!!! I'll be spending the next two days getting some guided reading training....and I can't wait!!!! I don't care how long you've been teaching...you can ALWAYS learn something new!!! Well...I'm super excited to tell y'all that I'm teaming up with my precious friend, Cheryl, from Primary Graffiti to giveaway some absolutely precious Chalkboard Swag for your classroom. … [Read more...] about Chalkboard Swagger…a Giveaway!!!!
A Little Catch Up & A Classroom Tour
I had GREAT intentions of linking up with Blog Hoppin’ last week for Teacher Week, but shame on me…I did no such thing! I think it goes without saying that the beginning of the school year is always a little crazy, but in addition to getting things ready for a new year & attending lots of trainings, I was also planning a wedding shower for my sister. Have I told y’all she’s getting married?!?!? In two weeks?!??! Ohmiword. To say last week was INsane would be the understatement of the year. I had to unpack the rest of the boxes {an entire room full!!!!} and then get busy decorating. The good news … [Read more...] about A Little Catch Up & A Classroom Tour
A Decorating Tip, A Trip to Target, & A Linky Party
What a BUSY week this has been! I started new teacher inservice on Monday. That was also the first day for my boys to go to “school”. This is the first time they’ve been somewhere structured. We’ve been blessed with the most amazing in-home caregivers since my oldest was just a baby. We continue to feel blessed beyond measure because this little place they’re at now feels so much like home…it’s just AMAZING and the boys LOVE it!!! There are definitely benefits to small town living!! I spent LOTS of late nights up at school the last couple of weeks just trying to get everything sorted and ready for the … [Read more...] about A Decorating Tip, A Trip to Target, & A Linky Party
Welcome to the Jungle
I hope visions of Axle Rose were swirling in your head as you were reading…ahem, SINGING…the title of this post :) Yes, you can thank me for that later. I was going through some old posts on my family blog the other day and I ran across an entry I made when I was teaching 2nd grade. This was all before I started The First Grade Parade. I took some pics of my 2nd grade classroom back in the day and thought I’d share just incase anyone is looking for some ideas. I couldn’t find the original pics on my EHD…{I didn’t really look very hard}…so I had to copy these from the blog. They aren’t the best quality, but you … [Read more...] about Welcome to the Jungle
Brag Tags
I mentioned Brag Tags in an earlier post and received a few questions asking about them. The Brag Tags are sponsored by our AWESOME PTA and organized by our school counselor. Every student in the school gets brag tags. They all start the year out with a grade level tag. Here’s First Grade’s first brag tag… Darling, right?! I write their names on the back of each tag so that we know which tags belong to each kiddo. As the year goes on, they can earn lots of different tags. There are some for reading, honor roll, attendance, field day, variety show, summer reading, birthday, etc. … [Read more...] about Brag Tags
Schedule Cards
I love, love, LOVE our First Grade schedule! There are just the perfect amount of breaks in between subjects that seem to make the days just FLY by! Sometimes that’s not such a great thing…especially when I’m trying to fit too much into one day! But after 9 years of teaching, this is, by far, my favorite schedule I’ve had yet! I created these little schedule cards as a visual for my kids. That way they aren’t coming up to me every 5 minutes saying, “Is it time for recess yet?”, or “When can we eat lunch!?”, or {my favorite}, “Is it almost time to go home?!”. Feel free to download a set for yourself, too! … [Read more...] about Schedule Cards
A Little Tour
One of the best things about my school is the ability we have to go "ALL OUT" on our classrooms. I've had the same "theme" in my room for several years now...jungle. Now, while I think that's a precious theme, a new year in a new grade level SCREAMED new theme....so that's just what I did! I walked into my brand new classroom with a pretty blank canvas. After LOTS and LOTS of thought and planning, I finally came up with something I truly LOVE. A "Sassy Hollywood Glam" theme! Sure...it's a little girly...but my kids LOVE it!! It's so bright and cheerful! At least, I think so :) I know there's a lot going on, but it works! I'm sure … [Read more...] about A Little Tour
