A Peek into Our Classroom {Part 2}

     I thought I'd better finish up the classroom tour!  Thanks for stopping by again to wrap up the highlights!

View from the door, looking straight ahead

View from the door, looking to the right
 

Our "carpet" area. 
This is a happening place!
 Songs, stories, calendar,
pocket chart activities,
shared writing and reading,
 etc. all take place here!
 

     This is the front of the room.  It may be hard to see, but this year, I added schedule cards.  (They are on the right of my whiteboard.)  I absolutely LOVE them!  They really help my students keep track of the day and I haven't heard "When is lunch?" nearly as much this year!  :)  I got the cards as a freebie from Cara Carroll.  She truly thought of everything!  Click here if you'd like to check them out!

 

     This is my new birthday display.  I started with the birthday cupcakes from Creative Teaching Press and added photos of the kids holding a sign with their birth date.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out because I think it's important for the kids to view it like a pictograph.  I still think it needs something...I'm just not sure what!

     I highly recommend Deedee Wills' monthly Writing Work Stations!   My kids love them and I love that I can train them on the routines at the beginning of the year and then simply swap out each month's cards!

     I am also trying a clip chart for the first time this year.  So far, it's working really well.  My students really seem to "get it" and work really hard to move up the tree.  I purchased it from Nicole Bunt. 

     I had planned to share more, but this turned into a really long post again!  Thanks for sticking with me!  :)
 

A Peek in Our Classroom! {Part 1}

     My favorite hobby is hopping from blog to blog gleaning new ideas to use with my kinders.  I truly believe that blogging has changed my way of teaching -- not only am I finding wonderful resources, but my creative juices have been flowing!
     This summer, I took on a major "classroom makeover" project.  I wanted to attempt a classroom theme and new color scheme.  I had so much fun putting things together and I'd love to share how it turned out!

     What theme did I choose?  OWLS!  I love the symbolism of owls being wise and rich in knowledge, plus there is just so much cute stuff out there!  How could I resist?!  :)  To kick things off, my wonderful sister made this for my door.  I was inspired by Kimberlee at Two Fulbright Hugs.  I shared the idea with my sister and she surprised me!

      I found some adorable owls at Schoolgirl Style.  I was so excited when she made them editable!  Thanks, Melanie!  :)


 

 

 

Our word wall starts blank.
 We add our words as we learn them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hallway display. 
You can also catch a glimpse of Deanna Jump's name trees!



Ahhh.....Schoolgirl Style's polka dot lanterns.  LOVE the pop of color!

     My mom helped me so much this summer.  One of our projects was making crate seats.  We found the cutest owl fabric at Joann's, and I knew I had to have them! 

Close-up view of the fabric.

The seats "live" at my guided reading table. 
It's my first year having a kidney table.  How did I live without it?!

     I'll be back another day for a few more highlights of my room.  This post is long enough as it is!  Thanks for stopping by!

A Fond Farewell

   The rain may have put a damper on our field day, but not our spirits!  We had such a fun last day!  I always feel excited for a little time to refresh and renew over summer break, but man, I'm going to miss these little faces!

 
     The rain brought on the need for a back-up plan.  Here are some of the highlights:

Shaving Cream Fun!

They didn't even notice when I sneaked in a little sight word review!  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sight Word BINGO!

Dance Party in the gym!

In this photo, the boys were getting ready to try break dancing. 

We celebrated new friendships!

INDOOR picnic lunch!

    
     I want to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your children with me.  I so much enjoy being an observer in their journey of learning.  They all become so special to me!  Hopefully, I'll see the kids around this summer, but give them an extra squeeze from me and remind them to read, read, read!  :)

We Sing of Spring!

     I was so proud of my kids on Tuesday evening!  They sang their little hearts out at our spring music program.  It was so fun to see them all dressed up as they proudly showed off their skills and school to their families.  Look at how cute they all are!

A Beautiful Day at the Park!

     We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to spend at Jefferson County Park!  We thoroughly enjoyed several experiences that brought our classroom learning to life.  Another added bonus -- Therese kept us very entertained!  Here is our story in pictures:

Greeting the turtles!

Digging up worms...

 

...and feeding those worms to the fish!

 

 

 

How can you NOT love these kiddos?!

 

Going for a hike...

....and stopping to search for spittle bugs.

Found one!

Me too!

Here's another one!

Look at it!

There's always time to stop and play!

We sang our insect song to Therese and had a perfect butterfly model!

Gearing up for "the hunt!"  Do you like our antennae?

Sweeping for bugs!

Ta-dah!

Therese was kind enough to cool us off with a spritz of water...the kids looked like baby birds as they tried to catch it with their mouths!  :)

Our trip ended with a chorus of frog sounds.  We were sorry the day had come to an end, but we were TIRED!  :)

Our Big Day in Coralville!

    
     We came, we saw, and we conquered the Children's Museum!  What a wonderful day!  The kids had a great time imagining, creating, discovering and exploring.  I would like to thank my fantastic parent volunteers for giving their time and keeping things going smoothly.  I couldn't have done it without you!  I hope you enjoy these snapshots of our day.

     In the museum....

    

 Lunchtime!

A group photo!

We were so tuckered out on the ride home! 

 Aren't these pictures precious?!