Welcome back to the 2016-2017 school year!!!
This year will be a little different from the last but in a very good way.
I back in FIRST GRADE and so excited about this new year.
Summer was long but flew and I have been hard at work in my classroom.
A change in room is exciting in an interesting way.
I found myself traveling to school
sitting in my new room
just staring,
looking around and rearranging until it all felt just right!
Here is a sneak peak into my room...
I love first grade mainly for the growth in reading that occurs in my kiddos.
Our district adopted a new reading program this year.
The program has a strong push on small group instruction and guided reading.
Books are leveled and are a great way to keep track of where students reading abilities are.
It is so important for students to know where their reading abilities
books should enjoyable and not frustrational.
Once we determine students reading abilities they will better be able to choose
GOOD FIT BOOKS!
Here is our classroom library.
Students can easily access bins, books are labeled and students reading levels will be clipped to their individual book boxes as a reminder what bin is a good bin for them.
I love coupons and a good deal, I mean seriously who doesn't.
Look at this gem I snagged at the end of last school year.
Hobby Lobby!
Did you know you could use one of those 40% off coupons on their tepees?
Well you can and I did!
How amazing is our new reading corner.
And those rockers add to the fun of enjoying a good fit book.
I had been looking into flexible seating for this new school year.
I do not feel I can completely adopt the new system just yet but have been investing slowly.
Through my research I found these adorable rockers and was able to pick them up at K-Mart!
I was so excited when I found them.
My Kindergarten kiddos started using them at the end of last year and I cannot wait to share them with my firsties.
Through connecting with other bloggers I got to reading about how other teachers encourage students to be leaders and remind them daily that everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner.
I found these amazing rustic letters at Michaels (of course on sale).
The first day of school I took pictures of students and placed them around the word.
I wanted to students to be reminded daily that they all have an important role in the classroom.
The letters and pictures are displayed right above our Daily 5 bins.
As students retrieve their work for the day I want them to be reminded that although something is easy for them, it might not be for someone else and it is important that we help others.
The pictures look amazing and my kids were so excited to see their pictures hanging in our room.
Last year I used these bins for BUILD work in Math.
I love small group work and reinforcing math games on Fun Friday in BUILD centers.
B-Buddy Games
U-Using Manipulatives
I-Independent Work
L-Learning Numbers
D-Doing Math
Our district uses Everyday Math
I take games from the week, new manipulatives we have or will be using
and other resources to reinforce the skills we are working on.
Everyday Math's spiral curriculum can be challenging but
with Fun Friday centers we can reinforce the skills we are learning before moving onto a new week.
Last stop on the tour today is my rules bulletin board.
Here is a freebie of my bee rules.
I believe that students should be told what to do.
We shouldn't be focusing so much on what is unacceptable but what is acceptable behavior.
When students follow our Bee Rules they move up on our clip chart
and when rules are broken they move down.
Behavior is reinforced and students are redirected by what could have been a better choice.
Have you heard of Class Dojo???
https://www.classdojo.com/
I use this site to keep parents in the loop about students behavior.
If you haven't heard of it ... look into it.
It may be challenging to keep up with behavior at first but once you get into the swing of the site it is super easy and very effective for reinforcing positive behavior between school and home.
So far I have had nothing but great responses about this site.
Living in a district with school closings and changes to schedules often I can also keep in touch with my parents about events in the classroom, homework, and holiday parties or things we may need in the classroom.
Another amazing part of this program is that there is an APP!
You can update parents via your phone
Notifications are quick and easy to keep track of messages and updates.
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