BTS 2016: DAY 4

We're getting closer!  I feel much better, though there's still plenty to do.  I really need a kidney table so I can use my cute crate seats!  (My favorite pinterest project!!)

This is where my kidney table will go.

I installed several partition walls so teachers can come in and utilize the Leveled Library without distracting my small group.  I need to decorate these and brighten them up!

I cut my rug down so it's better for small groups.  My Library needs a few more labels, but otherwise it's good to go.  When I only had one or two windows, I would use a valance or two.  But with five windows, the owl pennant banner works out perfectly!

I decorated my hallway bulletin board with Dr. Seuss border.  

I'm also prepping at home.  Teachers check out bags of books from the Leveled Library in my room, so I updated the checkout cards.  They can take 1-4 cards out of their hanging library pocket and put it where they take the books from.  It makes returning the books so much easier, and also keeps track of where the books are.

Tomorrow is my first official day back.  I am very grateful it's a workday!  It's time to finish the set up/decorating and start planning for my students!

BTS 2016: DAY 3

Day 3 in my classroom might not look like a lot was done.... until you see the amount of empty boxes!  

I admit that I hate to break down boxes.  

My helpful husband came to school today to fix a broken shelf and he decided to break the boxes down for me.  Yay!

I put out some of my Reading and Math items for my small groups.  These shelves are narrow, so this worked out well!

I have decided to keep some of my classroom library.  I have been collecting books for over 15 years, so this was a big step for me to downsize by 1/2!  I will use these books to make Take Home Book Bags for my struggling readers. I will also have students reading on the rug when I am testing one at a time at the table.  Now I just need to finish organizing it!

I am hoping to be done by Thursday so I can take Friday off to rest and relax before summer is officially over!

BTS 2016: SET-UP MUSIC

When I set up my classroom every year, I try to play very upbeat music to keep my energy level up.  Cleaning, unpacking, and setting up is a lot of hard work, especially when I've moved rooms every year for six years!  This year I decided to try Pandora as I wasn't sure where I packed my CD player.  I set up several stations, including 80's Country, 90's Country, 80's Pop, Family Musicals, and Christian Contemporary.  However,  I soon discovered that Pandora is blocked by my school's Wi-Fi!  So, I pulled out some old CD's to download onto my phone.  A teacher friend has a bluetooth wireless speaker for her room, so I found an inexpensive one on Amazon for $21.99 with free shipping.  It's only about 4 inches tall and will be perfect for my classroom!  It arrived today!  I really like Amazon Prime!

Ultra-portable Bluetooth Speaker

I looked through my CD's at home and found my favorite set-up-the-classroom music: Garth Brooks!  I had to look up on YouTube how to download CD's onto iTunes, then onto my phone, but I did it!  Now I will have good motivating music while working in my room.  I also plan to look for my Michael Jackson CD's around here somewhere.  Upbeat music really makes a difference when you're setting up the classroom!  

BTS 2016: DAY 2

The second day that I was able spend in my room was a busy one!  My first day doesn't really count since I got the keys and only stayed an hour. But today I sure accomplished a lot!  Before I can tackle my own setup for small groups, I must first clean and organize what was already there.  This room is called the Literacy Library, as it has two walls of leveled readers bagged and ready for checkout, but it also has a plethora of other materials to be sorted and organized.

Check out the BEFORE pictures from yesterday here.

It may not look all that great overall, but I did a great deal of cleaning and organizing! 

These Writing Materials were scattered in a few places around the room, so I cleaned out this black storage cabinet and put them all together. 

I found these Writing materials on the floor. All of them. Apparently they were on a bookshelf that broke over the summer. I cleaned out another black storage cabinet and organized the materials by grade. 

I cleaned off the first bookshelf in the picture because there were a great deal of magazine holders with leveled readers all over the floor and window sill that needed to be added to the leveled library. I put them all on a table until I have time to rearrange the leveled library to make room for them.

I gathered all of my school's Writing Folders that were scattered all over the room, from one corner to another! Having them all in one place will make them easier to distribute. Once school starts these will be given to the teachers. We collect writing samples from Pre-K through 5th grade in a special folder, and the students will receive it at the end of 5th grade. 

I think this could be my favorite part of the room by the time I'm finished!  I found a place for my Keurig and Scentsy!  I need to make a few more improvements to this area, but considering this sink/counter area was covered with a very large assortment of boxes, it's not a bad start!

I'm going to enjoy my last weekend of summer before working in my room again next week!

BACK ALREADY?

Well, it's that time again. Summer is winding down and it's time to start thinking about my new classroom. This is my 6th move in 6 years, but this one is a challenge!  I'm moving into our Leveled Library room. Aside from the nice Leveled Library on 2 walls, there are a lot of materials around the room that need to be sorted and organized before I can figure out how to design my Intervention areas for Reading and Math.  My stuff is in boxes in the middle of the room. The rest has to be gone through. Whew!  It's going to be an interesting adventure to figure this new room out!

BEFORE

It will take some time to go through all the materials, but I am up for the challenge!  I just need to update my playlist for some good working music before I tackle this!  Wish me luck!