Absent Work

There have been many post on Pinterest on Absent Work File Systems. I have been wanting one of these for a while now, so I made one. I found the file system on Amazon. It was less than $10. I had file products already in my room from a previous teacher. I numbered the files from 1-31. My plan is to put all extra copies of work that I hand out in that date's file. After one month, I will recycle what is left in the file.

Magnets for Whiteboard

I like to use old brooches, earrings, and old necklaces to make magnets for my classroom whiteboard. I will break off the pin and then hot glue a magnet on it. You can find small magnets at any craft store. I find the flowers jewelry at thrift stores.

Game Center

I love games! I also love teaching them to my students.

I love to teach Chess and Cribbage

I also like to have Bingo and other games.

I use a piece of metal as a magnet board. I love to put up
game directions on it.

Love butterflies.

My Classroom Library

I really wanted to create a library in my class that my students would think would be a fun (cool) place to be. I used lots of colors and tried to think of chairs that a 5th grader would love to sit in.

I found the green rug at Ikea, $40.

The READ sign is from a local sign company. They sell used sign letters.

I bought the bungee chairs from Target, $30 for one.

I used a pot from a garden shop to put pillows in.

The leaves are from Ikea, $15 for one.

Must Do, May Do

 My students love M&M time. It is a time where they have assignments that they have to do, "Must-do," and a time where they get to pick what they want to do, "May-do," after all their "Must-dos" are done. I also use this time for students to "Catch-up" on anything they are missing. I like it because it is a time where my students have choices on what they get to do.

Must-do: I pick the activities
May-do: I draw names of students that get to pick the activities. They get to pick more activities as the year go on, example: T1-3 choices, T2- 4 choices, T3- 5 choices.

Fabric On Walls

I am in love with using fabric on my walls instead of paper. It last for years and is not wasteful. I have had this fabric for 4 years now.

Homework Board, Reduce Tattling Area, and Good Behavior Bucket

I was so inspired by http://coreinspiration.blogspot.com/ reduce tattling lantern, that I had to make one of my own. I ended up making a whole center next to my classroom door. First, I bought the floating shelf from Ikea. I though it would work the best because I still had room under the center for trash and recycling bins and my creativity cart. Next, my friend gave me an old window. I bought washi tape and used it for the lines on the window. I broke the window into four sections: Language Arts/Literature, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. I will be using dry erase markers on it. I then bought the lantern from Ikea. The cute print-out sign is from Core Inspirations. Directions and the printout can be found here: Reduce Tattling Lantern.  I am going to use the white planter for my students' caught you being good tickets. The sign came from Target and the star was made by one of my amazing last year's student.

Creativity Cart

I have seen many post on Pinterest about creativity carts. I have always loved them, so I decided to make one of my own for my students. Here it is...

1st shelf: scissors, stapler, tape, and 5 bins of crayons.

2nd shelf: glue (liquid and stick), sharpies, and oil pastels.

3rd shelf: paper punches (pink), and people color crayons.

Homework Passes

I love homework passes as much as my students. It is a great way to tell your students that they are doing a great job. When I first started teaching, I used some I made on the computer and copied them. It wasn't until 3 years ago another teacher told me about Vistaprint. She would make her homework passes using Vistaprint business cards. The results are beautiful and convenient. I love that I do not have to run to the office to make copies. I just order 500 at a time.

Why I wanted to start this blog

I am so excited to start this blog about my classroom. I have always loved looking at other teacher's blogs and wanted to share some of their ideas I put to work and some of my own. I will be starting my 8th year teaching in August. I have taught kindergarten, a 2nd/3rd grade combo, 8th grade, a 6th/7th/8th grade combo, and 5th grade.  I absolutely love teaching. I work in a rural community in Northern California. It is a beautiful place to work and live.