My Classroom

My classroom is my 'home away from home' so I like to make it a fun place to be!

I L-O-V-E decorating my doorway for special events!  The kids get so excited coming down the hall seeing that something special is waiting for them before they even come in!

100th Day!  I was in full 'Miss Bindergarten' gear for the day!

'Uu is for Underwater Day!'  as part of our Countdown to First Grade!  They 'swam' through the door and sat in the 'ocean' for read alouds and lessons that day!

Our holiday family craft day!  Our room was transformed into an Elf Shop!  Each student made an elf to take home!

Kinder-garden Day!  It was a LONG winter...we needed to welcome Spring in with a BANG!

Here is the mural we created that day: 

Now It's Time To Come On In...

When the year starts my room is pretty bland...I like to decorate it along with my students so that they feel ownership!  We start the year with community supplies but after about 2 weeks we move to individual crayon boxes.  I find this helps minimize discussions, arguing and ... GERMS!

Do you like our nice new rug?!  That is an addition for the 2015-2016 school year!  I am curious to see how it holds up!  My last rug lasted 8 years before it nearly got up and walked away on its own!

The white baskets on the tables are our 'scrap buckets.'  They hold all of our scraps during the day to minimize the up and down and wandering and then at night they hold all of the crayon boxes for that table.  It is a system I love and highly recommend!

See the crates under my Eno Board?  That is how I store my listening centers and listening center response sheets.  There are file folders holding the books, tape/CD and response.  They are ordered by season and then a 'miscellaneous' crate.  It really helps me keep track of what I have and what's coming up next!

This is my guided reading/small group instruction table.  My hubby made these crate 'seats' for me last year!  Each crate holds my centers and are placed in 'season' order and/or the order in which I use them for curriculum.  They worked out GREAT last year and are ready for another year of use!

And now we peek into my Book Nook!  About 5 years ago we initiated Readers Workshop and were required to amp up our classroom libraries!  It is still a 'work in progress' but I love the way it is now!   

 My hubby made me the bench (plywood covered with batting and material on plastic crates) and the 'reading phones' using PVC pipe.  The books are in very general categories so as to not overwhelm my kindergarten readers!  They are also color coded for easy return, yet I also have a 'Book Return' bin just incase the right spot cannot be found!

See the cushions?  Those are chair pads from Home Goods!  They work GREAT for buddy reading- the kiddos sit back to back and no one 'rolls off' the cushion!

I purchased this rolling bookcase from Really Good Stuff last year and it was a lifesaver!  We use it during Readers Workshop for book 'shopping' and it can be rolled to wherever we need it!  

 As you can see, the Book Nook is a popular spot!

As I said earlier I love to have my students help 'decorate' our learning space.

In the beginning of the year we generate our class rules and each child 'signs' the poster to show s/her agrees to abide by our class rules!

 We do A LOT of interactive writing in kindergarten!  

Our classroom walls, bulletin boards, doors and even bathroom become filled with words and sentences we have written and can read!

I love to make special events in our classroom really special for both the kids and parents!  This is a 'first experience with school' for many- it deserves to be 'the best!'

Here is some highlights from our Elf Creation Party:

And this is from one of my favorite events...Mother's Day Tea and Sing Party!

There is so much more I could share about my classroom!

Be sure to check out my CLASSROOM label to find more pictures of my classroom!

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to drop in at any time!