My Classroom

My oh my teaching isn't for the faint of heart! Two days in and it's all a rush right now. I finally was able to get my classroom organized enough to take some pictures today!

I originally had my sign in set up inside the classroom in front of the calendar for supply drop off last week. I looked around my hallway and decided I liked the area set up outside the classroom much better.

Our school wide them this year is stars. Silly me I forgot to get a picture of the entire bulletin board, bleh! Instead of using traditional letters I used the monogram art from Schoolgirl Style. 

The view directly from the door. 

I decided to get rid of my desk this year. I have no regrets in doing so it's freed up valuable learning space for my students. Ignore the messy table but note my fabulous new Vera Bradley teacher bag which I've discovered holds a TON! I can't wait to use it when I travel.

I got these adorable free printables from Sweet Rose Studio. I'm still finding a new home for some of the junk sitting on top of my cabinets and shelves. I was originally going to make cupcake liner poms for each group but to be honest I just got lazy and didn't want to do it. :) 

Our calendar area.

On the first day we went over class rules and expectations which become a contract. We discuss what a contract is and possible consequences for not keeping your promise. Everyone signs their name and this is displayed all year.

Boggle cupcake style! Freebie letters from an amazing seller on TPT.

Supplies used the most in our class easily accessible for students. I jazzed up this shelf with wrapping paper, Mod Podge, and ribbon.This shelf used to be just a "cutesy" holding area but I wanted to make it more functional and have a purpose.

I'm excited to try Noggle this year! To start I'm going to have my students do simple two digit addition then work up to higher sums as the year goes on.

Sweet Treats is a class favorite already! Our class goal is to earn 10 compliments for a sweet treat as a reward! 

These hand signals have been working great so far. After modeling and practicing these with students they starting to use them saving so much time with no interruptions. 

Part of our class library. I was on a mission all summer break to find the perfect baskets. Slowly but surely all of them will be the nice new purple I found at Dollar Tree. 

Our class guinea pig, Ricky Bobby. He has the easy job of sleeping and eating. 

I may be obsessed with this cupcake duct tape I found at Michaels.

I created these cupcake themed writing process posters as a power point in Google Drive. 

Teacher Bag

Tomorrow is the first day with my new set of minis! Where did the time go this summer? After wanting a new teacher bag for months I finally found one yesterday while I did some back to school shopping for myself. I had to buy new clothes since my previous school clothes are now too big. Yay! I must remember to thank my trainer this week even though I complain from time to time. On to my new teacher bag. 

Oooh, ahhh my new Vera Bradley bag!

Isn't it cute? Some teachers at my school have VB as teacher bags I've been admiring. Luckily my local Vera store was having a 40% off sale, so this bag which is normally $65.00 cost me only $42.00! I also love I can use it as a carry on when I travel. 

Open House Ready

My goodness it has been a fast paced, EXHAUSTING week! My room is finally finished and I can't wait to share pictures with you. Hopefully I can take pictures and post them before school starts next Monday. Tomorrow night is open house at my school; we call it Wildcat Welcome. During this time students will meet me for the first time while dropping off school supplies. We have a separate night a few days after school starts where teachers go more in depth about procedures and routines. I'm so excited to meet my next batch of minis! 

A sign in sheet and directions are ready when parents and students walk in the door.

 Here's what students will see on their desks. I created the information sheet in Google Drive. You can grab a copy for yourself and edit to fit your needs. I got the treat tags on TPT for free. Instead of traditional name tags I use cupcake cut outs for name tags. 

I'm obsessed lately with QR code. I created an Animoto students and parents can watch by scanning the code below with their smart phone or other device. I'll have the QR code displayed on a screen in front of the classroom. Take a look yourself and enjoy! 

New Door Stop

Last year I had a constant dilemma with the class door stop. Either it had found it's way hidden behind something when needed or it would bend out of shape and take forever to stay put, ugh! I've seen lots of cute door stop ideas using bricks or a rain boot, but worried that would be too heavy and bulky for smaller hands to handle easily. 

While out and about shopping for school supplies today, inspiration hit in Hobby Lobby. I could spend all day in that store! I had to remind myself I was on a mission for only a few specific things.

This door stop was super easy and inexpensive to make. I originally intended to use a clear can as my base, but the black zebra complimented the sparkly pink so well I was hooked.

I was undecided at first about using the pink vinyl or pink sparkly sticker at first. I can't resist sparkles, so it won in the end. The letters and stickers I purchased at Michael's. When I got home I noticed one side of the handle was giving me some difficulty so I secured it with a dot of hot glue.

 I put a few bags of accent gems in the can to give it some weight. The gems were purchased cheaper at Dollar Tree. I may go back and layer with different colors to give it some extra oomph.

Five minutes later my new door stop is complete and ready to go! I can't wait to take my new creation to school when I start setting up next week!

New Orleans Vacation

Call me crazy, but I can officially say I'm ready to return to school. I can't wait to get back into my classroom and prepare for my new group of students. Don't you just love the excitement and anticipation of a new school year?
Last week I had a fabulous vacation in New Orleans! It was the perfect girls trip filled with lots of food, laughter, walking, and the occasional hurricane. I'm fairly convinced I ate my weight in po'boys during our stay.

It was a beautiful Saturday in Jackson Square!

The main fire fountain at Pat O'Briens. Pat O's is a must visit while in New Orleans.

St. Louis Cathedral. 

During our trolley tour we were lucky enough to pass by a movie being made at one of the many beautiful homes in the Garden District.

I wonder what yummy foods the actors ate?

The house was mainly covered up and the trolley driver picked this moment to haul it down the street.

We'd never be allowed to decorate trees like this in Texas.

The gorgeous view from my hotel balcony. 

Delicious monkey bites for dessert from Copper Monkey Bar and Grill; they're beignets with banana glaze in the middle. These were worth every calorie!