Classroom Reveal 2014-2015

Convocation and Wildcat Welcome (our meet the teacher night) made for one loooong Thursday. When a parent you've just met hugs you and expresses how happy they are you know it's going to be a great year. The good news is I can FINALLY share my classroom pictures!! Be prepared for lots of pics in this post!
Before I get to the pictures, I've got to take a moment and share the one and only Ron Clark was our guest speaker at convocation today. This was my first time hearing and seeing him in person. His passion for what we do is contagious!

I wish I could have recorded his entire message. I'd love to visit the Ron Clark academy in Atlanta one day. Hmm, maybe I can convince a teacher friend or two to take a trip to Atlanta....

Moving along to classroom pictures. I kept my cupcake theme with coordinating colors. Come on inside and take a peek. :)

Eventually the welcome banner will be replaced with our class schedule. We're required to keep the black shade for lock down drills.

Student supplies were beginning to be delivered yesterday so I decided to leave them be instead of fighting with moving and removing to take pictures. I have one teacher area in the front at my computer and another at the back with my small group table. I chose to arrange my furniture this year in a way that allows me to monitor and move around all areas of the room.

I hand write my class rules poster every year. On the first day of school each mini will sign at the bottom and this handy dandy little poster then becomes a contract for the year.

I have supplies located at each area. Yes I can have supply overload but it saves me time bouncing from place to place getting what I need. We all know minutes count especially when working with our small groups.

Each group has their storage area along along with a caddy. The crates are for any class library books, privacy folders, and white boards. We'll put smaller supplies like glue sticks, spelling dictionaries, and dry erase markers in the caddies. 

Sorry for the not so great pic quality here! Every year I like starting with student names on the word wall and build throughout the year. Freebie alert! I got the cupcake letters from Kinder Confections.

A new addition this year is our "Tech Talk" bulletin board. Minis can find login information and library resources here.

Eventually I'll get around to jazzing up my class jobs, but for now it's all good. 

I use Filetastic hanging folders for student mailboxes since table top space is at a premium in the classroom.

Our listening station location (says that 5 times fast) is now at the front of the room. I'm so excited to begin the year with iPads! No more tapes or Cd's; all stories for this learning station are through QR codes. I plan to share more about my revamped listening station soon. The pillows were made for me by a friend a couple of years ago; the iPad rules freebie is from The Imagination Nook.

This file cabinet used to be by my computer but now it's used for spelling station. Storage for materials and games plus space for minis to work is a win win. Ignore that crate!

Boggle is one of the most popular activities in class.

The sign in clipboard and welcome sign were put out for tonight only. 

Loving my new calendar bb set I got from Lakeshore. My only problem is the calendar numbers. My old bulletin board had individual numbers as well as the 24th and 31st as one die cut. Calendar is an important part of our daily routine and I want it to be done correctly. I'll have to figure out how to fix this, bleh!

 

Another freebie alert! Hand signals courtesy of the always amazing Miss Nelson.

Birthday chart, second grade bucks poster, and sweet treats for classroom management. Ten class compliments equals a sweet treat party of some sort; almost always cupcakes!

My objectives frames and library sticks I made over the summer. The green bin was going to hold student earbuds, but aren't big enough so I'll have to find another use for them.

Our community supply shelf. Minis can simply grab what they need when they need it. Side note: I spent time organizing math games and materials with these same bins on the shelf underneath the calendar. I was pleased with the results and I promise you I took pictures of the organization greatness. The problem is the pictures are nowhere to be found. I'm 100% sure I took the pictures and am now upset I can't share them. So just imagine this neat colorful display in another area! Ugh, teacher brain. I'll have to share again in another post someday.

My writing process display is in the process of being jazzed up so this area will change to better meet the needs of the class.