TPT

How did I not know about this site?!?!

www.teacherspayteachers.com

I absolutely love it!  Not only does it save me time, so that I am not recreating things that others have already done (and done much cuter than I could ever do...), but I love that I am helping other teachers out by putting a little extra cash into their pockets for all of their hard work!

This site has been a great resource for games to include in my word study stations during my daily 5 rotations as well as math games for math workstations.  I simply type in the focus for the week and see what comes up. 

Aaaand did I mention that they are cheap?!?

Here are a few of my favorite games lately...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Crazy-for-Coconuts-Letter-Sound-Games-Use-with-Chicka-Chicka

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Blend-Friends-Lit-Station-Mats

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Math-and-Literacy-Games

Ready to Rock

Ok...I'm ready to get this blog up and running.

:)

Gratuitous class pic....as I just CAN'T publish a post without a picture!
;)

A very special thanks to Becca at Jumping Jax Designs for creating this beautiful blog design!

I'm not very technology savvy...but it is one of my goals this school year to really push myself to become more proficient and use technology as much as I can. 

That being said, my intern has introduced me to a great website host:

http://www.weebly.com/

I have tried other sites in the past and have even toyed with the idea of using blogger as it is a format I am very familiar with, however all other options I've looked at were missing one thing or another.  So, when I checked out weebly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had everything that I was looking for and even things that I didn't know I wanted!

:)

It is free and very user friendly!  There is also SO much that you can do with the site, like keeping a blog right on the web page. 

We are working on learning more about the site and its capabilities, but we do have our classroom website up and running.  Hopefully, I can continue to work on it throughout the year and use it to its full potential.

Feel free to check our classroom website out at:

http://mrssquiresclass.weebly.com/

Anyone else have some great recommendations for website hosts? 

Stand by...

I'm so sorry that I have been MIA for a bit! 

I've been working hard getting to know these fabulous firsties:

I am still planning on posting to this blog. 

 I have just been doing a little behind the scenes work, but plan to be back to posting regularly VERY SOON!

:)

Classroom DIY and a Place to Park it...

I always love this time of year for getting in all of those little things that you would never attempt at any other point in the school year because there simply isn't enough time. 

For me, this meant some little crafty type projects to help pull together my room's "pond" theme. 

I had so much fun running around Michael's grabbing little pieces to complete the look. 

Here's what I came up with...

 Welcome sign right outside the classroom door.

  The orange "school of fish" have each kiddo's name on them. 

When the kiddos come in, they will put their fish in "the pond" for their lunch choice.  Then, throughout the day, if they have to leave the room, or "the pond," they will move their fish out to the side under the label explaining where they are. 

The labels on the far right are blank, so that I can write, with dry erase marker, the different teachers or support staff that may be pulling students out. 

There is also a section for "boy" and "girl" so that they can pull their fish out if they go to the restroom. 

I have decided to manage restroom "passes" in this way, so that the students don't have something in their hands to carry and hold when they are in the restrooms, as it inevitably will end up getting... shall we say....germ-y at some point or another.  So to circumvent the whole thing all together, one boy fish and one girl fish at a time may leave the pond to use the restrooms and they will move their fish out and back in when they return...

no germs!

(unless they forget to wash their hands...)

;)

 Cattail bouquets around the reading area.

And here is my intern's place to park it! 

:)

Big people chairs are hard to come by in our building, and unfortunately

(or fortunately, depending on how you look at it....)

all I could rustle up was this incredible gross, has-seen-better-days, masterpiece of a chair.  I had some extra fabric from my bulletin boards, so armed with a staple gun, my hubby reupholstered it to transform it into this beauty! 

Is it bad that I kinda wanted to swap her for it?!?

;)

And finally, this is just plain fun!

I found this idea on Pinterest and knew I wanted to do it right away!!

How cute is that??

I plan on using it throughout the year for random things. 

I am using it as a welcome activity on the first day...

but more about that later!

A Few Favorites...

I am up to my elbows in a classroom remodel...

and this is something that is making me SO excited!

It is a magnetic calendar from Lakeshore Learning! 

I love that all the pieces are right here on the chart, that it is heavy duty and study enough to last for years without starting to look ragged, is bright and crisp looking, and is not big at all! 

 I am so glad Lorna found them and talked me into getting one!!

Ok...and this one is just plain fun!

(Not to mention so much better looking than the standard gray tub that was in my room!)

It is made out of old magazine pages!

I found it at Michael's, originally for $20, I snagged it for the 40% off baskets deal they had going on, in addition to the 15% teacher discount they always give!  (Where was I when they announced that discount?!?!?  I ALWAYS spend a fortune at Michael's for my classroom and NEVER knew they gave teacher discounts!!)

And so it begins...

My unfinished classroom, waiting for a little TLC and magic before another school year begins...

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love the changing colors of the leaves, the smell on the crisp fall breeze, the tastes of apple, cinnamon, and pumpkin, and the feel of cozy sweaters. 

But most of all, I love the anticipation of a new school year!

Last year, during the start of the school year, I was out on maternity leave with my very first baby!  While I LOVED being home with him during my favorite season to do all of the "fall-ish" things Michiganders love to do, I really did miss teaching the "launch" of my classroom community.

So when that magical date of August 1st (the day I always start prepping for the upcoming year) rolled around on my calender, I was pretty eager to begin the fall planning!

Maybe it was the time off last year, (due to some complications healing after child birth, my maternity leave was extended until after the December break) maybe it is the need to be extremely well organized so that I can maximize my time with my son, or maybe it is just the fall...

but for whatever the reason, I feel this new resurgence of passion in teaching and it has prompted me to start this blog.

I hope to use this blog as a reflective diary to help me gather my thoughts at the end of those crazy, busy days in first grade. 

To help me grow in my teaching practice, as I strive to meet the needs of all of my students as we enter an era of higher standards, higher class sizes, with lower funds and lower support. 

To catalogue ideas and strategies that have worked...and those that haven't so that I may continue to learn from my mistakes and hopefully inspire my students to see the magic in learning!