Apparently I Don't Know My ABCs!

Oh I seriously think I'm losing my mind y'all! As I was trying to finish setting up my writing center I noticed this...

WhAt?!?!? I think it's time to just go home!!! lol  Oh well... it happens I guess! I'm thinking that I need to recheck my classroom one last time before posting my classroom reveal pics! This cute little alphabet banner is part of my ALPHABET FUN pack... 

Don't forget that the big TpT Sale ends tonight (August 2nd) at midnight! Add the code BTS2017 at checkout for additional savings!

A Little Peek at my Classroom

Here's a few pics from my classroom. After a few weeks in school, I'm finally getting around to posting them. (I'll have to say...the first few weeks of kindergarten are a doozy! Whew!!! H-E-L-L-O exhaustion!) After moving my classroom last year, I found myself packing up & moving again (groan)-that's 2 years in a row! Don't get me wrong, I was super excited for the opportunity to move to kindergarten but....all that packing!!!...the only good thing about moving classrooms is the opportunity to throw away some   a LOT of the "treasures" that I have collected. Aghhhh! How does one accumulate SO much stuff?!? Well, anyway here I am! And I love LOVE it!

LUV my chevron rug!

Lunch Choice & End of the Day Transportation Board

 

view from inside my classroom

peeking into my classroom (it looks so quiet!)

Hallway Bulletin Board

I hope that everyone's school year is off to an amazing start! Happy fall!

Goin' on a 1st Grade Adventure {Classroom Pics}

Today was our 1st day of school & I was definitely ready for a few minutes on the couch when I got home! Wow-what an adventure it was! I was surrounded by 18 lil sweeties that were super excited to be BIG 1st graders! And let me say, they were WONDERFUL! Don't ya just love seeing those new school shoes & spark of excitement in the kiddos eyes?!?

I did manage to snap a few pictures right before our Open House....Oh, everything looked so nice & neat {I know, I know....that won't last too long once my new firsties start that "learning adventure"!) So here are a few pics of my classroom...

Our theme this year is "Safari" and... I just LOVE LOVE "Pete the Cat" so....Wah-Lah! my hall bulletin board is a safari-version of Pete. {Did you notice his hightop zebra-print Converse sneekers? Pete is definitely ROCKIN' in his new school shoes!}


This is the view from my door.

My room has lots of zebra print & this year I have added some bright polka dots to the mix {blue, green & pink} & I also wanted to redo all of my bulletin boards so that they all coordinated. {The people at the teacher store looked at me crazy when I bought 5 packages of the same polka dot border!}

This is the front of my classroom. I really love how my new Bright Dots ABC posters & banner turned out. The pennant banner hanging above my alphabet says "1st Grade Rocks!"

This is our calendar/group meeting area and...

...this is my small group area. I'm really excited about my new crate seats! They fit perfectly around my reading table. I had a rectangle table here last year, but it always seemed to crowd the space. I really like the cozy feel of the smaller table!

That is my desk hiding behind the bookshelf. {It will be hiding under a pile of papers in about a week!} I don't think I sat down there even once today!!! Whew-those first few days are literally an adventure!

And the area that I have been working on for quite a while-my reading nook! I was inspired by my super-bloggin' bud Katie {aka-Queen of the First Grade Jungle} I just loved her puff balls & made mine from some tulle that I found on sale at Hobby Lobby. {I will post more details of my reading center/classroom library in a few days.}

I know this pic looks kinda plain, but it won't be for long. The black background on my word wall will be soon filled with bright green word cards. I also hot glued clothes pins to a ribbon & then hung it across the wall {with Command Hooks} to hold my word family posters.

This is the kiddos mailboxes & also where they make their lunch choice each morning.

And that's the quick tour of my lil classroom!

My Classroom Pictures & Behavior Management Clip Chart!

Oh! It's time to kick my feet up {for a few minutes anyway} because it's finally the weekend! I've had 3 days with my new lil firsties & they are a batch of cuties!!! I forgot just how much extra energy it takes these first few weeks just to establish routines. At the last minute, I decided to change my behavior management system just a little bit. Katie, my zebra-lovin' soul sister over at Queen of the First Grade Jungle had an awesome post on her behavior clip chart system. I REALLY love the idea of rewarding all of those kiddos who always make good choices. Katie's clip chart system is a picture perfect match with my  Prize Pass Catalog! I'm soooo excited about this & so are my kiddos! Anyway, here are some of my classroom pics...

Here is the view of my classroom door from the hallway

I have a small piece of picket fence dividing off my classroom library/reading center. I hung a pocket chart on the fence for my pocket chart center.

My reading/listening center! This cozy little zebra bench was another DIY project. I used one of my shorter shelves and added the sides & back. Popped a couple zebra cushions on & WAh LAh!!! Oh, almost forgot... I trimmed the edge with zebra duct tape. Zebra Duct Tape?!? Amazing the stuff you can find at the dollar store!

Don't look too closely at this area...YIKES! I'm really guilty of making "piles".

Big thanks to Katie {Queen of the First Grade Jungle} for sharing her behavior clip chart! Click HERE to check out her post. She has some super-cute jungle-themed sayings on hers! I attached mine to the side of my file cabinet {right next to Deanna Jump's Common Core Standards Posters} and attached ribbon down the sides to clip the students' name clips on to.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my lil home-away-from-home! If you're interested in a freebie copy of my clip chart, just click HERE!!! 

Welcome to My Classroom Pictures & My Prize Pass Catalog FREEBIE!

Omigosh! I'm feeling a bit exhausted! I've been hitting it hard in the classroom and still not quite ready. I keep finding piles of unorganized "stuff" everywhere I look! BUT...I am soooo excited to finally have my Wild DIY Door Canopy hung up! What do you think?

I'm really happy with the way it turned out after all those hours of ironing-didn't sew a stitch in this entire project! {Yep! you heard right - it is a NO SEW project!} Check my earlier post to see just how I made it-click HERE for that tutorial post.  Thanks to Abby at The Inspired Apple for the inspiration for the banner edge on my canopy.

Not sure if you can see my "Secret Code Word" wheel hanging on the door, so I took a close up pic of it. Since I have this jungle theme going, I needed to spice that wheel up a bit also. You guessed it-zebra print! I just attached the "Secret Code Word" wheel to a piece of zebra print scrapbooking paper and...WOWsie!!

This word wheel is a great way to practice sight words with your kiddos during transition times. My students love it! Click HERE to read all about the Secret Code Word wheel. The other sign is hanging right next to my door. Don't you just love that oh, so cute ribbon?!? I also want to share another lil project that I've been working on..."Our Best Behavior Prize Pass Catalog". I've tossed that ole prize box & replaced it with this...

I give each student a punch card. {Click the pic to download Punch Card FREEBIE} After their card is full, they can look through this catalog for a prize {such as No Homework, Show & Share, Stinky Feet, etc...}

When they have decided on a prize, I initial and pass out a coupon that they can use whatever day they would like.

I cannot take credit for this idea- thanks so much to Amanda at Frolicking Through First, Beth at Primary Connections & Jess at Rambling About Reading for the inspiration! {You have to check out their awesome blogs!} I combined some of their suggestions with a few ideas of my own and added a touch of zebra to create my catalog. I shared this with some of the teachers in my building and they just loved the idea. So, I would like to share it with you too! Just click on each picture for your FREEBIES!