The Beginning of the Year

Hey there friends! I know it's been awhile, but I'm still here! I started back at school on Monday, August 20th, immediately following a four day trip to California for one of my dearest friends' bachelorette party. My flight leaving LA was delayed, and I nearly missed my connection to Austin in Phoenix - I was the second to last person on the plane! If I hadn't sprinted through the airport I would have probably been stuck there overnight, as there were no more flights to Austin that night. Thank goodness that didn't happen, and I made it back to school on time along with my teacher friends.

The first day of school for students was August 27th, but we had a Meet the Teacher night the Thursday before school started, so I got to meet all of my new kiddos before the first day. I had every intention of sharing my room pics, back to school info, and first week plans with y'all before school started, but it seems I always forget just how overwhelming the first days back at school can be! I'm finally feeling more settled and on top of things, so for today, I want to share pictures of my classroom:

This is the view when you walk in the room. Two of the best decisions I made this summer were to get rid of my teacher desk and to move my teacher computer next to the student computer. I haven't missed my desk at all (I don't have nearly as many piles of papers now!) and I've been much less inclined to check my email during the day now that my computer is incorporated into a student area.

This is what you see to the right of the door - I love my new giant dry erase calendar (it's from PB Teen, and it's on sale right now!). Below the calendar are my emergency plans and sub folder. Those files are resting on top of a small bookshelf that is used to hold student lunch boxes. To the left of the monthly calendar is our daily class schedule, and underneath that is a student desk that holds Friday Folders and filing basket that holds all the papers accumulated throughout the week (those papers are what go home in the Friday Folders - things like lunch menus, PTA announcements, graded papers, etc.).

My classroom library is to the left of the door. The brown shelf on the left is where my math station supplies will go (in the black baskets); the bottom shelf holds dry erase boards, lap boards, and clipboards. The tall brown shelf now has text books on it, and the colored file bins now house my students' writing folders and journals. The green file boxes on top of the shelves are my students' book boxes (or browsing boxes). These boxes hold the books the kids are currently reading and their morning work journal, desk folder, and reading workshop folder. The bookshelf on the right shares a wall with our classroom bathroom, and above the shelf is my 7 Habits tree.    

The door to the classroom bathroom is to the left of the homework holder hanging file. I was inspired by this pin to make a sign to hang underneath the mirror that says "I can see the leader in me!" (source). The counterspace to the right of the sink is where students put their take home folders and agendas and the space underneath has two huge bins that hold student backpacks (one for boys, one for girls!).

This is the back wall of my classroom. I spent a good chunk of my summer organizing my math and science supplies, which are housed in the tall gray cabinet.  Last year, I stored a bunch of lord knows what underneath the counterspace - I just hid it with a polka dotted curtain like the one that's underneath my sink. I love how much more open my room looks because I'm no longer using that space as storage, and it's been a wonderful spot for the kids to write. I cut up an old writing process poster I had to make it eye level for the kids so they can see it as they sit back there and write! This is also where my word work/work on writing supplies are stored for Daily 5 (more info on those supplies to come in a follow up post).






This is my favorite space in my room - my teacher "desk" area (which is really the guided reading table). I spent a lot of time organizing and purging my teacher resources this summer - I'd collected a lot of duplicates and junk in five years of teaching, and it feels great to have less stuff! I'm really OCD about things matching and being organized - need proof? If you remember, the red bulletin board above my sink is for reading. Guess what kinds of books are in the red plastic bins on my shelf? Yup, my reading resource books. I also made my students' reader's workshop folders red. I love me some color coordination! I also spent way too much time creating binder covers for my teacher, sub, and student data binders (you can see them on the second shelf with the chevron spines), but having them all match makes my OCD heart happy! Also, I'm super in love with this space because of my handy dandy rotating desk apprentice from Staples. I love how all of my supplies are right there at my elbow, and the center section holds hanging files. 

I love this wall - it's behind my guided reading table, and it's full of memories from former students and pictures of my family. I made a section of the dry erase board to note student objectives for each subject for each week.

This is the view from my teacher area. The carpet to the left is where we gather for read alouds and syergy meetings. This view better shows where the bathroom is, and you can see the black plastic letter trays on the sink counter where the kids store their folders and agendas (the backpack bins underneath the counter are kind of hard to see, though). The computer station is underneath the yellow bulletin board.

These were all taken before the first day of school, so a few things have changed since then - for example, I now have 5 round student tables instead of 6. I have 20 students, and each round table seats 4, so 5 tables is perfect. If I happen to get another student at some point this year, then I'll have to get that table back, so although I know I'm running the risk of having to rearrange, there is so much more space without that sixth table so I think it's worth it!

I am in love with my classroom this year - it's by far the best set up I've ever had. I love how coordinated everything is, even down to the black border I used for each bulletin board. I just cut up strips of black construction paper to make it, and even though it took me several tries and many hours to get everything hung just right (each board is 12 inches from the ceiling - I told you I was OCD), I love how streamlined it makes my room look, so it was totally worth the time and effort.

I have loads more to share about the beginning of our year, so check back soon for another post about first week activities and ideas on how to begin teaching the 7 Habits to your class! Have a wonderful week, friends!





A Day In My Shoes Linky Party

Today I've got the day off, and I've been puttering around my apartment getting various things cleaned and organized, and then I'm about to head to my classroom - I know, I know, a day off and I'm going to school. But, I really can't think of anything else I'd rather do (besides maybe go shopping, and my bank account can't handle that right now). I have the whole afternoon to work in my classroom without any student interruptions or other teacher distractions, so I'm going to take advantage of it - plus, on Friday, my students got to launch the catapults they built and designed, and it took us right up until dismissal time to get it all done, so my room is a mess! 

Before I head out, though, I found a new linky party to join. This one is is called A Day in My Shoes, and it's hosted by Katie Klohn from Adventures of A 6th Grade Teacher. Head over to her blog if you want to link up, too!

Here's my typical day:

6:00 - My first alarm goes off on my phone. My alarms are all labeled, and this one says "Time to wake up!" The subsequent ones that follow are: 6:15 - No, seriously, wake up!, 6:25 - You'd better be up and dressed by now!, 6:35 - Time to be in the car! Do NOT still be in bed! Needless to say, I'm usually just getting out of bed by the 6:35 alarm. Oh well. 

6:35 - Get dressed, brush my teeth, figure out how to tame my mess of curly hair (I shower at night and go to sleep with my hair wet - some mornings my hair looks presentable; most mornings, it goes into a low bun or ponytail). Heat up tea to take to go (I hate coffee but I love chai tea - I buy chai tea concentrate and it tastes JUST like Starbucks - I just can't figure out how to "foam" my soy milk like they do - that's how Starbucks gets me!).

6:45 - Make sure kitties have food and water; grab tea, teaching bag, and purse and get my butt out the door.

7:00 - Arrive at school. Have to go through the front door by the office because they don't have an ID badge swiper for the doors by my classroom. Usually there are already kids waiting by the time I arrive - always makes me cringe because if my day feels long, I can't imagine how long it must feel for a child who is already at school by 7:00. Head to my room; unpack, check e-mail, make last minute copies or arrangements, if necessary. 

7:20 - First bell rings, kiddos descend. Students are expected to put away their folders, turn in homework, put their lunchboxes and backpacks away, then get started on their morning work. Sometimes I make them packets that last for the whole week; other times it varies from day to day. Every Friday, I write a prompt on the board and my students will write about it in their personal journals.

7:40 - Tardy bell; announcements start. We have a 5th grade AV team, and they broadcast the morning announcements live every morning. It's pretty cool, and my kids get to go on every few weeks or so to help say the pledges on air. 

8:00 - Check morning work using projector and document camera; move in to math lessons. I have several kids that get pulled for intervention classes during the morning, so I try to get started with math as soon as possible so they don't miss much. 

9:45, or thereabouts - Word work/vocabulary study - basically our time to focus on that week's spelling pattern or language arts skill. When we work on our spelling words, the activities vary from dictionary skills, alphabetical order, syllable sort, word finders, or anything else I can think of to make it more fun. The language arts activities also vary, depending on how far into the skill we've gotten.

10:15 - Intro to science or social studies, whichever I'm direct teaching that day. Science usually ends up being the subject I spend time direct teaching, since there are usually hands-on activities and experiments that go with it, so our social studies lessons usually end up being integrated into my guided reading or read to self stations (Daily 5, really, but my kids have taken to calling it read to self stations, so that's what I call it!). 

10:30 - Snack and recess. A break! Thank goodness - and since the weather's been wet and cold, we've been having indoor recess recently, and it's been great having an extra chunk of free time to answer e-mails, get myself ready for the next lessons, etc. 

10:50 - Specials/my conference time. Kids will either go to art, PE, or music, and this year, they've clustered our kids by gender, not by teacher, so ALL of the third grade boys will go to PE together, and then the third grade girls are then split into art or music - it's been a really good thing for the kids and for the specials teachers, because they get to focus more on the specific needs, wants, and social skills of boys and girls. While the kids are gone, I'm usually responding to e-mails, copying, working on the rest of the day's plans (especially my guided reading schedule), meeting with my team (if we need it), and taking care of various errands. We have a "quick copy" service at our school, and we can send off the copies we need to make to them and they'll have them back to us the very next day, in most cases, which is awesome (and it doesn't count against our copying code, so it's basically free for us!). But, it does take a lot of planning ahead to make sure you get it sent in on time, because as I've found out, just because you request it to be ready by a certain date, they do get backed up and it's not always for sure going to come to you on time, so the earlier you can request things, the better!

11:35 - Pick kids up from specials and continue with science lessons. 

12:25 - Lunch! Third grade has the last lunch of the day, so I have to make sure my kids get to the cafeteria on time because not only are they starving by this point, but the cafeteria ladies need to get my kids served so they can start cleaning up and get on with their day, too! By the time I get my kids to the bathrooms and handwashing station and then in to the cafeteria, I usually have about 20 minutes left for myself to eat and do whatever else I need to do, so that usually involves eating while doing other things. I keep a lunch bag of snacks at school so that I do not have to pack my lunch every day, and it has been a huge time saver in the morning, and I think it keeps me healthier! I always have cheese, apples or clementines, crackers or pretzels, and almonds on hand - sometimes I have chocolate milk, too (not from the school, though; my boyfriend's mom keeps me stocked with the Costco organic chocolate milks, and they satisfy me completely if I'm craving something sweet!). 

1:00 - Pick up kids from lunch; back to the room for a read aloud from our chapter book (which I need to start tomorrow - I haven't started one yet since we've been back to school, that's so terrible!). Then we move into guided reading and read to self stations. I've followed the Daily 5/Cafe ideas, and made it work for my class. Students don't get to choose the "station" they go to, unless that station has choices within it. I have 4 stations, and the kids start off at that station with their group, and they must complete that station's activity/assignment before they can move in to read to self. My stations are always changing, and to keep things short here, I'll tell about my stations in another post. As soon as students are done with their assignment or choice from their assigned station, they move right in to read to self. Since reading time does come at the end of the day, however, I have a few kiddos who start to get mighty restless and have a hard time remembering what good readers do - I have to give a lot of redirection while I'm trying to focus on my small group, so I need to find a good way to hold my independent workers and readers accountable.

2:30 - Bell rings; chaos ensues dismissal time. My folder people do their job of passing out everyone's folders, my paper people do their job of passing out graded papers or fliers or any other info pages that are supposed to go home to parents; as soon as everything has been passed out, my bus riders get dismissed first, then my walkers, then my car riders and day care kiddos. Students are expected to stack their chairs before they get their belongings, but every day I always have a few scattered chairs, as well as left behind coats and lunch boxes. I swear I wasn't that scatterbrained when I was in third grade!

2:40 - Depending on my dismissal duty (we rotate jobs on my team), I'll take the bus riders to the buses, take the walkers outside to the gym, or wait with the car riders to take them outside after the buses leave. Then the day is over and I go home! Haaaaaaa yeah right.

Depending on the day, I will either have a team leader meeting (Mondays), Destination Imagination practice with my 4th and 5th grade group of kids (Tuesdays and Thursdays), a faculty meeting (Wednesdays), team meetings (Thursdays), or RTI meetings (Tuesdays). I also work out every day that I'm able to with my co-worker - we've been trying to get in at least 3 workouts a week, but she also has a DI team, and she's also the team leader for her 5th grade team, so it doesn't always happen. But, we have really been making it a priority to squeeze in a work out before she has to pick up her daughter from daycare, and my body has been burning thanking me now that I'm on a more regular work out schedule.

Usually, I'm headed home by 5:30 or 6 - most of the after school meetings last until around 4:30, so I prioritize and get those things that must be done at school done first (printing, copying, etc.), then I'll load up my teaching bag with things that can be done at home (grades, lesson plans, etc.), and hopefully head out the door before the sun goes down. If I'm not able to get a work out in at school, I'll do that first thing when I get home, or else I won't do it. Then I make time for myself, to read my blogs, surf Pinterest, answer personal emails, etc., then do whatever else I need to for the evening - dinner, shower, grading, work on crafty things for my much-neglected Etsy shop, etc. I have been much better at making meal plans for myself, and that has greatly reduced my need to go to the store after work. Now that I'm planning ahead for my meals, I do all my grocery shopping over the weekend, and then I'm set for the week - I don't mind coming home after a long day and cooking, because I actually really like to cook, but if I've had to battle it out for a parking spot and stand in long lines at the store before I even get home, then cooking's not gonna happen. My boyfriend helps me cook, which makes the process go faster. Sometimes we'll go out, and sometimes he stays up at his place and doesn't come over at all, and if that's the case, who knows what I'll end up doing for dinner.

Just typing all that out makes me tired - do I really do all that every day?! No wonder I slept in til nine this morning. Of course, that doesn't even include the things I have to do for certain students - the modifications I have to make, the behavior charts I have to keep up with, the reteaching lessons I sometimes have to do with those kids who haven't quite gotten it yet - and the interruptions during the week like counselor, library, computer...but, crazy schedule and high demands aside, I seriously love my job, and I have a wonderful support system at school that includes my team, my administration, and the parents of my students - they definitely help make my job and my day-to-day happenings easier.

I hope you are all enjoying your day off - don't be a crazy person and go to school like I'm about to do!

Organization

When I first mentioned a few things about myself in the getting to know you first post, I should have mentioned that I adore organization. On the first day of school, the kids have their first "homework" assignment, where they have to reflect about their first day of third grade. One of the questions says, "My classroom is..." and I'm not kidding, almost half of my 21 kids completed the sentence with "organized." (That made me SO happy!!) And, apparently I've been an organizing fiend since I was a baby: my aunt Cheryl loves to tell the story of how, when I was young (like so young I couldn't walk yet), she was reading to me and at some point, my mom called for me. Before I crawled out of my room, Cheryl says I put all the books we had read back on the shelf, and then I went to find my mom. Well done, baby Katie, well done.

This morning, I woke up, and was determined to organize my Pinterest boards. Since I began pinning this summer, I've pinned over 200 things, just in my classroom board alone. Yesterday, as I began pinning things for specific classroom parties, I realized a pin for a valentine's day craft had no business being next to a pin for a math game. So, the organization began: I've now separated my initial classroom board into boards for classroom parties, math, reading/language arts, and science. I still have that original classroom board, and that's going to become the home for things that give me decorating inspiration, games, behavior ideas, and more.

I had a sub on Friday (third grade planning day, yay!), so I'm about to head up to school to get organized for the week ahead, and I'm going to take some pictures of my room while I'm there. In my next post, I'll be show you how I get things (and keep things!) organized in my room. How do you keep things organized in your classroom?