What does your classroom say about you

What does your classroom decor say about you?

Anyone that is reading this blogpost is most likely either a teacher or a parent. And most teachers are also parents. Everyone can relate to taking your student to their classroom for the first time. One of the first things you notice as a parent may not be the teacher, or the other students but the classroom itself.

What kind of teacher did my son/daughter get this year? Classroom decorations go a long way to communicating what kind of a teacher you are to both parents and youngsters.

So when you are putting together your classroom what do you want it to say about you? Are you strict? Fun? Energetic? Boring? Are you "with it?" (Do you know what is popular with the kids in the age range that you are teaching?

Decorating your classroom with popular cultural icons can go a long way to making that important first connection with your students. And having inspirational posters and posters on behavior is one of the key components to any good classroom management plan.

So all that said, are you ready?

My sister Hilary Lewis has been teaching 2nd grade for over 20 years and this year ended up moving to a new 3rd grade classroom with only 2 years left before retirement! We joined forces over the summer and came up with some classroom decorations in the style of Minecraft called Blockcraft Kids and Pets that will make your life easier and hopefully help make those all important connections.

With the TPT site wide sale and 28% Off everything in our stores, now is the time to find some amazing new decorations and organizational stuff for your classroom! Take a look at some of the decor we created:

Name tags that are individualized can make kids feel special!

Labels that go with the theme brightens up your spaces and helps with organization, not just for you but for anyone that is volunteering or helping in your classroom:

And for classroom management it helps to post character traits that are important to classroom culture, for all kids and parents to see:

And inspiring those kids to learn is one of the biggest parts of our job as teachers. Here are some inspirational posters from my store too!

Good luck with setting up your own amazing classroom this year! Make it the best year ever! So that your students look like this:

And not like this:

I found some great tips from Edudemic on how to help young children feel safe and more at ease in the classroom:

• Have group activities where children are encouraged to decorate the classroom together.
• Install a large bulletin board and encourage student to bring photos of their family and pets to pin on the board. Children should also be encouraged to bring and share items of cultural significance to display.
• Hold an orientation early in the school year where parents are invited to the classroom. This will serve as an icebreaker and help the classroom environment feel less strange."

Have the best year ever!

Sabrina

Classroom Facelift

Hello!! Happy August! I am Melanie from Momma with a Teaching Mission . I am a first grade teacher and am going into my 3rd year. I inherited my classroom and MANY items in my classroom. And I will be FOREVER grateful to the lady who retired who I replaced. She left me books, baskets, games, centers, and so much more. But after two years of kind of still living in 'her' classroom, I decided to make some changes. Maybe you are in the same boat as me, so keep reading!!

So many things I left the same for the past two years. Which nothing is wrong with, however, I felt like it was time to put my spin on the classroom! So I decided to write a little post about dressing up or giving your windows a face lift with some do-it-yourself made curtains.

So when I got hired 2 years ago, the bulletin boards were empty. So that was one area I went ahead and purchased the chevron fabric to cover the bulletin boards. HOWEVER, I know nothing about buying fabric, so when I purchased the fabric for the bulletin boards, I had lots left over! These leftovers have been sitting folded in one of my cabinet drawers to almost 2 years!

So the other day, during my lunch (I'm teaching summer school), I thought, 'hey, let's dress up these windows!' So I got all my fabric out and laid it on the desks! And my it was ALOT!!

This is a before picture of the window. As you can see, I put little stuffed animals on the shower curtain rod. But it's just awful!!

So I cut the curtain strips about 3 inches wide, and they were about 2 feet long. I had 4 different kinds of fabric (which I had originally bought at Hobby Lobby). I had Black and white chevron, white and pink chevron, blue and white chevron, and then another pattern with the black/white/blue/pink with flowers. My room colors are blue, pink, white, and black.

So this is the after! I am nowhere near a seamstress and I definitely won't quit my day job! But I think it looks cute and it adds a pop of color to the windows! I just tied the fabric strips to the shower curtain rod and I was done in about 45 or so minutes!!

Make sure to check out my blog, as I will be doing a classroom revel at the beginning of September!! Momma with a Teaching Mission Wishing everyone a fantastic new school year!

Melanie

Burlap Bulletin Board

Hi there! I'm Neetu from Cinnamon's Synonyms and I'm thrilled to be blogging here on Who's Who today!

I have a quick little bulletin board tip to share with you ...I actually came up with this idea by pure accident!

Here's the real deal: I am not very talented when it comes to making bulletin boards look pretty. No, really... I'm not. I usually find myself fiddling with my boards ... constantly... because I NEVER like the way things look.  After several failed attempts I usually give up and accept my attempt for what it is (because honestly, who has time to fuss with this stuff when there are a gazillion things to do in the day).

This year, I haven't fiddled with my board once!! Annnd, get this... I continue to receive compliment after compliment on the way my board looks! Yay! Success!!!

In the fall, when school started, I knew I wanted to have a neutral background for my boards. Something that would make my students' work just pop!  In our district there's a huge push for Reggio inspired kindergarten classrooms and although I don't teach kindergarten I thought it'd be neat to incorporate some natural elements into my decor just as the Reggio philosophy encourages.

My initial plan was to just cover the board in this burlap material I had laying around in my basement. I figured it'd be perfect because if the material is resilient enough for the outdoors, then it'd be an ideal way to create a fade-proof bulletin board for my classroom.

I had one problem though...

It barely stretched out far enough to reach the top and bottom of my boards.  Take a look:

I had two rolls of burlap, so I used one to cover the center part of the board.

Then, I cut the other roll in half (lengthwise) and used it to cover the empty parts at the top and bottom. I knew it would look sloppy if I just stapled it flat -  it would look like three ugly rows of burlap. This is when the idea to do this poofy thing came about:

Burlap is extremely easy to work with... the little poofs just happen naturally. Yep, burlap is your reliable friend and will do all the pretty poofing for you. NO SKILL REQUIRED... but people will think you're super talented with mega decorating abilities.  I love Burlap! It took the stress right out of beautifying my board.

It's February now, and I haven't had a single urge to change it out! 6 months is the longest relationship I've had with a bulletin board. I think this is true love!

Neetu teaches in a school with a high population of English Language Learners. With the awareness that students learn best through visuals (whether they speak English as a second language or not), she strives to create engaging language based resources filled with illustrations that kids just dig! There is a strong language component in everything she creates (including her math and science activities). This is inspired by her need to help her students build the vocabulary required to succeed in every subject, not just language arts.  Visit her store by clicking HERE.

Valentine's Day Woven Paper Hearts Activity

Valentine's Day Woven Paper Hearts

Do you need a last minute no prep Valentine’s Day activity? The Woven Paper Hearts are easy to make and can be used as part of a display or as little baskets for storing Valentines. The effect is really beautiful when made with contrasting colored paper or patterned scrapbooking paper.

To make cutting out the template easier for young children, you can print out the outline on to coloured construction paper from the First Palette.

Steps for making the Woven Hearts

1. Cut out the template and fold the paper in half.

2. Cut along the lines.

3. Starting with the upper strip, begin weaving through the strips. Weave the first strip of one of the pieces of paper inside the first strip of the second piece of paper. Weave it over the second strip of the first piece of paper, inside the third strip, and over the fourth strip.

4. Begin with the second strip and alternate the weaving. Weave the second strip of the first piece of paper over the first strip of the second piece of paper. Weave it inside the second strip, over the third strip, and inside the fourth strip.

5. Continue weaving the remaining strips.

6. If you wish to add a handle, tape the ends of a strip of ribbon to the inside of the basket.

Now, you can use the hearts to decorate your classroom or as baskets for storing sweets and Valentines.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to make Woven Paper Hearts.

Creating a Classroom Theme

Are you trying to get ready for the beginning of the year and can't decide if you should do a classroom theme? I know there has been an article going around about whether classroom themes are distracting and that classroom don't necessarily have to be "cute". I LOVE having a classroom theme. In my opinion, having the same colors throughout the room really unifies the space and makes everything flow. I used to hate how one bulletin board would have apples, the next was numbers, etc. I changed bulletin boards and decorations monthly to go along with holidays. Having a classroom themes saves me time because I'm no longer switching everything out. I keep the bulletin boards and decorations the same all year. 

My classroom is decorated with polka dots and in black with bright color accents (hot pink, purple, bright blue, lime green). My kids know me as the "polka dot room". One kindergartener got lost the 2nd day of school and when another teacher asked her who her teacher was, the little girl said "I don't know, but I'm in the polka dot room":) She found us! 

My Classroom

The view when you walk in

The kids are holding cupcakes with the day of their birthday on it. I love having this visual of when their birthdays are. My students enjoy seeing who shares their birthday month or whose birthday is coming up soon.

I attach circles to popsicle sticks and then put them into these library pockets. They are easy to take in and out whenever I need to change my job helpers. 

You can't tell, but the name cards are velcroed to a piece of construction paper. I just move their names down to the next center at the end of each day. {click the picture to see these literacy and math center cards}

My word wall is interactive, and the kids really liked using it! I simply attach the words to the ribbon with paper clips.

Love using this idea to easily move kids clips from one ribbon to the other if they change their dismissal for the day. I'll also attach he note to their clothespin so I have a big reminder of it when I walk out the door.

These can be found in my Polka Dot Themed classroom packet, which has over 150 pages of materials to help you get your room ready. 

Not a fan of polka dots? No problem! I have 13 different classroom themes. Click the picture to see all of them. 

What are your thoughts on classroom themes? Do you use a theme?

Winter Olympics ~ Country Research Project

Country Research Journals

Researching skills are difficult enough to teach in elementary school, not to mention teaching these skills to a group of 5 and 6 year olds. I have decided to seize the opportunity of the Winter Olympics and use them to take on two of the more difficult Common Core State Standards of researching.

The two standards that I am focusing on with my country research journals are:

1.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

2.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

The students who are in my top two reading groups will be taking a break from guided reading. Instead, they will be the country captains of nine different countries participating in the Winter Olympics. They will be spend their guided reading time researching ten questions  about their assigned country. The students will also have three weeks to finish their journals at home with their parents. The students are also paired with one or two other students to share their research information with. The other students in the group will have an Olympic journal to help keep track of all the medals that their country has won.

10 researching questions

1. What is the capital of your country?

2. What is the population of your country?

3. What are some foods native to your country?

4. Who is the president of your country?

5. What is one interesting fact you have found while researching thus far?

6. What language does your country speak?

7. What type of currency does your country use?

8. What are some traditions your country follows?

9. Where is your country located?

10. Reflect on all your research. What was the most interesting thing you have learned about your country?

My research journals are designed for kindergarten (with lots of adult help) but could easily be used up to third grade. Each page has one research question and specific content to help facilitate the research question. The bottom of each page has a section where the students are to circle the means of their research. They have the options of: “Book”, “Library”, “Internet”, “Asked Adult” and a space to write in a different response.

The students will also hold mini presentations on their countries. They will show the other students their journals and present the information that found for the above questions. 

Watching The Olympics Live

These nine students are also paired with one or two other students from the class to share their research. The other students who are not completing research journals will be keeping track of the medals won while watching the Olympics.

My classroom is exploding with country pride. We have a bulletin board where we are graphing the medals each morning, flags representing our countries hanging in the hallway, and Russian flags  with the Sochi Olympic Mascots.

Country Flag Banners:

Materials:

Outline of flags printed on construction paper Part of my Winter Olympic Pack

Sharpies

Watercolor paints

Paintbrushes

Smocks

Directions:

I gave the students smocks to wear since sharpies are permanent. I had the students trace the outline of the flags with sharpie to strengthen their fine motor skills and handwriting abilities. This will also help keep the ink from bleeding with the watercolors. The students then painted the flags from examples I have made. Once the flags were completed I punched two holes and strung them with yarn to hang in our hallway.

Medal Bulletin Board

We have been graphing the medals won from our 9 countries we are researching, as well as, the United States on our hallway bulletin board. All the resources for this Bulletin Board Set can be found In my Winter Olympic Pack