Organization Classroom Tour ~ May's Currently

     Well. . .  I will start out admitting that I have been MIA. I truly do LOVE reading all the awesome blogs out there. I read them everyday ~ it's my downtime, my inspiration, my encouragement. . . That said I also "plan" on being more consistent. I will say that my first year of teaching is almost over and my first bit of advice to ANY firs tear teacher is to just accept that the first year will be hard NO MATTER what you think!!!! (how's that for a long sentence)

May's Currently:

I LOVE that Farley from Oh' Boy Fourth Grade does this ~ it always pushes me out of my shell. The whole pageant title pushed me out of my shyness (my boyfriend helped me out . . . hopefully that's alright). 

     While I've been MIA I've been reevaluating how I function as a teacher. I realized that being ORGANIZED is essential and started working on my from to make manipulatives and resources more available to my students and myself. One of my ABSOLUTE favorite things to read on blogs is classroom setup / classroom organization. I LOVE IT! Without further ado this is my home away from home. I will be posting the rest of my classroom in the next several days.

I have two entrances to my classroom. One is on the left and the other on the right. This is the view you see when you walk in through the left entrance door. My crate seats were made by my grandpa and are in excellent condition after a year of second grade fun. I use my guided reading table for small group work and as my desk. My rule of thumb is that it has nothing on it at the beginning or at the end of the day. The blanket is a Dots candy blanket. My classroom is candy/primary colors themed. I am always cold so it comes in HANDY. 

This is another view. There is a linky I read about that was going around called "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" (or something to that effect. That corner next to the filing cabinet is what I consider to be my "ugly" ~ mostly because I haven't quite decided what I want to do with the red bookcase. I amy move it to a different area of the classroom or give it away. One thing I've noticed is that teachers (or most of them) rarely can let things go. I want to be practical about what I keep in my classroom. I mean it is a classroom and is supposed to be a learning rich environment. I've gotten rid of several things and have been questioned on some of those decisions ~ but I still love the decisions I made. One of those things was my "traditional" teacher desk. Below you will see some of the things that allowed me to be completely fine (actually thrilled) to get rid of my desk).

another angle

Behind my small group table I have "book bins" for all the subjects I teach. They are labeled and they hold the current teaching manual, related papers, textbooks, and anything else I will use often while teaching that subject. It has been one of my favorite organizational tricks. 

In the subject bins I also keep a notebooks or such that I am modeling to my students and doing with them.

I saw this idea floating around Pinterest and decided I was going to make one. This thing was about $12 from Home Depot. I used avery full page labels (plain sticker sheets) to print my candy themed labels onto. If anyone would be interested I'm happy to share :) It took my a couple times to get the perfect size but I did! To purchase these labels go HERE!

These are my favorite drawers. I will only by them from Office Depot. They are awesome. Why you ask? They don't slide right out, yet if you push in both sides they come out nice and easy. I use a ton of these in my classroom. The blank yellow one needed a label but I hand;t quite decided what I wanted it to say yet. When I do I will simply go and type it up. The reason for the line is in case I just want to write it in Sharpie till I have time or REMEMBER to print it out. People I forget WAY to many things for an individual of my age. I'm a young teacher ~ I mean youngest faculty member, people always say I look to young. . . you get the picture.

This is the bookshelf I'm not in love with but I do love it is clutter free. Above the desk is my Mon-Fri drawers ~ love those. I also have an "extras" drawer. This is for those times I need a time filling worksheet, hidden picture fun sheet, quick craftivities, and things like that. I also have it in my mind as a back-up plan for a sub who has to much "extra" time. 

In the desk to the left I keep my to be graded system. You can read about that HERE. On the right side of the desk is my copy folder an basket. I will add a picture of my folder (I think it is so fun). I keep what needs to be copied in the folder o the left side. Once it is copied, it moves to the right side to be filed back in the correct place. The copies made to use are put in the basket. Once I get back to my room they get placed in their appropriate places. Except for the white stack you see that I didn't move due to being late to pick my kids up from Specials (or at least thats what I think).  Underneath the desk I have this awesome six drawer organizer that I use every single day. The labels tell it all.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour so far. I would love to hear of  any thought you all have. I love organization. I believe an organized classroom make the teacher more efficient. In turn the teacher has more time to focus on academic instruction.

Busy Times . . . Swallowed a Chick

     Well. . . I just finished third quarter report cards on Friday! I will say report cards have become less scary the more I do them. I find the keys to be entering grades into the computer as you record them in your grade book, jot notes about each student for applicable comments, and cut off your grades a couple days ahead of time (this allows for everything to be graded and entered into the computer!
     We have moved on from the time, measurement, weight, and capacity topics in our math program! We have moved onto three digit numbers and place value! I can't wait to create some things using The 3am Teacher's place value graphics! Stay tuned for a freebie and unit!
     I know this may sound crazy but I was taught the beauty of guided reading and totally believed it and loved it. Now. . . sadly I wasn't doing it in my classroom till about 3 weeks ago. I am HOOKED! I love it. Are school doesn't require it and I just didn't feel like I was able to fit it in. I reworked things and everything fits so lovely. Of course I'm blog stalking all I can about guided reading and trying to figure the best way to implement it, schedule it, and organize it all. I also am beginning to fall more in love with math stations and want to learn about writer's workshop as well. If anyone has any ideas, tips, or suggestions about any of it PLEASE let me know!

     I've been trying to squeeze in some creating! I bought some cute graphics from Scrappin Doodles and created two literacy stations. They go along perfectly with the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick.

Old Lady Swallowed a Chick Noun & Verb Sort

Old Lady Swallowed a Chick ABC Order

The first three lovely bloggers to comment will get both sets for free (be sure to leave your email)!!!

Hickory Dickory Dock the Mouse Matched the Clocks and Grading System

      First up is a glimpse of my first math unit! It is a math center for telling time on analog clocks and digital clocks. I also just so happen to be in love with The 3 AM Teacher's clipart. I just can't get enough of it. Click on the title to go check it out at my TPT store (while you're there you can allays follow to get the latest updates). 

Hickory DIckory Dock the Mouse Matched the Clocks

     Next up is my grading system. I love being a teacher. . . but I very much dislike grading (I was always told hate is a bad word. . . ).  That said I love my grading system because it's organized, portable, and one stop spot for my grading. I bought this purple 7 tab expandable file system at Office Depot! I created a cute little sticker label that was whimsical with candy because I have to look at this thing a LOT. I love being able to throw it in my bag and take it with me anywhere and know everything I need to grade is in it!

I then added my subjects on each tab. When students turn in work that needs to graded I put it in number order with the answer key in a paper clip in the right tab.

It can stand on its own!

Up close pic of my tabs. . . in the very first pocket I keep stickers and favorite grading markers and pens. 

Some of my favorites . . . I try not to grade in red. I would love hearing thoughts about grading in red ink?

     What does your grading system look like? That's all I got tonight! I have this amazing Creamy Vanilla teas awaiting me with one of those amazing Hot Cocoa cupcakes I talked about in my last post!