homework folders

today i went to office depot with my coworkers and had a blast! :) we got free breakfast, got a free goodie bag, and bought a few things ;)

i bought 60 folders for 60 cents plus 20% off :) = 45 cents!

since i'm teaching two different grade level i thought i'd buy two different colors so they feel different and not the same!

i made copies and cut the papers then glued in on... now i have to laminate them so it can last the whole year!

here is a look into the kindergarten folders

the front

 the inside (numbers chart + high frequency words)

the back - the alphafriends

here is a look into my first grade folders

inside the folders (high frequency words 1-100, 101-200)

high frequency words 201-300 plus response to literature questions

day four

Today i was at school literally ALL day!! didn't even eat lunch because i was so busy working! in the middle of the day i had grade level collaboration with the 1st grade team! i'm so excited to be working with them! 

here's another look into my classroom....

i'm having a little too much fun with this corner of my classroom! :)

the more you read the more you know the more you learn the more places you'll go! :)

dr. seuss

organizing thing into bins! i keep telling myself it's gonna be worth it once school starts!

kleenex and hand sanitizer donation box! :)

  my math bin with several math manipulatives

still working on this math bin

i bought a brand new carpet from ikea. it was one of the cheapest ones~ 

:)

day three

today i did a lot of organizing, sorting, moving furniture, and more organizing! my room is such a hot mess right now...

here is what i did today~ 

welcome to starBAEKs cafe! :) now serving our iced cold apple juice & hot chocolate!

try our new venti iced orange juice and pair it with your favorite book!!! :)

 so our school does this program called Accelerated Reader  (AR) which is a reading program designed to help monitor student progress in their reading levels... they have to read a book and take a reading comprehension test online and if they pass they move to the next level. if they don't pass they have to keep taking the test over and over again! :(

 so each starbucks cup is equivalent to a level. every time they move up a level they can move to the next cup over. i'm planning on writing their names on the green straws and possibly having an incentive every time they move up a level!! :)

espresso and coffee frames from home

i decided to free hand and draw on the butcher paper with chalk! :)

SHHHHHHH!

Don't tell anyone, but I give my kids peppermint candy if I find that they are trying really hard to use their brains! :)

I fill a jar with peppermint candy

grab a flower vase and a permanent marker and label it "refresh your brain!" get it?  :)

it's so inexpensive plus the kids LOOOOOVE the spicyness :) 

one of my students said "i can feel it refreshing my brain right now!!!" 

day two

i went to lakeshore and CM school supply today with my lovely coworkers... 

had lunch and came back in the afternoon~ 

here's another look into my classroom

 the wall has borders... it really makes the wall stand out!

i didn't really do much with this wall... added the calendar~ 

 my brand new welcome sign i got from cm school supply store

shoot for the moon even if you miss you'll reach among the stars!

our school does this thing called "rocket math" which is basically a timed math test and it has levels from A to Z... addition and subtraction.

*I'm borrowing the rocket from one of my coworkers! she is so sweet!!! :) i don't know WHAT i would do without her~

my language arts focus wall for both kindergarten and first grade... 

the left is kinder and the right is first grade...

i still have a long way to go... 

i'm happy about all the progress that was made! :)

thanks, charllie for your help!

day one

Yesterday I signed my contract for this upcoming school year and today I started setting up my classroom... I did SO much today! I am so thankful for all the help I got. Man, I am so lucky and blessed to have them in my life! <3

my classroom - I had boxes and boxes stored away in the corners of my classroom. i had to cover it so that they could use the classroom for summer school and so they could shampoo the carpet!

yes, i have an archaic television that doesn't even work and it takes up SO much valuable space!

my classroom looks so plain and lifeless without butcher paper/borders!

a work in progress!

i will be teaching a combination class this year - Kindergarten and 1st Grade so that's why there are two different walls.

my friends helped me make the tree, grass, leaves, branches, and EVERYTHING on this wall! I am so lucky!!!! <3

Crazy Cute Clipboards

not my idea!! but here's how i redid it to make more easy and more me! :)

Materials needed
1. double sided tape
2. clipboard
3. 2 sheets of scrapbooking paper

First I grabbed my clipboard and applied double sided tape to four corners

you can use glue stick if you don't have double sided tape on hand. 

and selected two cute scrapbooking paper

in the end, be sure to seal the deal with mod podge! :)

i plan on making clipboards for all my lovely co-workers! 

i hope they love it!!

pencil holders..

So as I came across a super cute blog peacelovelearning and she had the cutest idea for a pencil holder! :) I'm all about recycling things... so i used recyled cans and cute scrapbooking paper and transformed them into this...

* sharpen please* *ready to write*

if the students ever have a dull/broken pencil they can place it in the *sharpen please* and grab a sharp pencil from *ready to write*

i applied a layer of mod podge to seal the deal! :) i love mod podge!!



it's super inexpensive, cute, and very useful! i cannot wait to use it in my classroom! :)

thinking chair

i had a plain green chair from ikea that my dad got for free from a yard sale.

i bought stickers from michael's!! (by the way, teachers get 15% everyday on ALL purchases if you show your CTA card. sweet!)

purchased mod podge and sponge..

mod podge is this awesome glue and it just seals everything in place.  

the best part is... it dries CLEAR!!!!!

the students that are disruptive or decide to be silly will get to sit on the thinking chair for a couple of minutes.

:) i hope it works!!