Parent Night

Wow! I clearly have to find my balance between teaching and blogging. My first three weeks are over, and I finally feel like we are officially in a routine and have truly become our own little classroom community. We have this little bond/connection now, and it feels so good!

I wanted to share what I did for Curriculum Night.. or Parent Night. Mine could not have gone any better! I think a lot of it is that I truly love what I do, and I don't mind telling parents that!

 I used a PowerPoint to keep my night flowing smoothly. I also read the sweetest poem about parents and teachers working together. The parents seemed to really enjoy it. 

Click {here} to get a copy for yourself!

Here is a look at what my room and desks looked like before parents came in:

On each desk I had a curriculum packet stapled and put inside of a construction paper folder, a little note written to parents from the student (index card), the sheet "Top 10 Things to Learn at Parent Night" filled out by the student, and an apple for the parent. I also had a blank index card for the parent to write a little letter back to the student. Oh my, their notes were the sweetest thing! What a great way to start a day.. getting a sweet note from your mom or dad!

Top 10 Things to Learn at Parent Night was the cutest little activity! You can find a copy of it for yourself {here}.

An apple for the teacher is nothing new... my favorite find of the summer!

 I also had my bee wish list out!

It was a great night. I think the key to any parent event is to make them feel happy and comfortable that their child is in your class! 

I will definitely be posting about my amazing Daily 5 experiences so far. :)

Open House

I absolutely loved meeting my new little ones at Open House! 

It was technically my first time doing it because last year I got hired two weeks into the school year.

Let's just say... I was SO excited, loved it, and then I was SO tired. 

Here are a few little goodies that I had set up for my sweet ones:

 Their little desks were ready with a few things on them: goody bag, all about me bag for homework, sweet dreams packet, and a folder for the parents. 

 Every time I would tell my little ones about this packet, I would get so giddy and excited! I really emphasized the "no peeking!!" I heard one say to a younger sibling, "If I can't look yet, you can't either!!" I also heard a few of them try to convince their parents that it really said Saturday. Their excitement was so cute! I can't wait to hear how it goes Sunday night. 

 Here is the little poem inside and confetti! Yay! I was so excited when I saw the idea from Sunny Days in Second Grade. Make sure you check the post out! I just changed the font and my name.  

Goody bag! One of my little ones put the gold medal on immediately and had the biggest grin on his face. Made me feel so good! The All About Me Bag was inside of the goody bag. They were really excited to get started! 

 Both of the little goodies on their desk.

This was the folder for parents. I had labels on the left side to complete and leave here, with labels on the right side that they could take it home and read. You can get the file folder labels I used {here}.

 I had piles for them to drop off their papers in. It worked great! When they were heading out they placed the papers in the correct piles.. or the cutest.. siblings were putting them in the right piles. Of course I told them how great they were for helping out!

Wish list! You can download the sign I used for my wish list and student letters {here}. The polka dot borders are from PreKinders. Check them out for free {here}.

 I had students work on this little checklist while their parents were filling paperwork out! It was too fun! The siblings loved helping out, too. It was a great way for them to walk around the room. You can get a copy {here}. Free font is called Hello Firstie from Jen Jones {here}.

This is the sign I had posted above their letters.

I had the letters my second graders wrote to my new class up for the little ones to read. They were a big hit! It was a part of the checklist that I had students complete, but I definitely had parents and grandparents stand over there and read through them.

We had a GREAT Open House! I can't wait for the first day of school on Monday!

Classroom!!

Woo! 

After what seemed life forever, I am finally done with my classroom, and it is set up and ready for Open House tomorrow morning! {I will do another post to share my Open House goodies!} 

I know I will probably change things or add things as the year starts, but I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out! 

View when you walk in!

View of the front of my classroom.

 This is my favorite board! I am completely obsessed. Look {here} to see the original idea from Life in First Grade.

Main Stage! The comprehension strategies above the board were free from A Year of Many Firsts.  I can't wait to see our class data. Oh, and the absolute best behavior chart ever.

 Front of the room!

I hot glued clothes pins to thumb tacks to make my life much easier! Now I can just switch the work out without using tape! The letters hanging are letters written by my second graders last year for Open House. 

 How are you going home? Clothes pins will be attached!

Back wall!

Work work area! 

 Math Workshop board! I cannot wait to try it this year. A big thanks to Clutter Free Classroom for sharing! You can see her post {here}.

 Get comfy and let's read!

 It's the little things that make me happy!

Daily 5. :)

View looking back at the door.

 "Bee" rules!

 I can't wait to try these ides from Whole Brain Teaching!

Ribbon happy! Bathroom passes (Students put the hand sanitizer on their desk when they go to the bathroom. Hopefully helps with making sure they washed their hands!)

It took a lot of work, but I couldn't be more excited about starting a new school year!
Most everything was Pinterest inspired, so if I didn't give credit where credit is due, let me know!

Back to School Today! (PrePlanning)

Ah! Why am I so excited? How could I be so excited? 

My summer is over, and I'm going back to work. 

But, I think it is because I LOVE what I do!  

My favorite quote (something like it): Find a job you love and you'll  never have to work a day of your life. 

Exactly! 

I am so excited that I was technically awake before my alarm went off at 5:00 this morning. 

And, when it did go off, I jumped up like finally! 

Classroom reveal set for Wednesday, August 8th. 

Where are you?

I finally finished something I have been working on! I can't wait to use it this year. I always try to keep track of students and where they go, but I have a fear that during a fire drill or any kind of drill I might forget where one student went. That fear made me get busy after I saw this perfect idea.

My inspiration from Julie at Second Grade Style:

My board had quite the problems! I originally bought a chalkboard, but found out the hard way that it was not magnetic. My sweet friend told me about magnetic paint. I was like, ok! Well, that stuff is too expensive for a little project like this. So thankfully, I was able to return the chalkboard and bought a magnetic whiteboard.

Here is what I created: 

What you need:

-magnetic board (cookie sheet, whiteboard, chalkboard)

-two different ribbons (one thin, one thick)

-round magnets

Here's what worked for me:

1. Place the magnets on the board so that you know how much room you will need for the top section.

2. Section the board using ribbon. (I cut strips of ribbon and then played around for a while.)

3. Hot glue the (green) ribbon down. I did horizontal and then the vertical pieces.

4. Hot glue the thicker ribbon around the edges. 

5.  Create a ribbon for the board to hang from. My whiteboard had two hooks at the top, so I put the ribbon through the hooks and then tied a bow at the top. 

5. Hot glue the ribbon to the hooks and in the center of the bow.

6. Print labels. I am also using Velcro to attach the labels. I have more than six options, but didn't want the sections to be any smaller. Some of my sections are not an everyday occurrence, so it will work for me. Do what works best for you!

(I am also using this as a way to check attendance! At the end of every day, the magnets will be put around the door. When students get to school each day, they move it to "I'm here!")

I plan to take a picture of each of my new sweeties at Open House, and then use their faces on the magnets. I am only doing that because I feel like it will be more reliable if there is a substitute in the room or there was an emergency. I did create numbers to print and attach to magnets.

Click {here} to get a copy of the labels and numbers. 

P.S. My Amazon shipment got in last night! I can't wait to use these in my reading corner. Oh, and the books are from Lindsey at the teacher wife's Must Have Picture Books Linky Party. Woo!

Tell Me More! {Linky Party}

I have decided to link up to Amy Lemon's Tell Me More, Tell Me More Linky Party!

Of course!

1. Did you know that Amy Lemon's blog is the reason I started blogging? Such an inspiration! I had no idea so many teachers were blogging, but boy am I glad to have found so many ideas. Here's to you Amy Lemons! And a big thank you!

2. I have been married for a little over a year now!! Ahh! It was the best day of my life so far. (I know that when I have my own little angels.. well that will just definitely be my favorite day!)

Hubs and I are the perfect little goofy team. (He is always making me laugh!)

3. War Eagle! Hubs and I both went to Auburn University, and we LOVED it! Oh my, Auburn is the the best. I am now a little obsessed with watching football (which I used to loathe). 

4. Hubs and I went to New York City this summer! Neither of us had been, and it was too fun! 

5. I am a one cup of coffee drinker a day person! I haven't always been, but when I realized how much icky stuff is in coke/soda, I had to stop! It has officially been a year and a half since I had any kind of coke. I feel great about it!!! No more icky! I'm hoping to quit coffee and switch to green tea/white tea. We'll see!

6. St. Lucia is beautiful! Especially the resort we stayed at for our honeymoon. There was a missing wall! That's right! Out of four walls in a room, one was completely gone. It is called open air, and it couldn't have been prettier! We were on the side of a mountain with the air and nature always there. Breathtaking!

7. Teaching is in my heart. I have the biggest passion for working with children. When I was a little girl I would teach my stuffed animals. That of course prepared me for my first year. (Kidding.. no, but my first year was amazing!) I am beyond excited for my second year of teaching!

8. We have a little kitty. He is actually very fat, but we love him more than you could know! I can't even imagine the love we'll have for our actual kids. So amazing to think about! (I love to wrap him up like a little baby.)

9. Fall is my favorite season. Pumpkin is my favorite food, smell, everything! I am completely obsessed with leaves falling, pumpkin candles burning, fuzzy blankets, and a pair of boots on. Ahh! I can't wait.

10. I love my friends. They really make me laugh!
My favorite flower: rose.
My favorite color: yellow.
Annnd, something I do really love: bees!

Your turn!