End of the Year

Hi Everyone, Liv here!

Wow. What a week! School has officially come to an end and post planning is technically over now.  

My team and I spent the last week of school having fun with our kids. All 5 of us decided to each do a different special activity in our classrooms and let all 90 first graders wander around from room to room. It was a success! One room offered x-box Kinect, one had art projects, another had a movie/popcorn, and my room had 8 different types of building blocks/construction type activities. I know what you are thinking---that is only 4 rooms....well, the 5th room was time-out (just in case things got a bit crazy!). Thankfully very few kids had to visit this room and fun was able to be had by everyone! It was a great way to end the year, and it gave the kids the chance to interact with students that they might be in class with next year!

Post-planning was yesterday and today, but I actually didn't spend more than 5 minutes in my room.  My kids did such a great job of helping me get things done the last week of school that it really freed me up to help my team, which was perfect!  We accomplished so much!  I helped our new teammate move from her 5^th grade room into her new 1^st grade room, helped repaint a gigantic 24 cubby shelf, helped prepared 6 bulletin boards, and went very “pinterest” on an old filing cabinet and manipulative table.  So fun! 

 Here are some pictures of our hard work:

After!

Before!

So, are you finished with school?  What fun activities did your kids do the last week?  What did you do during post-planning??

Home away from home!

Hi everyone, Liv here!

Well, with only 5 ½ more days of school, I decided to start cleaning, organizing, and getting ready for next year. It is amazing how quickly clutter can take over a classroom, but MAN....it is a good feeling to finally go through piles and get rid of stuff.

Last year the process of end of the year cleaning took so long. This year that time has been cut in half! That is due to the fact that at the beginning of the year I assigned each child a specific job. They went through “training” to learn how to do it correctly and they have been responsible for it all year. When they do their job, they earn classroom money, which they can use to buy special things (i.e. computer time, bringing a stuffed animal, moving their desk near a friend, etc). It has been so wonderful because that is 18 less things I have to remember to do each day, which lets me spend my “breaks”straightening the classroom. Plus let’s not forget that the kids are learning money skills and responsibility at the same time! It’s win-win!

I know I love seeing pictures of other classrooms. It is fun to see how each teacher designs their space. So I thought that since the kids and I just finished our end of the year cleaning, it would be the perfect time to share our room with you!

My classroom!

main instruction area and focus wall

small group area

cubbies and wall of fame

]My 44 book box labels are available in my store for $5 (including stickers for books)

the kid's book boxes and leveled readers

math stations and listening station

Focus wall and storage (blue tubs are for reading and art materials, green are for math and science)

There you have it, a quick view of my home-away-from-home! :-)