Pictures of 1-A

I really enjoy my classroom and an blessed with having a great facility.  Of course, I could ALWAYS use more storage space and bookshelves!  Like most teachers, I am a collector of "stuff" and all my "school stuff" has to be stored at school.  ( I live in a tiny house!)  In a effort to organize the chaos, I asked my sister, Vivian, who is a room re-designer(http://www.makingrearrangements.com/) to come give me advice.  This was her/my attempt to make the room kid friendly and also contain everything I need.   To welcome my students, I start with an ocean theme.  I do more decorating for this theme than any other time of the year.  I want the room to be inviting and to look like it is going to be a great place for a kid to learn and grow!  Come on in and take a look!  Click on the pictures to see them in a larger size.

Welcome to 1-A!

This is the view when you walk in the door.  You are in the "library".  I leave the "bubble beads" up all year. It makes a nice divider for the library, but I can still see through it!

This is the coat rack and Word Wall and leveled readers, and tub storage. I add words to the Wall each week, but am thinking about moving it next year so it can be more interactive for the kids.  The question is "where"!?!?

This area is where a lot of action takes place!  This is my carpet area.  You can see my professional library on the shelves in the corner and my collections of read-aloud on the skinny shelf.  It is also the listening center and calendar area.

I tried for this to be my new calendar area.  Got a great idea from a friend (Thanks Jo!) for making a bulletin board.  You use foam insulation board (like they put under siding).  It works, but not for interactive boards like the calendar. I ended up putting all this on the chalkboard, using magnets and 3M hooks.  The blue pocket chart with the frogs is part of my behavior tracking.  They kids move their frog down a row for misbehavior. No one likes to do that!

This is the other end of my chalkboard.  I have tubs of books on the bookcases under the chalkboard. The kids put these on their table for DEAR time. All my production for the year is in the file cabinets. (I hate standing at the copy machine!!!)  I tried to keep the top of the cabinets cleared off, but they seemed to become a collecting spot for lots of things. uggh!  The 0,1,2,3 numbers are part of our school wide voice level program.

O.K....here is control central.  Although I rarely get to sit down before 3:00!   It's usually messier than this! yikes!  When I grow up I want to be an neat-nic! Truly!  This year I turned one of the computers around so I could sit at my desk and work. Man, was that nice.  I do let the kids sit in my chair and work at the computer during work stations.  They thought they were pretty cool.  Of course, it did take training to have them keep their hands off anything on my desk!  In case you were wondering; the stash of Lays potato chips is for a Word Building activity and the beverage is for my constant blue mug of iced tea!

This is the other side of the computer table and the fire door.  It goes right out to the playground!  Location, location, location!   On the wall to the right is my Pocket Chart Work Station. It was also home to "Spidey" our hamster until he was adopted by KS due to allergies.   I love my sunny windows and I made the curtains and valance.  My color scheme is that sky-aqua blue and yellow.  Those colors make me happy. :-)

This is the lunch ticket area and this counter stretches across the back with a sink and cupboards.  The kids put their FISH books in baskets on this counter.  It also holds the lost and found.

Here is my infamous PEZ collection.  It is a favorite gift that the children give to me.  Visitors love "ooh" and "ahh" over it (especially kids) and I am remembered for my PEZ.   For birthdays, the honoree gets to pick a PEZ from my "extras" tub to have on their desk.