Where? Where to begin?!
Here I am for a third entry, several weeks after my last. Today, Saturday, August 31, is the first day in three solid weeks (including weekends) that I did not set foot anywhere near school. I don’t know that I’d quite call it a labor of love (remember, I’m not a passionate person), but it was a labor of something. Perhaps of being better than last year? I don’t know.
So in the last month, my classroom went from this...
...to this.
A bit difficult to see, perhaps, and taken from two different starting points, but a difference all the same.
Here are what I feel are
some of the highlights of my room so far.
I think I might've come up with an apt description of the transformation my classroom library made between last year and the start of this year. Last year my library was comparable to Ross: Dress for Less. You know the deal, all manner of t-shirts in your size crammed into one section with no discernible order as to occasion, color, etc. Then there's always those items that wind up placed in the wrong section, and the public in general just follows suit of the foragers before them and chucks things without concern of where they land. The kids destroyed my books/library digging through the shelf labeled for their particular reading level, trying to find something they might be interested in. This time around though, it's looking more like, let's say, Target or JCPenney. Oh, you need a formal dress? Right this way. You say you love the fit of our jeans? Well, here they are all in one convenient area. I've got all my books arranged in bins by genre with a corresponding mailing label inside that tells where the book is supposed to be returned to. Yes, there is still the occasional misplacement (Really, kid? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the Nonfiction-Biographies bin?), but as a whole, a much better system. Plus, it has pillows now!
The use of the Daily 5 and CAFE is the newest craze to crop up in schools in CCSD. I don't mind it so much since they lend themselves to both small groups and individual conferencing. Part of the last few weeks has been devoted to planning on the proper execution of these tools this year. I'm excited because I found a template that satisfies the program requirements and the Harry Potter fan in me. Though it's hard to see (I'm still working on the finesse of incorporating pictures here), that teeny tiny name tag uses the same little HP clip-art and the background is the same fabric used for my curtain and bulletin board. Little details.
More Harry Potter themed stuff is up next. I'll tell you what: I've done enough coloring, cutting, stapling, gluing, and taping to last a lifetime. I thought I had done permanent damage to the tendons along the left side of my right hand. I had each student stand in front of the purple bulletin board holding a wand and took a picture to mount on the cauldron which is located right outside of our door. Wish I could show you the end result of that, but, you know, sharing children's pictures on the internet is a no-no.
I do need to give credit here to a handful of people: my dad and husband for cutting out all those letters, my mom for making the curtain hanging in the window, and Mrs. Richards for suggesting the phrase above the cauldron. Thanks, and bravo!
I chose to display the following two quotes in picture frames in my classroom because they emphasize the importance of choices.They are located right above the water fountain in the hopes that the students read them often. (The pictures weren't great, but I wanted to share the quotes anyway.)
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." -Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
There are a few other
things that are hung up on my walls, and several
non-visual things that I thought up, planned out, typed, printed, emailed,
etc. Even though I put in a lot of work and am happy with the way that things
have turned out, I still feel like there’s a lot more that could and should be
done. I suspect that many teachers feel this way (at some point), as if there
is always something else that could be bettered...
The first week went
well. I’m happy! By absolutely no means do I have a perfect class, but this ‘honeymoon
phase’ as my coworker so aptly named it has been nice. This upcoming week will
be less about procedures and will see much more content being taught, so that’s
my next challenge to take on. Though I've found out so far that fifth graders aren't much different than fourth graders, I am... anxious(?) about all the new
curriculum and materials. I didn't go in today, but I’ll surely be in tomorrow
or on the holiday.
By the next time you
hear from me, I’m hoping my feet will have adjusted to being back in work shoes
and that I will have managed to stop taking/requiring extreme naps between the
hours of 3:00 and 6:00 after work. ...I’m only capable of so much on my plate
at a time though...
Farewell for now. :)
Oh, one more thing. I've got to give credit where credit is (legally and respectfully) due to:
Beth Newingham at Scholastic as well as several teachers around school for ideas on library organization, Teachers Pay Teachers where I bought (and in some cases, slightly altered) my Daily 5 headers and nametags, and several sources on Pinterest where I found the ideas for my classroom door and student work board. And, not that any of them are likely to find this blog, thanks to all the teachers that found me prowling around classrooms for ideas and advice and welcomed me in with open arms. :)
