Classroom Tour 2019 - 2020

 

Image from here.

Welcome to a new school year!

I've been teaching since 2005.  I spent my first three years teaching second grade.  Then, I spent a year teaching third before I moved down to first grade. I continued to stay in first grade - until now! I am officially back in third grade!  (No, I am not changing the name of my blog or my teacher Instagram page.)  I am excited AND nervous about third grade!  So much has changed since I last taught third grade eleven years ago, but I know I will work hard for my students!

New grade level means new classroom!  I am grateful to finally have windows!  (My old classroom didn't have windows.)  However, I am sad to lose my HUGE closet.  I have taken so much home with me since I don't have the space for it.  After eight days of working in my classroom, it now lives up to my standards!  So without further ado, I give you the 2019 - 2020 tour of my classroom!

 

This is my bulletin board outside my classroom.  I am doing a superhero theme this year.  I thought the cityscape would be"super" cool.  My bulletin board isn't done yet - I will finish it on Tuesday! :-) 

 

I found the sign on Pinterest YEARS ago.  As far as the little person, our art teacher made that for a hockey movie my students made a few years ago.

 

Earlier this summer, I attended the Get Your Teach On conference in Dallas, Texas.  I had the BEST TIME!  On the last day, all of the presenters and volunteers stood up in front of us and sang "This Is Me," from The Greatest Showman.  I've always loved that song, but I love it even more now!  I wanted to have this quote hanging up in my room so I purchased it off Teachers Pay Teachers.  Two of my amazing volunteers hung that up on the wall for me.  (THANK YOU EMILY AND TANYA!)

 

Someone shared this on Facebook and I knew I had to have this in my classroom!

 

My husband and my father in-law made the stage and the step for me! <3 
The art teacher made the decorations.

 

  

 

The Washington Capitals sent me the banner this past spring! 
The "I am unbreakable!" quote was something I made after the Get Your Teach On conference as well!  Brittany Sinitch made us all say it after she told us her story. (She taught at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.)  Her words struck a chord with me and I knew I wanted to make a sign with that quote.

 

My cozy, comfy, book corner.  The big rugs are from Dormco.com

 

The map came from Amazon.

 

Another quote from Get Your Teach On.

 

T.J. Oshie is my favorite Caps player!

 

My growth mindset posters from TPT.

 

If you would like to see how this all fits together, check out my video tour!

You might be wondering where all of my desks are.  I went deskless several years ago.  You can read all about that here.

I am looking forward to a fantastic year in third grade!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Stacey~

 

Deskless Classroom 2018 Update

 

Image from here. 

Three years ago, I went deskless!  I removed all but three desks and two tables from my classroom, and introduced flexible seating to my students.  I wrote a blog post about it a month later.  Now that more time has passed, I wanted to write another blog post about it.

First things first:  I 100% stand by my decision to do this in the first place!  It has been the most wonderful experience ever!  I told my principal that I never want to have desks in my room again! 

 

You can see *most of* my classroom from this angle.   You can view the rest of my classroom here.

When I first made the switch, I only had puzzle pieces and seat cushions, which I received from Kaplan:

 

I still have those, but I've added more items!

 

I bought these additional puzzle pieces from a Facebook Online Yard Sale.

 There are multiple bathmats (from Freecycle) and three yoga mats (from Five Below,) in this crate.

I have six wobble stools (hokki stools,) at my guided reading table. These are also from Kaplan.

 

Here are more seat cushions - this time from Lakeshore Learning.

If my students are working on the floor, they can choose to use clipboards (which I've had forever and honestly don't remember where I go them from,) and these cute lap desks which are from Staples Advantage.

 

They can also choose to use privacy shields.

The students keep their supplies in these buckets.

Although this year, I opted for pencil boxes which I purchased on sale at Target!

 

As a result of my classroom environment, I've become even more aware of dirt and germs, and I take steps to prevent the spread of germs in my classroom.

Students must wipe their feet on my welcome mat when they arrive in the morning, and after they return from lunch / recess.  

On snowy / muddy days, they take off their shoes, and use napkins to get any extra dirt off the bottom of their shoes.

I purchased a mini broom set so we sweep as needed throughout the day.  The students LOVE to take responsibility for that!  I just recently purchased a Swiffer to use as well.  (The students will not be using it.) 

With regards to germs, Lysol spray and Clorox wipes are my best friends.  Honestly, I should probably invest in those companies!  I spray my whole room with Lysol at the end of the day - after the students have left.  I wipe down my computer keyboards, tables, desks, the doorknob, and sink daily.  I clean my seat cushions weekly.  During cold / flu season, they might get cleaned 2-3 times a week.

To read more about flexible seating and what the research says, check out the links below:

1.  From Kindergarten Smorgasboard.

2.  From Top Dog Teaching.

3.  From Edutopia.

If you have any questions about flexible seating, feel free to ask away in the comments section!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Stacey~

Classroom Tour 2018-2019

Quote from here.

It's time for back to school!  This is year number 14 for me! I can't believe it!

I want to give you all a tour of my room!  You can check out the video tour here.

Here is the picture tour with links when possible.

 

I got the idea for this bulletin board from Pinterest. I actually have more students than I lead you to believe on my bulletin board!

 This is outside of my door.  The top quote is from a book called Each Kindness.  I love to read it at the start of the year.  The letter, I found on Pinterest - which led to this link.  Last year's class LOVED reading it every single day!

 Door decorations (and all the tropical decorations you'll see in my room,) are from Oriental Trading.

 This whiteboard came from the Target Dollar Spot.  (Thanks Target!) 

 

One big view of my classroom! I have a deskless classroom which you can read about here.

 

The item my hall passes are hanging on came from Target.

 

My book corner.

 

My microfiber carpets came from Dormco. They are machine washable!

 

Rest of book corner and some of my flexible seating.

 

My puzzles.

 

 

My hanging bookshelf.  Underneath it are the hooks for backpacks and coats.

 

Storage for papers, centers, and small group items.

 

My desk and my reading group table.  The light blue bins came from Dollar Tree.  My awesome glitter pencil cup came from this website.

 

Sink area.

 

 

Door to my closet.

 

Computer area along with my Caps corner.  If you don't know, the last two years, my students created hockey movies.  Here is movie #1, and movie #2.

 

Calendar and more flexible seating.

 

Whiteboard, clipboards, and the shelves where they keep their folders and pencil boxes.

 

Promethean board and my stage.  The step says, "Step Up To Your Dreams."

 

My growth mindset board.  I bought these off of Teachers Pay Teachers.

 

Bins are from Target.  One set of binders are their data notebooks, one set is for their journal writing, and one set is the guided reading books from Deedee Wills and Deanna Jump.

 

Small group table.

 

Word wall and other storage areas.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope everyone has a wonderful school year! :-)
~Stacey~