"The After" ~ A Work in Progress

 I was just thinking wow this first week went by so fast, then I realized it's been 2 weeks!!! I must not be entirely awake this morning... So in my last post I said I would post my "after" pictures of my classroom. Here are a few:

 

Ok, I know this looks totally boring. I was running out of time and just had everything in order for the first day.  My room looks MUCH better now....if only I had remembered to take pictures of the update!!! (I will this week.) I also have some Pinterest projects I'm anxious to do to spice things up!

I like to work ahead.  We have one copy machine for the entire school :( so you never know if it will be available or if it's working.  We do have a copy aid who makes us copies and I like to have any copies I need well in advance.  I use these trays to organize any language arts copies I make.  (We use Houghton Mifflin and each theme has 3 weeks.)  I find that HM doesn't provide enough rigor so I use supplementary materials to fill in the gaps.  I got these trays at the Target dollar section.

This is how I organize my copies/papers I plan to use for the week.  The one on the left is for math(we use Scott Foresman) and the one on the right is for language arts. I like this system in case I get unexpectedly sick - it's happened!  I always try to leave everything ready for the next day before I leave school. 

I hope everyone has had a great start to their school year.  I have a really sweet group this year and I'm so excited for all the things they are going to learn!

Back to School Sale & "the Before"

I'm sure you've all heard about the fabulous Back to School sale happening August 12-13 on Tpt.  Just wanted to let you know I am participating in the sale and you can get up to 28% off all items in my store. Use the promo code: BTS12  Don't forget to check out my latest Writing Resources Pack to help get the school year started!

So Monday I have staff meetings and then Tuesday the students arrive.  Where did the time go??? Hard to believe the summer is over.  But I am excited to meet my new students and get back into the swing of things :)  I moved rooms this year and this is what my room looked like when I walked in for the first time last week :( 

I took a few more steps into my room and I noticed what has to be the UGLIEST wall ever!

Do they not think when they design these portables??? I'll have to work on doing something to distract the eyes from this....
There was also no tall file cabinet in the room, and in my last room I had one that was bursting at the seams.  I talked to our custodian who kindly hunted down the only available file cabinet...

It's old, it even smells old! And again, what's up with the color???  But hey, I'm just glad to have one at all! I brought the small one with me from my old room.  Now both are full of my wonderful files.  The weird thing about this old smelly cabinet is the top two drawers.  What should I do with these? Any ideas???

I didn't know where to start! HOURS and HOURS later my room is finally ready for students.  But guess who forgot to take a picture of the after? I was so excited to be done, I almost ran out the door so I could enjoy the rest of my Saturday. So I will definitely take a picture this week of "the After" and post. 

One more thing - as I was prepping for the first week of school I took a pic of something I do every year.  I make name tags for the first few days of school for the students to wear.  It helps me learn their names and if they get lost on campus my information is on the tag.  I bought these plastic tags a few years ago and they have been one of the best investments EVER!  I also use them for our big field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  For the field trip I put the students into a different ocean animal group(each chaperon has a different animal) with the school name and phone number.  I keep the field trip tags in and just change out the name tags every year.  If you decide to get some you will be happy you did!!! I got the clips at Staples and the plastic sleeves at the Dollar Tree.

  Sorry, the picture will only load upside down....but I'm sure you get the idea :) Have a happy Sunday!