Classroom Tour

Hey there! Remember me?

I know, I know...it's been awhile.  All I have to say for myself is that the 2011-2012 school year is officially underway, and I'm basically just trying to keep my head above water. I always get SO overwhelmed during the first few weeks of school--paper work, lesson planning, organization, getting a new class acclimated to school again...it's a lot! Not to mention that I'm at a new school, so I'm also constantly trying to learn the policies and procedures for me as the classroom teacher. As crazy as my life is, I keep trying to remind myself that in a month or so everything will settle down--the bulk of the paper work will be done, my kids will have learned our routine, and I'll officially be in my teaching "groove." Everything won't feel so chaotic. Until then, I just need to take a big breath and go at it one step at a time. My motto is "eat the elephant by the burger."

So...since I'm having trouble formulating a complete thought, I think I'll just offer up a classroom tour tonight. My room is a bit bigger this year, and I only have 21 students...which is nice! I have a good group of kids this year, so I'm really looking forward to getting into the swing of things.

This is the view of my classroom from my door...welcome!

This is the front corner of the room. Here you will see our calendar, class schedule, lunch ticket system, bathroom passes, and other pertinent classroom information.

This is the front wall. On the far left is a student display board. I also have two white boards and my Smart board.

A closer view of the front of my room. See my podium? I have a love/hate relationship with that thing. It's wonderful when I'm teaching and need to set down a teacher manual or notes. It's a pain, however, when it's blocking the board and I have about five kids informing me that they can't see...which means I have to move the thing out of the way.

Bookshelf housing some of our classroom books.

Storage cabinet, computers, and classroom weatherbug. I'm very excited that my room was chosen to house our school's weatherbug. We have a lot of fun talking about temperature, heat index, rainfall, and other interesting info this thing provides.

We are bucket fillers in our classroom! Every afternoon, I go through the cards that students have filled out during the day and read about all of the nice things that we have done for each other, and students put pom poms in their buckets. I think it's something that the kids really look forward to.

Homeworkopoly--If students complete all of their homework for the entire week, they get to take a turn at Homeworkopoly on Fridays. It's a hit for sure!

I love my US map because it's useful in Social Studies and Reading! Our Social Studies curriculum studies the different regions of the United States, and in reading, we put push pins in all of the places that we "visit" as we read.

The back wall...including the cubbies. The colorful baskets house more of my classroom library.

Student mailboxes, my hanging files, etc.

My desk: where the magic happens. Ha! It's more like my desk: where everything lands! My goal this year is to keep up with my filing! So far, so good.

So there you have it...my little home away from home.

And now, I think I'm going to go lay on the couch in an attempt to prepare myself for tomorrow!