Join our underwater C.A.F.E.

After last year I was feeling bored with my old C.A.F.E. signs.
Sure they did the job and organized my bulletin board but there was nothing exciting about them!

(Grab yours here!!)

When I "dove" headfirst into theming my classroom this year, I wanted the ocean and beach vibe to extend even to my café signs!

Each sign has it's own beach scene and font to go with the C.A.F.E. letters!

 

Again for longevity I covered my board (with the help of a friend!) with fade resistant blue paper, then I used my great bargain find from the DOLLAR TREE to frame my board!

(like I mentioned in a previous post, I did laminate the boarder trim from Dollar Tree to keep longer as well!)

 

At the start of the year I purposely keep my C.A.F.E. board blank so I can build it with my students.

I did however find these GREAT sentence strips at Dollar Tree (only 50 cents a packet!!) to write our C.A.F.E. strategies on.

I chose to use clear thumbtacks to add our strategies to the bulletin board. They damage the fade resistant paper less than staples and are easier to remove.

This way I can hopefully get two years *at least* out of the fade resistant paper...plus I can adjust the sentence stripes to make room if we need it!

 

In case you didn't notice...tucked in the corner of my CAFE board is a super cute purple octopus---part of the same set of bulletin board pieces I grabbed super cheap for oriental trader! Love that place (almost as much as the dollar store!)

 

Dollar Store is also where I got the super cute palm tree hanging from my ceiling!

 

Check back soon for blog posts about my library and the Craboggle game in my reading nook!

 

 

 

Rocking Chairs & Wall Hangings--Underwater Theme

Best Dollar Store Find EVER!

I spent weeks trolling the internet looking for an underwater or beach themed wall hanging that would fit the space between my cubbies and the window perfectly.

Most hangings were FAR too wide and WAY too short.

At Dollar Tree I stumbled upon this super cute whale wall hanging...obvious for ONE DOLLAR!!

I stapled it to my wall and the rest is history!

Downside? I wish I bought a few more to put away. It has the feel of a cheap tablecloth so I am afraid it will not last too long and I'll never find another one for such a great price!!

My rocking chair was an old family piece collecting dust and cobwebs in the basket. However, it was a horrible weird gray faded plaid patterns...yuck.

I sent my husband (yikes!!) to JoAnn's Fabric for me while I was working on setting up my classroom.

I BEGGED him to find something blue/green/ocean like. He came back with a really nice shiny blue silk-like fabric. Would I have chosen it myself? Honestly? Probably not.

Do I love it? Do my kids love it? Answer to both is yes. I love sliding into my nice blue rocking chair to lead Morning Meeting or read a book to my 19 eager 8 year olds. So a special thank you to my hubby for picking the perfect fabric for my rocking chair.

Never be afraid to repurpose an old piece of furniture for your classroom! $10 worth of fabric and a staple gun and I have a beautiful glider in the corner of my room.

Check future blogs to learn more about my morning meetings (or sneak a peek at my best selling morning meeting packet here) and my "word wall winners" for read alouds!!

Teacher Time & Guided Reading Groups

One of my favorite spots in my whole classroom is my small group table.

I am trying so hard not to call it my reading table as I also meet with my guided math groups there but it is definitely easy to fall into that trap!!

I love the shape of my table and being able to work so closely with my students! I try to make it feel welcoming for both math and reading. I love hearing that my students can't WAIT for "teacher time" in math or to meet with their "book club" (check future blog post for more info on those!!) in reader's workshop.

My worse habit is letting papers pile up on my reading table!! With 100% online homework this year that has definitely gotten better but sometimes my small group table becomes a 'catch-all' for extra paper work.

This year I have worked hard to devise a folder system for copies and a folder system for master copies to avoid the "paper trap" in my room. Check back soon for a future blog post about those!

 

This year I added a few nice features to my small group area. I decorated the underside of the table with blue under the sea fringe from Oriental Trader.Com. While we have lost a few strands of blue over the course of the last few weeks with students the majority of it remains intact. I also used the same table skirt to block off my library from the rest of the classroom to create a nice little "nook" and circle time area.

 

My favorite find for my small group table were these FANTASTIC surfboard "whiteboard" stickers from oriental trader. http://www.orientaltrading.com/surfboard-dry-erase-stickers-a2-56_54.fltr

They were ONLY $1.29 for three on sale! I placed four on my table and have two spares in the closet! Can't wait to use them!

 

Behind my table I have a bookcase full of my teaching resources and binders...covered of course by some super cute blue fish fabric---super cheap at Wal*Mart!! I even got an extra foot for free because it was the end of the roll!

 

At my small group table I also have a whiteboard stand in case I need it and a basket full of supplies. I try to keep enough pencils, pens, glue sticks, and highlighters in a basket so my students do not need to bring these supplies when they come to group.

 

It definitely cuts down on the running back and forth to their seats for supplies.

 

Make sure to check future blog post for resources for small groups in math & reading!! <3

 

 



More Fun with Nemo & Friends

I loved my Nemo clock numbers so much---and so did my students---that I felt the need to create a Nemo alphabet for my word wall.

In the front of my room I already have a great cute underwater alphabet from Oriental Trader and an alphabet for cursive from Handwriting Without Tears buttttttt I wanted something different for my cabinets in the back of the room where I planned to post my spelling words and create my word wall.

I took the same format I used for my clock numbers to create a super cute Word Wall on my back cabinets. To break it up a bit I used star fish for A, E, I, O, and U.

 

Click here to grab a FREEBIE word wall alphabet for your room!!

 

 

Pencils, and highlighters, and glue-oh my!--My Pencil Management Plan

Continuing the tour of my "underwater classroom"

 

Nestled underneath my counter in my math workshop area I have a really fun bright pink laundry basket from Target! I was 3.99 and I found it mixed in with the college items. Much more exiting than a boring black or white basket! It's exactly the right size to store my privacy dividers from ReallyGoodStuff.

 

The decorative art on my cabinets came from the Dollar Tree! I ran them through the laminator and used packing tape to flatten them against the cabinets. This way I can still slide them open if I find the need!

 

I love Dollar Tree!! Also got my inflatable palm trees and seahorses there. Already drooling to see what they will have next summer (and for Halloween!!)

 

On my back counter is where I store my extra school supplies and baskets for students to hand in their work from Reader's Workshop (more about that in a future post!)

 

One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is students getting out of their seat and trying to use the pencil sharpener during a lesson. Or to avoid doing work.

 

Not in my room! Students keep a single pencil in their sand pails at their seats (check out a future post for pics!!) if their pencil is dull or the tip breaks they simple place it in the "used" bin and grab a new pencil.

 

Before school or during snack break whoever is the "Quartermaster" for the week (check back for a post and goodies to set up your Pirate Themed job board!!) is responsible for making sure all the pencils are sharpened and have good easers on the ends. 

 

It eliminates the constant noise of the sharpener and makes sure all the kids are ready to go!

 

On my back work table (a space I let groups work together, or have my Tutor meet with a small group) you'll notice a very old fashioned classroom accessory-the mini chalkboard!

 

I have a few of these scattered around my classroom that label different areas--confession time? They're actually a left over prop from my wedding photos!

 

I made them myself and was just not ready to part with them. I bought spray paint chalk paint from Michaels and gathered the frames up on sale from TJ Maxx. I simply removed the glass, spray painted it with the chalkboard paint, and placed the glass back in the frames. Super cute and I love the style it adds to my room.

 

Make sure to check out my next blog post for some ideas on Word Work Stations and some FREEBIES!



Math Marina (Math Workshop Stations!)

A continuation of my blog post describing my AWESOME magnetic bulletin board!

In my classroom I use a rotation through five stations for math workshop

Click here to download my I-Charts for math workshop, labels for math workshop bins, and labels for math manipulatives!

Terrific Technology: a station where students use the iPads, computer, and smartboard to enhance their learning of math, normally I draw links to "Listen to Reading" from the Daily Five because I use Tumblebooks and RazKids thus both stations use technology.

Practice Makes Perfect: my station that I draw similarities to "Read-to-Self"
Students are expected to practice independence and work through different math problems. I design most of my activities to be "never ending" rather than simple worksheets. It eliminates hearing "I'm done, I'm done!" every 5 seconds while I am trying to conference or work with a small group.

Games Galore: is my personal favorite. I love creating games for my students to play! Make sure to check out my TPT store (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrspartyka) for some awesome games. I draw connections between this station and "Word Work" in Daily Five because my students have several different game based activities to choose from.

Problem Solving with a Partner: Another one of my favorites. More details and problems to come in later blog posts!! I have a basket full of problems that require a little extra thought on the part of students and/or have more than one answer. Students MUST share one clipboard, one piece of paper, and take turns writing in pen. Again I draw connections to the Daily Five and "read to someone"

Teacher Time: I chose to keep "Teacher Time" as a solid station in math workshop. That way I know I will see students once, if not twice, a week in small group. It guarantees that I can work with my struggling students and gives me a chance to challenge my enrichment students. Occasionally I leave a station from a previous unit at my teacher table for students to work on independently. I then use the time to conference with students one-on-one and review their math folders and math notebooks.

I plan to use the cabinet space over my math workshop materials to showcase examples of math thinking and student work! Like  I mentioned in a previous blog post: http://mrsnpartyka.blogspot.com/2013/08/under-sea-in-grade-threemagnetic.html I grabbed these letters from Oriental Trader and laminated them!

My sandpails I picked up on sale for about a dollar each at Bennys a discount store about an hour from where I live. I'd definitely recommend shopping in late summer/early fall and stocking up on sand pails if you want them!

All of my sand pails came with little white shovels attached to the handles. I removed the shovels but kept them all stored away in a bin. Not 100% sure what I want to do with them yet...but it seemed silly to just throw away 25 good shovels...

I also decided to keep my construction paper semi-sorted underneath our math workshop/computer area. I love that both the kids and I can quickly see what colors we have/how much. So much easier than jamming it in a cabinet, trying to file it away, or WORSE watching it fade in the sunlight.

I hated how ugly the old hand-me-down mail files were so I covered the edges with green duck tape from Staples. Cheap, simple, easy and bright!

Nemo & Friends!

When I was back in 2nd grade and had to teach telling time to the nearest five minutes I was petrified!

As long as I can remember I have relied on a digital clock because I have the biggest mental block with analog time imaginable.

(Of course when I got my most recent job, my demo lesson had to be on telling time--go figure!)

Because of my love for Disney and all things ocean and beach related I created numbers to go around the clock to help me--I mean the students--tell time quickly in our classroom!

 

The number start at "0 or 60" above the 12 and continue around the clock counting by 5s.

My students love seeing Nemo and I love the "helping hand"

 

FREEBIE!!!

Click here to get your own Nemo Numbers!

(this packet also has the numbers 1-12, as well as starfish shaped

15, 30, 45, & 60 for teaching to the quarter hour!)

 

 

Under The Sea in Grade Three...(Magnetic Bulletin Board=Win!!)

I am love love loving how all of my "under the sea" and beach ideas are coming together.
I can't wait for the kids to see the room next week!

Math Workshop:
Last year I struggled with being able to easily regroup my students and tell them which stations they were supposed to be at.

This year the answer seemed obvious--magnetic bulletin board for grouping!

(Grab my custom math workshop

signs here to complete this board!)

 

First I wrestled some fade resistant (I plan on leaving it up for a while...)

green paper onto my metal closet doors.

(I wasn't TOO worried about the edges being perfect because of the boarder trim)

 

I used packing tape to tape the green paper directly to the closet doors. Quick and Easy!

 

I found the great board at the Dollar Tree! I got 16 pieces, about 18 inches long for a DOLLAR!

(Needless to say I bought the last three packets at that Dollar Tree

and was SUPER tempted to visit a few more and stock up!)

 

Since I was going through all the trouble of creating magnets I decided to run the boarder trim and all of my other bulletin board decorations through the laminator for longevity!

 

I bought the largest role of magnets I could find at Michael's.

With the teacher discount (yes!) and a 40% coupon

 I spent about $6 or $7 on several yards of magnets

(you'll see later I use magnets in several other areas of my classroom)

 

After I laid out the boarder trim (magnets are SO much easier than staples!!)

I added some snails and shells from Oriental Trader's Under the Sea kit

While I normally enjoy making my own embellishments, I loved the letters in this kit!

 

 

Next, I printed and laminated (work smarter, not harder--I want this to last!)

my "Math Marina" group signs.

 

I like to divide my students into 4 or 5 groups depending on the topic/size of the class.

 

I use the left side of the bulletin board to show students what group they are in.

To stick with my classroom theme I have:

Flip Flops,

Sand Pails,

Anchors,

Palm Trees,

& Dolphins.

 

I grabbed the starfish labels from another TPT user click here to check them out!

 

I did typed the names of my students onto the labels, printed, and laminated them.

(I also laminated a couple of blank ones just in case I get that January surprise student and don't have time to type, print, and laminate before I need it!)

 

I did make the student's names in magnets as well.

This way I can easily manipulate what group they are in.

Plus future planning? Cute to add to an end-of-the-year gift!

A custom magnet!

 

 

 

On the right side I have these great wooden pieces from Michael's again.

Even before the teacher discount (wooo!) I think they were maybe 59 cents each?

 

I normally do two rotations during math workshop a day.

So once students see which picture their name is under,

they then check which station their symbol is under. 

 

It takes a little practice but after a few days the transition runs rather smoothly.

 

Note: While I LOVE these little wooden pieces, I did have to hot glue the magnets to the back.

The stickiness on the back of the magnet was just not enough to hold the wood up!

 

Check back soon to hear about my different math work stations and grab some

great math workshop printables!

 

 

Under The Sea in Grade Three! (Before...)

Phew!
What a long hot and crazy summer it has been!
I am so happy to finally have my classroom ready to go for the new year!!

I decided to go for an underwater and beach theme this year.
I love having all the bright colors and calming blues!

Of course to fully understand the transformation one must look at the "before" pictures...yikes!