My Classroom

It was almost a month ago when I promised pictures of my classroom.  Well, here they are!  

This is behind my desk area!  Notice my poster!

My library/word wall center.  Each month I am having my read aloud serve as an author study.  This month we are reading books by Beverly Cleary.  Students will have the opportunity to research and discover information about our author!

I made these polka dot curtains.  Iron on hemming tape was my best friend for this project!

An idea I found on Pinterest, organizing groups with magnets.  This will definitely save me from last year's grouping strategy... writing names on Post-It notes.  (They always seemed to disappear)

Each week or unit, I will write the student learning targets on these frames.

My favorite board!

A view of most of my classroom.  Excuse the mess, I took these pictures just after our Open House night!

Dr. Seuss Poster

I had mentioned in my last post that I had wanted to create a poster using my favorite Dr. Seuss quote.

Well, here it is!  I am so excited to put this on my classroom wall.  

I had it printed in an 11x14 size.  Just had to share right away!

To Do List

The first day of school is 3 weeks away, and I am bound and determined to have all of my classroom preparation finished by the end of this next week.  Ok… So I probably won’t be completely done, but a girl can hope!

I wish I could claim to be one of those super creative teachers when it comes to decorating a classroom, but I’m not.  Most of my ideas have come from Pinterest.   While I hope to have pictures up of my own classroom by the end of the week, here are links to the Pinterest ideas on my mile long To Do List.   Enjoy!

1.       Number Magnets.  I plan to use these for attendance and taking lunch count.  Very excited about these!  http://www.our-everyday-art.com/2010/12/alphabet-magnets.html

2.       Tissue Paper Pom Poms.  I will be making these in blue, green, and black (my classroom color scheme) for my reading corner.  http://www.bigboxdetox.com/diy-paper-pompoms

3.       Birthday Board.  Birthdays are important but I didn’t do much with them last year.  This year I plan to have parents take a picture of their child during open house holding up the day of their birth.  Then they will go on a bulletin board—kind of like the idea from this blog!  http://pencilspaperandpd.blogspot.com/

 

4.       3^rd Grade Classroom name poster.  Love this idea for a sense of community right away!  http://www.peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-and-ha-ha.html

5.       I really like this quote from Dr. Seuss.  I plan on creating a poster with it for my reading corner.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

6.       Milk Crate Seats.  I have everything I need… Now I just need to make them!

Obviously, I will need to do a lot more than just what I posted, but it’s a start!

Welcome!

Welcome to Colorful Sparks in the Third Grade!  This is my first blog, and I am very excited to get it started.  I am entering my second year of teaching.  Last year I taught 5^th grade, and now I am beginning a new journey with 3^rd graders.

Much of this summer I have spent figuring out a new curriculum and sorting through materials left behind in my newly inherited classroom.  This upcoming year my school is starting a writer’s workshop program using materials designed by Lucy Calkins. I have become very excited about setting up this workshop and how it might look in my own classroom.  (More to come on this later!)

This is a year in which I have to start working on my Professional Development Plan to remain licensed in Wisconsin.  I intend to share ideas I have created and write down thoughts that will aid me in creating, documenting, and implementing this plan throughout the year.

So, WELCOME!  Feel free to comment!