Back to School

I know it has been a little over a month since I have posted, but here I am.  So much has been going on at work.  A lot of changes on top of the usual beginning of the year stuff.  Some days I still feel like I am a chicken running around with my head cut off.  But then I remind myself that it is only August and that is allowed for the first few weeks.

As you know, I am a special education teacher.  Well, my district is implementing full day kindergarten.  Guess who works next to the kindergarten classrooms?  Guess who may have to move their whole classroom?  Guess who finally has their classroom how they want it?  The answer to all of those questions is ME!  The other special ed teacher moved this week.  If enrollment continues to increase,  I will be next.  I work in a very transient area, so it is hard to determine our enrollment at certain times.

But, don't get me wrong!  I totally love the idea that we are offering full day kindergarten.  I think in the long run it will be very beneficial to the students.  It just creates a lot of work to start up.

I am also the new sponsor for student council this year.  Just got home from a sponsor meeting.  Can't wait to get started with that.  Oh and my grad school classes start up this week too!  Did I forget to mention, I teach all day too!?

When school is in session, it is a never ending day.  Sometimes the days blur together.  I am exhausted by Fridays!  But, I love what I do and I cannot imagine doing anything else.

How is your year starting off?

Putting Together a Classroom

One of my teacher friends got a new job this year and I was recruited to help put it together.  Being the more crafty of the two, I got the crafty projects (which I love).  I didn't take a picture of everything, but you can get some of an idea of what we spent two days doing.

This is my absolute favorite part of her room.  This is where she will display the objectives each day.  I just love this idea.  I loved it so much, after I made hers, I went home and made one for my classroom (see mine below).  They were super easy to make and turned out super cute.

I took a picture of my favorite wall in the classroom.  This is where most of the instruction will take place.  She has her SMART board on the right and a whiteboard on the left.  On top she has her thinking maps.  Her school is big on using thinking maps for everything!

I could go on and on with more pictures, but then this post would be way too long.  I am so happy for her and wish her luck and success on her new position!

Milk Crate Seats

So I have been enjoying my summer break, but it is time to think about the new school year ahead.  With that, I want to share my newest addition to the classroom.  I can't wait for the kids to see it.  The ribbon acts as handles to use the crate as storage as well as seats!

End of the Year: In Pictures

The school year has ended and I have some pictures of things we did the last few weeks of school.  I have not been good about posting pictures, so hopefully this will make up for it.  I finally got around to getting the pictures off the camera.  So here they are for you to enjoy!

Greater Than, Less Than, or Equal To Game

Frogs!

Numbers!

Sentence Man---Love this activity!  Next year I want to start with this.

Kinder Mornng Work {FREEBIE}

I just wanted to share something I am working on for next year.  I create these items with the intention to use them as spiraling and assessment samples.  This allows me to track several different skills on one sheet.  Since the skills are addressed several times, I can look for understanding and guide my instruction.

You may be asking why I post several different grade level skills.  The answer is that I teach many different grade levels, so I am always looking for ways to meet the many needs of the different level of students I work with.

Please leave feedback and let me know if you find these as helpful as I do!

It's Here!

Some people have seen the sample on TPT and have been waiting ever so nicely for the whole thing.  Well, I am here to tell you that it is done!  Well, most of it anyway.  It depends how many weeks you need.  I am talking about my 1st Grade Common Core Weekly Homework Pack!  I have uploaded the first 40 weeks.  They are in packages of 10 weeks.  You can check out the first 10 weeks here.  I have uploaded the rest of the weeks so that you can determine how many weeks you need.  My plan is to finish with 50 weeks.  I have 40 weeks up already.  While I do not teach at a year-round school, I know people do and would like more weeks.  I also considered that some parents want extra practice. 

I do need to say that I have included several skills many different times throughout the packs.  These are the skills my students seem to need the most work and practice with.  If you have a need of a skill you would like to see more of, please feel free to let me know and I can work something up for you!

As always, please leave feedback.  I enjoy reading your comments and it allows me to provide better items to meet your needs as well as mine.

Happy planning for next year!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Ok, so my post has nothing to do with Mother's Day, but I do want to wish all the moms out there a great day! 

Anyway, I am doing a quick post to let you know that I have posted a FREEBIE on TPT.  You can grab my CVC Picture Words {K.RF.2d} FREE!

Two more weeks until schools out!