TpT

My Daily 5 documents :-)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Valerie-Crowell

YEAH!

I am excited that my room is finally coming along!  I hung my curtains and special hooks from the ceiling this week as well as organized my desk drawers, number the lockers and desks, and work more on the library area.  I have also had the realization of how to make Daily 5 work for me, which is a huge stress relief.  I came up with a cool way to let kids keep track of their centers.  I want to post them but I cant figure out how to get it to upload without being a picture... and I cant seem to get it to save as one.  I will keep trying and maybe I can get it to work. 

Here is my room in progress.  It will be amazing when everything is done but for now, it's a good start. 

This is what it looked like when I moved in.

First I got my desk area set up.

Once the janitorial staff cleaned the room I was able to set up my desks. 

I found this on pintrest and cant wait to use it this year. 

My library is a work in progress.  I am trying to figure out the easiest way to keep it clean, tidy and accessible.  I also dont have much money to spend on a good bookshelf or bins for the books. 

Well, this picture is upside down, but this is what I am going to put in the hall for each student to display their work.  I will laminate the construction paper and then use a 1" binder ring for the clothespin to hold on to so that the work in the hall is like a portfolio for each student. 

Another pintrest freebie!

Ending the year in 5th

Well I finished my 2nd year teaching fifth grade today and I am officially a second grade teacher now.  :-) 

I am happy to say that all my things have been sorted through and have been moved downstairs to my new classroom.  However, I cant actually start setting up yet because there are 3 other teachers that have to move before I can actually get started.  I am hoping I can get most of the work done tomorrow during our workday.  With my 2 young kids, it will be very difficult to go up to the school over the summer with no air conditioning to get work done.  Here's to a new beginning! 

Pics to come soon!

Some of my creations - that came from pintrest inspirations

I got the idea for these from a blog link I found on pintrest.  I believe she made her cards by purchasing them from vistaprint.  I cant afford that so I used microsoft publisher to make bascially the same thing.  I will print them on cardstock to make them more sturdy.  If anyone has any ideas about what the kids could have to help them keep up with their cards I'd apprecaite any suggestions.  :-)

Planning

I feel like I've been living at the computer at night looking for ideas and materials online.  Pintrest is amazing!  I found out where my new classroom is going to be and I am working hard at trying to figure out how I want to set it up.... which is tricky when someone else is still in the room and you cant move their furniture around!  LOL  I am so excited about moving down to second grade and really cant wait to get started. 

The News

I have taught fourth grade for 7 years and fifth grade for 2.  Just 2 weeks ago I learned that I was going to have to move to 2nd grade because our campus was required to have a bilingual 5th grade teacher and I was the one with the least amount of years in the grade level and district.  To be completely honest, I was terrified at first.  Being a "type A" personality, the first thing I thought about was the fact that I dont have ANY materials for grades below 3rd or 4th.  However, the more I began to think about it the more I realized that this move is actually a blessing in disguise.  For one, I wont have to sit through the "girl talk" again because 7 year olds are not starting puberty yet!  Second, I wont have to give another state assessment!  It will be my job to  prepare my students to take their first state assessment in 3rd grade.  And the fact that I've taught 4th and 5th will help tremendously because I know what they need to be able to do at those levels.  I've decided to start this blog to keep a record of my jump into the "unknown" world of 2nd grade and I am excited to see where next school year takes me.