Video Class Tour

Here is a video tour of my classroom. I hope you enjoy looking at it!

I will post more pics of the big reveal this weekend.

I Love Presents!!!

One of the few negative parts of my job is that I am in a little trailer. But... The bonus of being in the trailer is that right through the hallway is the other PreK class. I am blessed to have an amazing teacher that is just a few steps away. Today she surprised my paraprofessional and me with owl tumblers! She found them at Fred's, so if you're interested you can go get some too.

I am hoping to add to my blog a little bit more consistently this year, We will see how well that plan goes once school starts up!

One of my goals this summer was to find a comfortable large pillow or smaller pillows to put in the reading area. I didn't want to spend a ton of money but of course it had to be the absolute cutest pillow possible. That can be hard to do on a budget. As I was going through my things I noticed some scrap material with Owls I had bought several months ago. I had no immediate plans for the material but I just knew I could use it somehow. Ding! A lightbulb went on in my head. I could use the material to make a cover for a body pillow. I made it just like you would a no sew Blanket, you know, the ones where you tie knots around the edges. I had a yard of the owl fabric and bought a yard of green fabric. I unfolded the cuts of fabric and put the pillow in the middle of the two pieces. I cut the strips one at a time, tying them in a knot, and did this working my way around the pillow. It may not be the official way to do such a project but looking at the pictures below I think it turned out pretty cute!

 I plan on putting this pillow on top of my four crates that I have turned sideways as a bench and storage.

Here is what I came into after summer break!

What a mess!

The large brown OWL has my class list.

I found a way to combine my love of owls and polka dots!

I still need to attach the cushion, but I wanted to go ahead and get the picture on here. I spray painted two buckets.  The plastic owl material came from JoAnns. It is a little pricey, so make sure you have the half off coupon. I like the idea of plastic material- easier to clean!

Once again, the seats are not yet finished, but here is my pinterest inspired listening center!

Thanks again Pinterest! Here is the popular 2 filing cabinets made into a magnet center pin! Looks like I need to straighten out the border a little.

The beginnings of my word wall!

It took forever, but I covered all my walls with blue bulletin board paper and lime green plastic table cloth from Party City. It was a huge roll. Here is our meeting area. I am still tweaking the morning meeting wall. How many pinterest inspired ideas can you spot here?

Love my window sheers from Big Lots! I bought one sheer for each window and cut it in half. On the counter by the sink is blue shelf liner to cover ugly permanent stains on the counter.

                                                    The beginnings of the art center. Each child will have a green square to post their work on. Yes, this was a pinterest inspired idea. I like it because it helps me keep up with who has work hanging up in the room and who does not.

Two book shelves turned on their side! You may notice most of the shelves are covered. Yes, it is a little tacky looking, but it keeps little hands out of them during Open House and the first weeks of school.

I was super excited to find this bag at JoAnns. This will be the bag our class mascot goes home in.

I spy a pinterest idea! Bulletin border around the computers.

This is our "Oh No" jar. If the class is being to loud, not cleaning up fast enough, too rowdy in line, etc., a button is put in the Oh No! jar. They get a special reward on Friday's if they work as a team and have no buttons at the end of the day for 4/5 days. A button can be taken out of the "Oh No!" jar if they work as a team and make better choices.

I still need to add the times, but here is the beginning of my class schedule.

Woot woot, another completed pin! Thanks again to my sharpie paint pins for jazzing up the plastic flower pot (from Garden Ridge).

These bins are from Big Lots. Oh dear, I am just realizing there is a label for puzzles here. Clearly, these are not puzzles. Ignore that and focus on the lovely sharpie paint marker polka dots.

I have been wanting an apron, but have been too cheap to splurge on one. I found this at A.C. Moore for $6.00. I bought an iron on owl transfer, added ribbon, and of course sharpie paint pins to complete the apron!

Reading buddies bin. I am now realizing this bin has not been polka dotted. Better break out the sharpie paint pins one more time.

The green polka dot basket will house the first aid kit, emergency handbook, and other items needed when we leave the classroom. The owl in the middle is "Gumdrop", our class mascot.

I have drooled over this bin for months now in Target. I was so excited when I came up with a valid reason to buy it for my room!

 

This is an ORIGINAL idea!!! I used my handy dandy sharpie paint pens to create a behavior management bin. It houses stickers, "smellies" (lip gloss), and bracelets. We are not allowed to have behavior charts posted in the PreK room, so I use a bracelet system. Each child gets three bracelets. If they make poor choices they have to hand over a bracelet.

SO EXCITED about this idea I came up with. I used sharpies to draw a tree on a pocket chart from the Target dollar spot. This will be where the students "sign in" every morning. I am waiting on their lunch cards. Stay tuned next week for picture of the comleted project.

We are not allowed to put centers under the TV for safety reasons, therefore in order to save space I put my desk there. Who cares if the TV falls on me, right?

I used owl ribbon from Michael's and glued them on baskets from A.C. Moore. This will be where my paraprofessional will put notes and homework she takes out of the OWL binders each morning. Lunch money will also be put in the green basket. I have former students who visit me, so I did not think it wise to label a basket with "money"!

The green polka dot basket will house the first aid kit, emergency handbook, and other items needed when we leave the classroom. The owl in the middle is "Gumdrop", our class mascot.

I have drooled over this bin for months now in Target. I was so excited when I came up with a valid reason to buy it for my room!

This is my parent/visitor info board.

The teacher next door put border around her idea. I loved it so much I had to do it in my room. What a great way to liven up a boring door!

Another view!

The students OWL binders will go in here. The tub came from Garden Ridge. I used Sharpie paint markers to add the polka dots.

Here is the morning routine for my PreK children upon entering the classroom.

This is an (gasp) ORIGINAL idea! I cut off my old, tattered lanyard from last year. I used owl ribbon I had purchased for other projects and voila!

Another view

 

Polka dots are on the floor to hopefully encourage the children to line up in an orderly fashion! I bought the cardstock at Michael's!

Another view of the dots on the floor.

One final view of the dots!

Recognize this Pinterest idea? Love my post it note holder.

To do list- bought the wipe off board from Michael's.

Another pinned idea. It is supposed to say "testing". I used a "dots on chocolate" R sticker and put it over the T. This will be hung on our door at naptime.