According to Mrs. Fun

It's finally that time! The first day of school is Monday and I am TOTALLY ready. For Day 1 that is- please do not ask what I am teaching Tuesday because that is still a bit hazy. I figured in honor of Back to School I would post a picture tour of my classroom. Finally, all the Pinterest and googling comes together!

The weeks are closing in for the beginning of school and I have spent countless hours online finding ideas for classroom decor. I am sticking with a simplistic theme because usually I cover almost every available wall space with student work. I think it's really important for the students to feel like it is THEIR classroom so I don't go crazy with posters or other dust collectors.

I am going with a rainbow theme throughout the room so that it is bright, colorful, and engaging.

My seating arrangement will be groups thanks to the push for collaborative learning (which I love). I bought XL fabric book covers (one for each group) to put on the back of a group member's chair. I plan on putting in whatever materials the groups will need for the day in the pocket- including their homework stamp cards and a folder with the handouts for the day. I figure it will take a few more minutes after school to go ahead and pass out handouts but then I won't have to be scrambling around while I am trying to teach. Also- then if a student is absent the extra handouts will already be in the folder located at each group. I have also color coded groups thanks to these book cover colors which adds to the rainbow decor and helps for group assignments and other assessments. Here is what inspired this idea:

I also created this sign for my door showing my schedule:

Some other purchases made lately have been a diversity poster found on Amazon:
 I think it says everything without being too straight forward. I also bought this stamp for checking homework for each student. I am quite excited about it. I think students will like it plus it will be hard for them to duplicate to try to earn a better grade since it is quite hard to find.
 With all my purchases and brain storming- I think my classroom is almost ready (in my head). Looking forward to getting back to my room and putting everything in its place. I am getting excited for the next school year and what is to come!

Just a few teacher workdays are left for my first year of teaching. I took a few minutes to reflect on the "lessons" I learned this year. It has been definitely a learning experience- but also everything I thought it would be and also everything I wanted it to be.

• Never do something your kids can do for you
• A little bit of humor goes a long way
• Don't be afraid to challenge your kids- students rise to a challenge
• Address each student personally once a week with a smile, compliment, question, etc
• OVERplan and SAVE everything
• Reflect daily and write it down
• Take advantage of every single minute of free time
• Get to know your admininstration/front office staff
• Food is a major motivator for students
• Give students opportunities to share their opinions and give feedback frequently (not just at the end or the beginning)
• Don't be afraid to try new things (and to crash and burn)
• Share! Share! Share! Collaborate! Collaborate! Collaborate! Steal! Steal! Steal!
• Let students know what you are thinking (model your thinking for them)
• Allow them to use THEIR technology
• Surround the classroom with STUDENT work (not silly posters- it's THEIR room)
• Create creative opportunities and leave directions vague
• Each class is different and one class does not want to know about the other
• The more upfront feedback- the less questions you have to answer
• Share your "plan" with your students- for the day/week/unit/semester
• Don't bring your school work home with you- even if you have to stay so late the janitors kick you out
• Color! Color! Color! (As in encourage students to take notes in several colors/use color on SMARTboard/etc)
• Say no NOW- compromise later

More to come! See you soon!