Fixer Upper Inspired Classroom

I left school in May with my classroom set-up for the start of the new school year.  All of my bulletin boards were done.  I even had switched all of my calendars to August.  I was in need of a stress free beginning.

Well.... somewhere around the middle of July I got the bright idea to create a fixer upper inspired classroom.  I actually think it all stemmed from my classroom library.  I was in need of new containers and new organization.  I began online shopping Amazon, Michaels, Walmart, Joann Fabrics, etc.  I needed a container that was neutral, but sturdy,  I saw a post by Amy Lemons about using wire baskets for her classroom library and I was SOLD.  The problem was I couldn't find affordable and sturdy.

One day when I was KID FREE, I went to a few of the places mentioned above.  I finally made my way to Joann Fabrics.  There I found some great wire basket options, but even at 60% off they were a bit pricey for my taste.  I literally left the store, but as I was walking out I noticed as Teacher Appreciation Sale of an additional 25% off and it ended that day.  I walked my butt right back in, grabbed a flyer, and the nearest employee to confirm I could get the deal on top of a sale. She confirmed that I was!  Seriously 60% & 25% off?! I had to get the baskets.  I also grab some HUGE letters to spell READ for the same deal.  I still spent $200, but I feel like I now have some long lasting containers that will stand up against little first grade fingers.

Does anyone else take pictures of things you want to buy and text them to your hubby? I sent him 3 different versions of the READ letters and the last one he sends a message back, "too serial killer". Oy!  You can see the baskets I purchased behind the D.  Both the letters and baskets are "Hudson" brand.  The closest thing I can find online to the baskets are at Target.  The large is $19.99 and small is $14.99.

After I found the letters and baskets I knew I couldn't stop there.  My classroom wouldn't look cohesive right?  I began shopping rugs.  My old ones were only 3 years old, but took a lot of wear and tear from 1st graders over the years.  I brought them home every summer for a good cleaning, but it was apparent to me that I would need to find something new this year.  

Since I was going for the Fixer Upper inspired thing I thought I should try to bring the outdoors in.  The best way I could think to do that was with green shag carpets to look like grass.  I found the perfect rugs at IKEA.  So of course, I coerced my hubby to pack up the 3 kids and drive me there.  It is about an hour and half away.  The rugs are normally $39.99, but were on sale for $29.99 with the IKEA reward card.  While we were there I also picked up some white cardboard book boxes (4 pack for .99) and a black work lamp ($32.99).

As I was bringing all of this decor in I realized my bulletin boards could not stay as they were.  I began shopping TPT and found this ADORABLE Farmhouse Classroom Decor pack by Tiffany Gannon.

My favorite pieces of the pack are the calendar area, number posters (WITH touch points), and number line.  I highly suggest checking this out.

My alphabet line was currently bright pinks, oranges, greens, yellows, and blues.  It did NOT go with my theme at all.  I knew I wanted a throw back look.  I found this perfect alphabet at United Arts and Education for $10.99.

I finally rounded out the whole look for some pieces made by me.  I added a clip chart, birthday display, student work display numbers, schedule cards, and a few other touches that you can find in my Shiplap Classroom Decor pack.

Are you ready to see the final look? These pictures were taken before I added my final touches.  I will be updating pictures soon.  The start of the school year was Monday and well..... enough said right?

This is how I felt on Friday afternoon.

Here it is...

This post contains affiliate links, but all reviews are my own honest thoughts on products and were not prompted from the companies.

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Wishlist Wednesday- Writing Activities featuring The Groovy Cat

Eekk! I am so excited to be linking up with Jen from Teacher by the Beach for my first Wishlist Wednesday. 

Here is how it works:

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End of the Year Teacher Gift Book

I want to share a great idea I found for a gift to give your child's teacher at the end of the year, but before I do I have to be a mommy and share some exciting news.  My son just graduated from Kindergarten {insert sobbing noises}!!!  I cannot even wrap my mind around the fact that I am going to have a 1st grader.  I feel like I was just sitting here on my computer blogging about our summer Kindergarten prep plans.  Seriously if you are a new mom or heck even a seasoned mom stop reading this, go hug your babies, and then come back.  They grow up WAY TO FAST!  Look at how his baby face changed over the last school year.

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Academic Field Day

So this concept of Academic Field Day has been bouncing around my mind since last May.  I had BIG plans to create it during my maternity leave after I failed to come up with nothing over summer break.  Well 8 weeks of maternity leave came and went with no progress on my idea.  May came around again and this idea was still tugging on my brain strings.  Our school's annual field day was quickly approaching and there was rain in the forecast.  Usually our field day is a whole day event, but the rain plan was to cut it down to just our 45 minute specials time.  Ummmm there is a big difference when lesson planning for a whole day vs. small spurts of time between events.   I wasn't about to show movies all day!  That was my plan for the last day after all.  Hehe! When I found out this rain plan it was Saturday afternoon and field day was on Tuesday.  I told myself it was time to bring my idea to life and form Plan B.  I scrambled and created over my entire Memorial Day break and I have to say I am so proud of the outcome.  I got all of the items you see at Dollar Tree.  This was such an inexpensive event!  Keep reading to see Academic Field Day in action.  My kids had a BLAST!

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Ninja Bunnies $1 Sale!

Some ninja bunnies broke into my store last night and slashed some prices to $1!!

Check out what everyone has discounted.  Here is what you will find from my store.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Mystery Reader

I started having Mystery Readers in my classroom last year.  Have you heard of it?  A fellow teacher did it in her classroom and I decided it was a great idea.

I invite all parents to sign up for a day to be our class Mystery Reader.  When they sign up they give me 3 clues about themselves.  My students try to solve the case prior to the reader coming in.  It was so fun watching them deduce who it was.  I even invited staff from around the building to join.  The kids were thrilled when that happened!

I love these collages because you can see the joy on both the parent and students face!  I am helping to create a memory that will last a lifetime!

Last year, I invited people through email and they signed up using a Google Doc.  I liked the Google Doc because people could see what dates were taken immediately.  The problem was a lack of participation from parents due to them not reading their email.  Shocker I know!

Most of my schedule was filled up with staff, such as the Dean of Students, Librarian, Secretary, and Art Teacher.  It was loads of fun seeing another side of them.

The Mystery Reader is in charge of choosing and providing the book to read.  Our Secretary shared a book about snowflakes called "Snowflake Bentley".

  
The kids were entranced by the different snowflakes and how they were so difficult to be photographed.  

Our Art Teacher's old neighbor published a book about the area where she grew up.  She ordered it online and shared it with the class. 

Our Dean of Students read "Skippyjon Jones".  He did the voice perfectly!  Lets just say that the students weren't the only ones cracking up!

I think your class would love to add this new tradition to the classroom.  I created a Mystery Reader Pack this year to encourage more participation. 

I will be handing out the invite letters at Meet the Teacher night.  I also included a thank you card in the pack that can be signed by the whole class.  There is a space inside of the card to print and attach a 5x7 photo of the Mystery Reader with their child or the class.  They will love the memento!

~Stacey

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The Winter Break That Never Ended!

Trust me this is going to sound like I am complaining, but I am NOT!  I have been on Winter Break since December 22nd.  I could not have been more thrilled to finally get a break from the daily grind (on my nervous system)!  Christmas came and went, then my anniversary, then NYE.  Finally I had time to relax.  I took advantage of this by staying in pajamas all day, napping periodically throughout the day, and letting my kids become human tornados in my house.  Then I got the flu.  I knew I was going to get sick on this break.  I have been dealing with a very trying group, packing up my old classroom, and moving and unpacking my new classroom.  I was stressed, but had no time to be sick. While my family battled the flu and colds I trudged on.  So, naturally it was my turn.  I finally felt better and was gearing up for the next half of the year when the "Snowpocalypse" happened.  

Yay! An extra day at home to get my head together.  Then Day 2 of the "Snowpocalyspse" happened (today).  I woke up this morning ready to finally get myself organized and ready to return.  Around 2 in the afternoon I got the unexpected call about the 3rd day off.  I love my kids, my husband, and lounging in jammies, but I NEED a break!  I need to getaway!  So I escaped to my computer and created a new product about The Groovy Cat.

My Writing Activities with the Groovy Cat (I blogged about it here) seems to be very popular, so I thought you all would like Are You a Groovy Cat? Clip Chart Behavior System.  LOL!  

So long story short I hope you like the outcome of my cabin fever!  It is on sale until tomorrow night for $1.  I also have several other items in my store for $1.  Come check them out!

~Slightly Crazed Stacey

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It is FINALLY done!

I started my Monthly Writing Journal project at the beginning of summer.  Then I got distracted with a million other projects.  I finally had it in me last night to get it done!  It might have been something to do with the news we got yesterday.  It lit a fire under me!  My husband got news from his doctor that he needs to have another back surgery.  For us it is kind of devastating.  He is a stay at home dad during the week and stays home with our son who has Cerebral Palsy and daughter.  The recovery time is SIX LONG weeks.  So we are going to try and do it during my winter break or next summer, but I hate that he has to suffer until then.  So it is time for me to pull my weight! {Didn't mean to be a Debbie Downer...Sorry and thanks for listening!}

Anyway... I am so excited for these journals!  I started doing this with my class last year, but I revamped it.  Every month there is a notebook with a new writing prompt and words in it.  The whole class is to get to it during their writing center time.  When the journal is complete you can add it to your classroom library and the kiddos can read it during Read to Self or Read to Someone time.  They are always so excited to read what their classmates wrote!  

I also created two prompts that can be used all year long.  The one I am most excited about is, I have a question... I have an answer!  The kids pose a question and each student has to answer them.  I thought this would also be a great activity for the traveling journal.  Your class can ask the questions and you send the journal over to another class to answer.  That sounds like so much fun to me!

The great thing about my Monthly Writing Journals is you can get all 13 journals ready now and when the month changes all you have to do is switch it out and BOOM you have revamped your writing center!  Can it get any easier? I think NOT!

Hoping my Firsties and you will love this!
~Stacey

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Show off Your Piles and Classroom Management Tips Double Linky Party!

                 

Summer Piles Linky
Summer is about halfway over for me and I have to say I feel unrested because I can't stop thinking about school stuff!  I don't think I am the only one.  If I was we wouldn't have a linky about piles of stuff!  I would like to thank Christina Bainbridge at Buntings, Books, and Bainbridge for hosting this linky!  Be sure to head back to her blog to feel better about your summer hoarding.  You aren't the only one, TRUST me!

So if you are like me you shop the dollar section at Target like an addict!  I walk down the aisles so slowly hoping to find the bit of buried treasure.  Every once in a while there is a true gem, but nothing like back to school time.  I have made friends with one of the managers at our local Target and asked her when they would start putting stuff out for teachers.  She told me to come check it out on July 7th.  So I have been patiently waiting for this day to come.  If you know me patience is NOT my strong suit and unfortunately for my children that is one of the traits they received from me.  So lucky!  

Today was the DAY!  So around 11, I put the kids to bed and asked my husband for the credit card.  That is ALWAYS bad news when I go to Target with the credit card.  It is bad news on a normal day, but back to school time. Fuggetaboutit!  When I got there I noticed it wasn't what I expected.  There were definitely some new items, but not the big moment I expected.  Nonetheless, I still found some gems!  They were actually trying to clear some stuff out for the back to school stuff, so a lot of the stuff was 70%!!!! I am a sucker for a sale!  

The square baskets in the back, jump ropes, fry holders, and mechanical pencils were all .30 a piece!  WHAT!  I bought all of the square baskets they had! Everything else was .90.  The yellow bins have to be my favorite purchase though.  I bought 7!  A little much? Maybe!  Ask me what I am going to do with this stuff... Gosh I don't know!  But seriously would YOU have passed up that deal?  Yeah I didn't think so!

I am really excited about the fry containers because awhile ago I pinned this activity!

I also found this awesome idea for a writing center using flashcards.  I found great flashcards at Target about the United States and Dinosaurs that I plan to incorporate into my writing centers too!

So I hope you feel a little better about your summer piles.  I know I do!

Classroom Management Linky

I would like to thank Mel D at Seusstastic and Freebie-Licious for hosting this Classroom Management Linky!  I love classroom management strategies.  What worked for you with one class may not work for another group, so it is always nice to hear what others have done and have them ready in your back pocket.  

Now I would like to share something with you that I have been working on for days.  I am kind of obsessed with lemons lately thanks to Krista Wallden ! I am so excited about it! It is the biggest and best item I have ever created!

A couple of years ago I got to go to a Harry Wong conference!  I LOVE him and it was so amazing to hear him, his wife, and one of his team members talk about the first days of school.  It really is important and gets you started on the right foot.

So after I saw him I came back to school and wanted to change everything!  Which is totally fine if is wasn't April.  So I started slowly by introducing procedures and believe it or not the kids caught on fast.

The following year I worked on my behavior plans.  The first thing I started using was a note for forgotten homework.  I am calling it my Sour Note.  

This is a great resource to have.  The kiddos fill out the form with what the missing assignment was and why they didn't turn it in.  You put the top half in their file and the bottom half goes home to be signed. You now have it at your fingertips when you have a angry  happy parent calling to rave about their child.  It works every time!  

The next thing I created was a Cool It! Note.  

This note is quietly slipped to the student during class time to remind them to choose the right behavior.  After you are done teaching your lesson or whatever you may be doing at the time you pull the student aside and you have a conference about their poor choice.  I am telling you it doesn't usually go much further than this.  I write notes on the note and put it in their file. Done!  

The final note it a Bitter Behavior Note. 

This is for multiple times being asked to Cool It! or a behavior that goes above and beyond a warning.  The student fills it out at school.  Then they take the bottom portion home to be signed by the parents. The final step is a detention, but honestly I did not give any out last school year.  

In my Classroom Management Pack I also included by favorite whole classroom management plan.  I turned it into the ever popular bunting. 

 The saying this time is "Good Behavior is Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy". This is so simple to do!  You move the lemon slice to the next letter whenever the class as a whole is doing good.  Usually if they get started right away on morning work, working quietly, compliment from someone other than myself, or doing a fire drill the right way. When they get to the last letter they have to stay there for the whole day.  If they do you get to pick one of the reward cards.  I created 21 different things to do and most of them are FREE!  Who doesn't love free.

This seriously is the perfect combination of tools for the beginning of the year or when all else fails.  Give it a try and don't forget to link up with your summer piles or classroom management strategies!

On a side note I am in the process of creating a classroom blog.  I know others have done it and the parents seem to be really receptive and thankful to have a place to be a fly on the wall in their child's classroom.  I know I would be! (Yep! Helicopter Parent (I use restraint though) right here!  Anywhoo... I am having trouble coming up with a catchy name for the blog.  So I am asking all of you wonderfully talented people for your suggestions.  If I pick your name for the blog I will give you my Classroom Management Tools for FREE!  So comment with your idea and email.  I will have my awesome hubby help me pick. I will announce the winner as soon as we decide on my facebook page, so come like me!

~Stacey

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