New Classroom Creations

Well, there are a couple more weeks before I can go back into my classroom, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been hard at work at home.  Recently I went to the Teacher Box and found the newest pattern (Dots on Turquoise) that I just LOVE and the colors will work so well in my room.  Now, I'm not a fan of doing a theme (basically because it is a lot of changing out of materials each year and I don't have the money...face it, teachers get paid pennies).  I love to look at class pictures and I really enjoy seeing the cute ocean themes, pirates, rock star, movies, etc.  I just can't afford changing things up every year.  So, with that being said, I find that it is easier for me to stick to a color scheme.  My favorite colors are pink, blue, and green (I'm guessing you could tell that already) and I love dots, stripes, and paisley.  I made some things last year which I am reusing again, but I have also created some new additions for this years classroom.

First off I have my Manners Matter poster.  I feel like having good manners is so important so I've included it in my class creations this summer.  I am going to introduce it to my kids this year after I read them the story "May I Please Have a Cookie?" which is one of my favorite books regarding manners.

Next I've got the title for my behavior chart board.  Kids will get a sticker if they end the day on Blue or Purple (I'll do a post on my behavior system another day).

I had to get these cute months of the year.  I'm going to stick them above my whiteboard calendar.  So excited and they are so much prettier than the once I currently have.

I'm sure you have all seen the "volume level stoplights".  Well, I wanted to do one too, but I didn't want it to actually look like a stoplight.  So, I made this one and it incorporates the cute pattern that I have and the owls that I'm going to have on my door.  I will just move the owl to the appropriate volume level as needed.  Levels include "Silent", "Quiet" which is just loud enough for your buddy to hear, "Low" which is just loud enough for the people at the group/table to hear, and "Normal" which is loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear.

My last name is Wise, so the obvious choice for a character to represent me is an owl (however this is the first time that I am using them).  As for the owl that I described for my front door, I have this.  Yes, I know it is sideways, but you get the picture.  After I laminate everything I am going to decorate the big owl for myself (probably with a hot pink hair bow), and the little owls will have the names of my students.

Here is a close-up of what it says on the sign.  Soooooo cute!  It is my favorite!

My next favorite thing is my helper organizer.  Now in the past I have always given all of my students a job for the week.  But, I found that they wouldn't always remember, jobs wouldn't get done, and having to update the  jobs every week was a pain.  So this year I am going to have two helpers a day (drawn randomly, probably a boy and a girl).  They will wear the special name tags.  At the end of the day the helpers will put their numbers in the "Had a Turn" bucket and draw a new number from the "Needs a Turn" bucket.  I think that this system will workout really well.

These are the labels for the "Had a Turn" and "Need a Turn" buckets.  Now I just need the buckets.

Of course we always want to know how our kids are getting home, and you can obviously buy a chart (although not always cute) but I decided to make one.  I'm going to laminate it and then write in the bus numbers and student names as needed.  I'll post it by the door and then I can always have it for reference.  I think that I will also use a red visa vis marker to mark ride changes.  (The parts on the chart are for Car Riders, Walkers, YMCA, 1st Load buses and 2nd Load buses).

Finally I have my "Open/Closed" signs.  Last year I realized that it is so much easier to post when I am open to check work or for random stories or if the kids just need to go back to their seats.  I had a magnetic board behind my desk and I would stick up the correct sign when needed.  However, my signs were handwritten on index cards.  This year I wanted to make something cute.  So these are my new signs.  I am going to laminate them and cut them apart.

These are just the things that I have done so far, but as I continue to look at blogs I am sure that I will come up with many more wonderful ideas.  If any of these look like something you would want, please leave a comment.  I am happy to post copies ("freebies") of the things that I have made, assuming I actually have some followers.  ;)