Hopes and Dreams

Good evening!

Today was the day that we finally got to write our hopes and dreams for the school year! We have been talking about it since day one but MY oh my does the time fly! I feel as though each school day just zips by, and we hardly ever get to everything that I have planned for the day.

In any case, students have been prepping and planning to write their hopes and dreams for days now and they were SO ready to get them on paper today! Take a look:

There are SO many great read-alouds for getting kids to think about goals for the school year, however for younger age children, I like to stick to ones with fairly simple story lines that everyone can relate to. Here are a couple of titles that I like to use while introducing hopes and dreams. I like both of them because they are fun and emphasize failures, mistakes, and trying again:

Next, I send a letter home to parents sometime during the first two weeks of school. In that letter, I explain the importance of goal-setting and encourage them to take part in the process by writing their hopes and dreams for their child on a paper star. (This is not an original idea; this is something that I learned from my teammates while teaching first grade years back. I love how it involves family in the process!)

Get your copy of this parent letter HERE!

Next, we brainstorm ideas for what our hopes and dreams could be and begin writing! Call me crazy...but my husband and I are huge Kanye West fans. In one of his songs, he said, "Shoot for the stars, and if you fall you'll land on a cloud." Without even really realizing it, that is the quote that inspired me to create a cloud themed paper for students to use for their hopes and dreams:

Download HERE

I like the combination of the parent star with the cloud, and that quote makes me think that you should shoot for both goals. What I've learned over the years is that the parent stars tend to be overall wellness goals, whereas student goals are more specific and measurable (of course!). So I think Kanye's quote kind of works? Maybe? I don't know...but it turns out cute and meaningful, anyway!

At the end, I always LOVE to read Rosie Revere, Engineer as a way to inspire kids to keep trying for their goals, even if they face adversity. It is the best book I've read so far for putting a focus on how Effort=Achievement in learners. Students love it, too!

I hope you have fun creating your hopes and dreams with your students! Until next time...

*Whew* Week One = DONE! (Photos, freebies, and a CLASSROOM TOUR!)

Happy Friday!

I just finished my first week of school and am SO HAPPY to be looping with my class. Better yet, I switched grade levels and was able to keep my same room (Score!). While there is always plenty to do, it feels nice to already know my kids so well and to feel settled in my room already.

I meant to create this post earlier, but the beginning of the school year simply whizzed by! Oh well, better late than never, am I right? Here are some fun things that we had going on in our classroom at Meet and Greet and a little classroom tour. Of course, I'll be including a couple FREEBIES as well.

*Shameless plug* If you like my freebies, don't forget to follow me at my TPT store!

Meet and Greet!

I've done welcome bags for many years, but decided that mine needed a little face-lift this year. I know this is not an original idea, but I made a few alterations based on some ideas I've seen on Pinterest and what I could find at the local dollar store (of course!). 

As per usual, I've updated the file to make it work for any teacher or grade level. You can grab your copy HERE!

I put the baggies in students' mailboxes as part of their classroom scavenger hunt. Pictured above are my students' mailbox cubbies. My school sends most office communication home to the "Oldest and/or Only" children. To make my life easier, I decided to color code each mailbox using colored paper and printed labels. Blue mailboxes are kiddos that are the oldest or only child. Makes filling folders a breeze!

When parents come in, I direct them to the back table where I have a volunteer sign-up sheet. This year, I also allowed kids to sign up to pick their own Star Student week. They felt so cool and "adult-like" while signing up next to their parents! 

Do your dull pencils ever pile up?! Even though I have a student assigned to the "pencil sharpener" job, they still get piled up in my classroom. So, after finding pencil boxes for a complete steal at an office supply store, I decided to label some to send home with students. Parents volunteer to be pencil sharpeners throughout the year, and the kids take a box home whenever we're in need. Some parents love that they can help out from the comfort of their own home!

(Some) Classroom Pictures

I LOVE to take pictures of my classroom in the beginning of the year while its still "shiny and clean!" We all know that learning can get messy sometimes, so once those kiddos come the room begins to change and progressively (as much as I try to stop it!) gets a little cluttered. Take a look!

This is the view from where you walk in. Our school has an open format, so I have no door. It has actually grown on me! I love how everyone has a strong sense of community in the school. 

Here's my "Wow Work" board, where each child has his/her own clipboard to display work. I spray painted a bunch of clipboards one summer and it works GREAT!

My learning targets board was created with cheap frames from IKEA. I love it because I can write on them with dry erase markers, and they come in CUTE colors and fun sizes, too! Here is a link to the frames on the IKEA website.

Word Wall! I use laminated magnet words to add to my wall. I love that I can write on the word wall when I'm in a pinch, too!

I decided to update my class library with new bins from the Dollar Tree. I like the fun colors, but I'm thinking about simplifying the labels a bit...  The rugs I got a few years ago from Target!

Here is a perfect idea I found on Pinterest. Hang number lines and other math mats on a 3M hook for easy storage!

Another Pinterest find... I got the drawers from Target and the caddy from the Dollar Tree. I am having the kiddos put their snacks in the top drawers (YAY for no more stinky snacks lingering in desks!) and their text books and things that shouldn't get wrinkled/crinkled in the others. :-)

I re-organized my Take-Home book library. This is the only place where I level books. My other library is organized by genre and author. I send these books home with students that need extra support in reading. Head on over to my TPT store HERE to get a copy of my parent form that I send home with students!

Here's my morning meeting board. I keep my calendar and days of school chart all together for morning meeting. I also made coin magnets and use a cookie sheet for students to show the days of school in money form. It is a great way to incorporate math into morning meeting!

Above my morning meeting board, I have our class rules. They are in those same IKEA frames I mentioned above. My rules follow the Whole Brain Teaching format and I absolutely LOVE them. They are posted in my store for free HERE! (While you're at it, you can also grab my Super Improver Set too!)

This year, I decided to label my book bins by number instead of name. YAY for being able to use the same labels next year! (Now I'm just hoping that they last...ha!) I made the labels using my Rainbow Stripe Label Pack. I also labeled the shelf so students know exactly where to put their book bins away. It has been working great so far!

I try to update my display shelf throughout the year. Here are some of my favorite books to read in the beginning of the year! Some are books that have a concrete purpose, such as hopes and dreams, guided discoveries, and rules, procedures, and consequences. Others are simply fun to read in the beginning of the year. :-)

I saw this idea on Pinterest and LOVED it! I decided to make my own version using my Rainbow Chevron Label Pack!

I'm loving my new Star of the Week poster. Since I'm looping, I needed something fresh and new for this school year. I decided to create my own poster that I could print on 11x17 paper. 

It is hard to see because of the laminating (oops!), but my Star Student board has a spot for the poster and then little stars with clothespins for pinning up pictures. I like that the clothespins don't puncture holes in the pictures...just in case a parent took them out of a special photo album! Here is a link for the Star of the Week poster set!

Finally...here is my desk! Take a gooood look before it gets cluttered with my piles and piles of papers and files. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time....

Looping *freebie* FUN!

Welcome to my blog!

After a 2 year hiatus, I hope to start blogging more intentionally. This year, I am LOOPING with my first graders from last year! This is the first time I've ever looped with an entire class and I think it will be an amazing opportunity. I know of many teachers that have had great experiences in the past and I can't WAIT to try it out myself! (It also helps that I ADORE my bunch of kiddos...I am so stinking excited!) Take a look below for some fun freebies that are great for any age level of "loopers."

Before the end of last year, I thought I would surprise my students by letting them know we'd be looping through a secret message. I used a "secret code" approach and set it on their desks as morning work.

They were SO excited!

  (Whew---It could have gone the other way, you know!)  ;-)

This is the way it looked when it was completed:

I've modified this so any teacher can use this activity with a looping class. Grab your FREE copy here!

Now that the new school year is starting, I am SO excited to be working with my same bunch again. As a welcome back gift, I decided to design something with a "looping" idea in mind. Here is what I came up with:

Click here to grab your own copy!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back soon with some pictures of my room and more Back to School freebies and products! If you like what you see, don't forget to pop on by my TPT store for other products and LOTS of freebies! (Woo!)