First Wall Decorations

I was at Michel's the other day and they were having a sale at the front of the store for wall decorations for children's bedrooms. However, they don't just have to be for bedrooms, do they?! No! They can also be for classrooms. :)

So, for a total of $8 I got.....

*Cute Monkeys showing different facial expressions to be used for classroom rules or something along those lines (I'm thinking of laminating them so I can use them over and over):

*Square Frames that I plan to do a student of the week/getting to know you type of idea:

*And two packs of clouds to use in the reading corner and writing center to put useful reminders about reading comprehension and writing skills in:

Hopefully these are a few good starts to having a well-decorated classroom!

Reading Friends

As I looked forward to having my own classroom one day I started collecting little book characters to put in a future reading corner. Now, my little characters have a classroom to look forward to as they will be going to the 3rd grade in August! The characters that will be joining my 3rd classroom are:

-The Very Hungry Caterpillar (my first character)
-The Cat in the Hat
-The Mouse from "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...." (my all time favorite picture book)
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Curious George
- Despereaux
- Peter Rabbit (a gift from my 2nd grade student teaching placement teacher and class)
- Curdory
- And Snoopy, an owl, and a frog

I hope my students will have fun reading with our reading characters!

Now if only I had books to put in my reading corner.......That is my most pressing shopping need right now! (Or so I feel like it is...) I have some rummaging to do through my childhood books and hopefully I can get to a book store, thrift store, garage sale, 2nd hand book store, etc. soon!

Any recommendations for good 3rd grade books?

First Post for my First Year

I just graduated from Bryan College in Dayton, TN, with a BS degree in Elementary Education (K-6). I began the process of looking for a job shortly after graduation in May. Through God's leading only, I have been blessed with a job teaching 3rd grade at a Christian school in Castro Valley, California. 

In the next month and a half I need to pack up my life in Alabama, drive out to California, move into a new apartment with a new roommate I have never met, attend my first teacher orientation, prepare my first classroom for my first students, and get ready for the first week of school! A little overwhelming to say the least, but so exciting! 

I would love to use this blog as a way to post about activities in my class, reflect on how the year is going, and to connect with other teachers who are either first year ones like myself or experienced ones. I hope that in the midst of the crazy first year I can keep this blog up so I have something to look back on and reflect about things that went well and things that need to be changed for my second year. 

So, please follow my blog! I welcome all input and ideas. :)