Pre-Cooper my classroom was ready to go by the fourth of July...

Now, here I am 22 months post Cooper.  It's the day before I go back and I'm just now--almost--finished setting up for my firsties!  {What a difference a baby makes!}

9 years later I'm still doing western in my room.  Sure, I could re-do, but I just love it too much!  Plus, with all of the new burlap and chalkboard stuff out, I can add new touches here and there to make it fresh!

Here's a look at my room so far!






Here is a close up of the plants.  The plants are a whopping $4.67 at Wal-Mart.  I add a little ribbon to the pot it comes in...and this year I add the Fruits of the Spirit to each of my pots in chalk marker as a personal reminder for me throughout the year.



My hallway area! "Hats Off to Great Work!"

The "Wanted" posters are empty now, but will soon have 25 precious cowboy and cowgirl faces pictured on them! Can't wait to love these babies!  Plus, I bought a new rustic chalkboard to display our standards and objectives for work.

My desk...which I never EVER sit at...are there any teachers out there that actually *sit* at their desk?  It's beyond me how that happens with 25 littles in the room!  Still need to add our theme poster for our first unit and its essential questions! {...add it to the list, people!}

Small group intervention area.  I pretty much sit at this "desk" with 6 firsties at least half of my day!

Still in love with this bandana lamp I made a few years ago with some el-cheapo bandana fabric and thick twine.

Saw this quote at God's Gift To Teachers, errr, Hobby Lobby, and just HAD to have it this year.
And I'm soaking up the fact that the clipboard is empty...for now!  It will be holding formative assessments and checklists soon enough!

Writing area with my filing cabinet in a not-so-random spot between my writing station and classroom library.  What a great "blocker" it makes during station time! :)

New this year is my calm down area.  I've always had a designated spot for this, but this year I've added the chair {which I repurposed after not using for a few years}, book, signs {which you can get in my classroom management packet-->HERE} and a basket of calm down goodies {mirror, stress ball, hourglass timer, and Telly the Turtle...who is sure to hear about all of the trials and tribulations of first grade this year!}


This is our classroom library area. "Reading Corral."

New book tub labels this year.  Find them and 4 other designs-->HERE!





Out with the old word wall, and in with the new word wall cards!

Setting up a classroom is all in the details!  Here are a few of my favs!  Border around the sink mirror!

A little scrapbook paper and button details make our Promethean Board look like overalls! :)


 And "cart skirts" Velcroed on hide all of those nasty cords!


This year's "What We're Learnin'" focus wall.  You can find the schedule cards and Common Core "I can" objectives with standards-->HERE.

And last, but not least, my welcome area which gets seasonally decorated throughout the year.  

My birthday balloons, copied from an idea on Pinterest. {Pixie Sticks taped to a balloon cutout.}

I take birthday scrapbook accessories, laminate them and attach them with mini-magnets on the back to display each month's birthdays!

This year, I added one of my all time favorite poems in a frame.  Love the daily reminder of my mission as a teacher!  Download your copy-->HERE.
August means it's time to face reality: My 8:30 in the morning quiet trips to Walmart are coming to an end. *sniff sniff*

IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON!

I'm in full-on "get my classroom back in shape" mode which means: I'm an organizin' fool right now!

In general, I'm a fairly organized person.

Or was it a very organized person?  I forget...

Okay, okay, Organization and angelic choruses are synonymous in my book! ;)

But seriously, I LOVE organizing stuff.  It's a hobby for me.  And it's one of my basic needs.  I can't survive with chaos.  Ask my husband.  Just this week I was enjoying a normal nap time for Cooper/quiet time for me when I was overcome with the need to reorganize my pin boards on Pinterest.  Seriously.  I just started deleting pins and moving them around like nobody's business.

So, while I'm sad {so sad...so very, very sad} to not spend all day every day with my sweet boy, I'm thrilled to have the chance at organizing and reorganizing my classroom.

Here are my...
{this post contains affiliate links}

#1 {{SORT}}  "There's no place like home."  Everything has a home.  Everything.  Being the Type A, OCD, overbearing weirdo that I am, I like for things to be in a predictable spot.

So, in my classroom, I sort. Everything.

Sorting is something the brain naturally tries to do--whether we want it to or not.  The brain is constantly trying to find a "home" for the new information we are learning.  Having a predictable spot for that information in my classroom, helps my kids know where to look when they are stuck.  Interestingly, I see kids every year that look in specific spots in our classroom during standardized testing...even though our walls are covered with bed sheets...they are trying to jog their brain about what was on that hidden anchor chart!

Sorting also keeps things looking neat and orderly.  Which I LOVE!  A few years back, I added these group shelves to help my kids keep their things sorted and to keep them from having so much *stuff* in their desk. {Honestly, little people are so messy!}
The less they have to organize on their own in their desk, the better.  So I sort it for them on these group shelves.  And they maintain it.  Really well. No, really.  They do a fantastic job.  Organization is taught and my kids learn quickly that everything in our room has a home and everything on their group's shelf has a home.  They take pride in these shelves and it's a great opportunity to teach responsibility.

My teacher materials are sorted by unit.  I teach 6 Common Core units during the school year.  Everything I need for a unit is in my unit binder.  It has my road map {a 6-week glance at my unit}, copy masters, objectives, and group labels.  And it's where I keep my weekly lesson plans during that unit also.


Moving from 127,463 manila file folders and reorganizing into unit binders changed. my. world.  For the better, ya'll!  It is so easy to plan each week now and so easy to find what I need!

All those teacher dry erase markers? They have a spot too...in a cheap shower caddy with ribbon hot glued on!

When I come across a stash that needs some organization, I always sort the stuff into categories first...and piece by piece they find their home!

#2 {{TOSS}} Less. Is. More.  If I haven't used it in 2 years, it's gone.  Bye-Bye.  No second thoughts.  That goes for decorations and for materials.  The more you have, the harder it is to organize, sort and store it. And the more you have on your walls {authentic anchor charts don't count...} the harder it is for kids to focus.  And in the true spirit of this rule....I shouldn't have to say anything else about this one.

#3 {{LABEL}}  "If you like it then you better put a label on it..." Wuh, uh, oh, uh, uh, oh, oh, uh, oh, uh, uh, oh...  Yeah, you're welcome.

But, for real!  It's gotta have a label.  This seems sooooo obvious, but how is one supposed to know what is in there if it doesn't have a label on it???
Storage tubs for Common Core Unit books...I used chalk markers to add the labels!
My first year teaching, I invested in a substantial amount of $1 shoe box clear tubs.  Pretty much everything in my cabinets gets stored in those or these small, clear crates.  With a label.
And, clearly, these labels were made 9 years ago...comic sans font and all! Maybe I should make new labels...there's always next year, right?? :)

{{And before you ask...yes, those are bed sheets...for testing season.  You can read about that HERE.}}

Even my students catch on to label fever each year.  Their group shelves have math manipulative tubs on them...with labels, of course.

And their buckets with the shared supplies have labels too.  They learn from day one to, "put the tubs away with the label facing out."  Seriously.  You know you've said it a lot when they start telling each other, "Hey! Label facing out!"

With our counting collections shelf, our labels are color-coded depending on what group level they are working on, so it not only looks better for the labels to face out, but it's absolutely necessary so that partners know which tubs have collections on their level.

And, of course, our classroom library is labeled for neatness and necessity also.  You can find my book tub labels {in 4 different themes} HERE.



Labels not only look neat, but they are utilitarian--for teachers AND students.  Plus, they are easy to....

#4 {{COLOR CODE}}...

Omiword, I'm obsessed with color-coding!  I get all Jr. High School girl giddy when I realize I can color code something!  I wish I were kidding.  I color code in my teaching life and my personal life.  When we moved into our tee-niney apartment last month, we color-coded our moving boxes...yes, my husband is as bad as I am in this department!  We rented a storage area and typed out labels for each box on colored paper.  Each room was assigned a color.  And each box was assigned a number.

That way, we can easily find boxes for certain rooms.  And when we {eventually} move into our new house, the bright colors will make it easier for our moving help to know which boxes go in which rooms.  And, of course there is a coordinating spreadsheet that is color coded with everything that is in each storage box so we can locate things quickly!

Go ahead, be jealous, people!

*ahem* back on topic...

In my classroom, most everything is color coded.  My classroom library book tubs are color-coded by fiction or non-fiction.

My kid's pocket folders are color-coded.

My intervention groups are color-coded so my kids know what color they are in reading, writing and math.  Those same colors are used on my data sheets and on tubs of materials that are specific for a group of kids.

I know it's most likely because of the way I think, but I just don't know how people differentiate without color coding.  No. Freakin'. Idea.  I differentiate...I color code.  Not only does it help me identify who is working on what, but it also helps kids find materials quickly and keep them organized.  Even to the most chaotic of minds {!!} a red card will easily stick out in a stack of yellow cards.

When I have a set schedule for groups I conference with, I also order my colors in rainbow order.  I know.  I know.  Go ahead.  I make fun of myself, too.

In writing, I have a mixed group of kids that I conference with each day.  Each kid has a colored dot on his or her journal which tells them what day I conference with them.  Monday is red, Tuesday is orange, Wednesday is yellow, and Thursday is green. {Friday is my choice of who I meet with again.}  Rainbow order is really just for my sanity.  If they were in a random order, it would take me until February to learn what color was on Monday! {Read more details about this HERE.}

When we share student work in writing and in math, I color code parts of their work with highlighters.  So, for example, in writing I might highlight all of their punctuation marks in one color, capitals in another, sight words another, etc...  In math, when we are sharing 2-3 kiddos' thinking, I might highlight the 3 different ways the number 59 was built by each student.  That way students can see that each shows the same number because it's colored the same, but they built it in a different way.



#5 {{REPEAT}} "Anything good is worth repeating."  Organization isn't a fling.  It isn't an event.  It's a life style.  And it has to be kept up.  So part of my end of the year routine is "repeat."  Go back through and SORT, TOSS, LABEL, COLOR CODE, REPEAT.  And then after I've had the summer away, I come back to my classroom and "see" things I was too tired to see at the end of May and so I SORT, TOSS, LABEL, COLOR CODE, REPEAT again. And randomly throughout the year I REPEAT.  That's the only way my classroom stays organized.  That's the only way my kids stay organized.  We REPEAT each Friday with their personal spaces (desk) and community spaces (group shelves) by sorting and tossing.

SORT, TOSS, LABEL, COLOR CODE, REPEAT....How do you stay organized in your room?
I didn't choose to teach.

I didn't choose to be exhausted the entire month of August just to get a classroom ready and a group of 25 firsties ready for the school year.  I didn't choose to be called, "Mrs. Shaddock," for 178 school days every year.  I didn't choose to prepare first graders to meet national standards set for them by people who think they are smarter than I am.  I didn't choose to love 25 babies as if they were my own.

I was chosen.  Before time began, I was chosen to teach.

By God.
"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be..." Psalm 139:16

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord..." Jeremiah 29:11

"Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers..." 1 Corinthians 12:28

Though I love teaching dearly, I firmly believe that I love it because I am doing what God chose me to do.

I have a gift.  I didn't go pick out my gift at Wal-Mart.  It was chosen for me.

I can teach.  And I can do it effectively.  No, I am not the best teacher in the world.  I'm not even the best teacher in my school or district.  And there are days that I'm not a very good teacher at all.  Many days, actually.  And there are countless teachers in the world who are much better at their gift than I am.

But I have a God-given gift to teach, too.  And I am determined to do my best at it.  Whether it is teaching 1st graders at school, teaching preschoolers at church, or teaching my own kid at home.

Being chosen by God to teach means several things.

It means that I need to use my gift, not just let it sit on a shelf and go to waste.
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have to serve others." 1 Peter 4:10

It means that I'm called to a higher standard.
"Not many of you should become teachers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." James 3:1

"In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you." 
Titus 2:7-8

It means that I am an example to others.
"But be an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

And it means that I'm chosen to help others see the possibilities.
"With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible." 
Matthew 19:26

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

...which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite poems by one of my all time favorite poets, Shel Silverstein...

I may not have chosen to teach, but I did choose to accept God's gift for me.  So, again this year, I choose to use my gift to glorify God, because it's what He chose for me to do.
I was going to just post this on Facebook, but I decided I wanted to blog this too so that I won't forget these sweet memories!

Excuse all of the personal posts lately... 8 days later, here are...

13 Lessons Learned From Potty Training:
1. It is super exhausting the first three days...like never-been-so-happy-for nap-time-to-come exhausting!

2.  Just. Stay. Home.  For 3 days.  Nothing is important enough to leave the house for during the first 3 days.

3. And when you do venture out, count on getting asked to go potty as soon as everyone is buckled up in the car.  Even if you just tried before you left.  Every. Time.

4.  Toilets are not the only acceptable places for a little boy to potty.  Bushes are okay too.  And showers. All 3 will get a resounding, "Yay!" from said little boy...

5.  Always, ALWAYS wipe after an "attempt." Even if it's not successful.  I repeat.  ALWAYS wipe!

6. Which, of course, means that baby wipes and carpet cleaner are the best inventions ever.

7.  Nothing will make you jump higher or faster than hearing the words, "Uh-Oh," during training time.

8.  Stickers motivate first graders and stickers motivate toddlers.  And the process of choosing the "perfect" sticker can be a very intense process!


9. 3 full days of complete success does not mean you are out of the woods yet...

10.  21 month old boys like to dance.  Naked.  A lot.

11.  A naked toddler bottom running around the house {or apartment} is the cutest thing in the world...

12. ...except that a toddling bottom in underwear is actually the cutest thing in the world...And that little bottom will get patted and squeezed all day long.  Trust me.

13. For whatever reason, my toddler in underwear means he wants to snuggle a lot more than normal...and I am SO okay with that!
And just like that I am more than halfway through my summer...*sigh*...

Which means I'm gearing up for next year's crew...or at least trying to....okay, I haven't even been back to my classroom yet, but I'm getting there!

Every summer it seems like I'm always trying to think of something new or better to do in my classroom.  And I always--yes, always--end up tweaking my classroom management system.  Happens every year.  Did last year's work? Yes, but I'm just a believer that nothing is perfect and it can always get better.

So, in honor of all of the procedures and more procedures running through my head...here are my top 5 things {old and new} that are a "must include" in my classroom management system for this year's group of firsties...

Whole Brain Teaching

Y'all, seriously!  When I came across this 4 years ago my teacher world stopped.  Literally stopped.  After a particularly rough year {you know the kind!}, I started looking up brain based research stuff.  In college, we learned all about it and I had a professor that was particularly fond of it.  I had used bits and pieces in my first few years and loved it, so I started looking for more.  And whadyaknow?  When you google, "brain research classroom management" you stumble upon Whole Brain Teaching {WBT}.

I really can't even explain all of WBT in a blog, much less the first part of one.  And really, it's best explained by going to their website and watching their videos.  You can also find lots of videos on YouTube.

Basically, WBT is based on the philosophy {and my philosophy} that kids learn best when we teach with the brain in mind.  Knowing how the brain learns and responds to certain things helps me as a teacher know how to teach best.  It helps make learning more efficient.  It helps transitions.  It helps behavior.  WBT isn't just a classroom management approach, it's an approach to teaching in general.  I've used it for 4 years now, and I won't go back.  I've seen the results and I've had more engagement and learning in those 4 years than I had before it!

In my latest packet, I've added all of the materials I use to implement WBT in my classroom... You'll find class rules posters, smiley/frowny cards for tallying class rewards and more details on how I use it in my room!

And you can also check out these good-for-your-brain Brain Breaks as well...all of my firsties' favs on one page! :)

Speaking of brain stuff...  I'm pretty much a nerd.  We've established that. And now you know how much I love learning about brain based research... So, for those of you as interested in how the brain works as I am, you MUST check out this book my dad recommended to me at the beginning of summer.

I'm not quite finished with it yet--almost!--but it is absolutely FANTASTIC.  And it's not really even a teacher book.  It's just great for anybody who works with, and wants to better understand, people.  For each of the 12 principles he talks about, he gives suggestions on how to facilitate that best in the classroom and, ya'll, it's good stuff!  It's an easy read to... not too terribly over-your-head-wordy!

Next on my list is this one...Same author, different perspective.  This one is less for "teacher me" and more for "mommy me!"

Class DOJO 

So apparently I've been hiding under some sort of prehistoric rock and have totally missed the DOJO bandwagon.  And I'm totally embarrassed about it.  For reals.  Like 50 something year old Superintendent, Dr. Daddy, has known about it for a few years.  And he made fun of me for not knowing something he already did...share the wealth, Dad. Share. The. Wealth.

Anyways, ya'll know about this already I'm SURE, but I found it on Pinterest earlier this summer and just thought it was the perfect thing to use in my classroom to help me go paperless.  Really what I've been looking for is a way to cut down my end-of-the-day routine of writing in behavior calendars in my kiddos' take home folders and putting stickers on sticker charts, blah, blah, blah...  I know it's important, but it seriously gets old.  And then on days when we have an afternoon assembly and such...well...it's just plain hard to get it all in.

So, I'm goin' DOJO this year.

For those of you under the same prehistoric rock as me, Class DOJO is just a system to keep track of behavior.  No need for color changes, stickers, etc.  And it's all on your computer or iPhone or iPad or any other handheld device.  You can customize it by adding your own class rules.  And you can also email reports to parents...in their home language!  The students and parents can both log in and check their points and see why they had points taken away!  That's the basics and you can check out all of the details on their website.

I've added a parent letter and a customizable behavior calendar to coordinate with DOJO in my BEHAVE packet as well!  There is a blank calendar for each month.  You can write in the dates or import as a picture into Word or PowerPoint and type over it.  I also like to add our important school and class events since the calendars stay in their take home folders.  It has the class rules I use at the bottom, but if you're not using the same rules, you can always cut that part off before you copy...and paste in your own if you want!

At the end of each day, students will write how many points they earned for the day.  This is where I hope DOJO is going to save me a lot of time during my school day.  I have always written in folders for kids who had to "change their color" or were in trouble for some other reason.  Now I won't have to worry about all of that paperwork because it will all be online for parents to login and view.  ....I know, I know, I'm sure there will be a few parents that won't check or have access online.  But most of my parents, even my high poverty families have an iPhone or iPad at their house.  And since the app is free I'm hopeful there won't be too many calendars I'll have to write in...although I'm sure there will be some.


Rewards


I've used rewards since the first year...really, who could live without a treasure box??  But my treasure box has changed over the years.  I'm pretty much Mrs. El-Cheapo when it comes to treasure box junk {yes, junk...}  I have never bought anything!  This comes from the fact that I'm cheap, AND because when I did my internship 9 years ago {holy cow!!!}, one of my mentors collected junk for her 4th graders and did an auction on Friday afternoons for the junk that her kids could bid for with money they earned throughout the week.  The kids LOVED it and LOVED the junk.  Seriously...an empty box of kleenex easily went for $10 week after week after week!  Granted, my mentor teacher was quite the salesman and got the kids thinking of ways they could use her junk and what they could turn it into, but it was perfect!  And then kids learned a little creativity and imagineering alongside some economics!

Fast forward to now with my firsties.  An auction is just slightly out of the realm of possibilities for my 6 year olds, but the junk stuck.  My dad collects all of the freebies from conferences he goes to and I collect freebies from kids meals I eat or my mom or mother-in-law eat...or random stickers I get in the mail, or left over gift bag stuffers from party days, or TOMS flags and stickers from my shoe purchases...all of it goes in the treasure box tubs.  And with "junk you can sell to kids" in mind, the possibilities are endless.  Really.  At the beginning of the year and then a few times throughout the year, I "sell" these items just like my mentor did, by saying things like, "Can you imagine what you could do with this??" It's really a great thinking extension for them and they get so. stinkin. excited.  Over junk.  Makes my heart happy...and probably makes some of my parents cringe.  Ha!

In addition to my "treasures," I have always had things like "free computer time" or "lunch with the teacher" cards too.  But in the last few years, I've expanded my reward cards too!  I now have 11 different reward cards for kids to purchase.

In the past, I have had kids pay for rewards in a bunch of different ways.  I've tried it all--money {before Common Core when we had to teach money...*wink wink*}, points, stickers...This year I'm going with some suggestions from other teacher friends who are apparently much more in the know than I am and have already used Class DOJO and I'm using fake dollar bills for rewards.  My plan is this: Give students one dollar for each DOJO point they have at the end of the day.  I have already ordered these super cute colored envelopes to laminate for kids to keep their dollars in.  2nd grade and up could easily use coins in a similar way to incorporate more money connections!
Add a  little cutesifying {yep, I just made up a word!} with these numbers from my letters & numbers die cut set ...

...and these are gonna be sooooo uh-dorable!

Aren't they the perfect size for this play money?

On Friday, I'll let them cash in their dollars for prizes.  Once I see how many points they get, then I can "price" my treasure box and reward cards.  I always have priced my reward cards higher than treasure box stuff because it's what most of my kids go to first.  This year I plan to price some of my tech rewards and lunch rewards even higher because of their popularity!  I'm excited to go back to "pricing" items because I think it is such a natural way to incorporate economics like spending vs. saving!

All of my reward cards along with the other materials I've talked about for management in this post are all included in my BEHAVE packet.

Lunch Choices

The longer I teach, the more I find that I need wall SPACE--and more of it!-- for all of those lovely anchor charts I need to hang for my babies!  Any chance I have to free up wall space and I'm all in!  2 years ago, I decided it was time to get rid of my lunch choices display which took up wall space and do lunch choice on our Promethean Board.  My kids come in and make their lunch choice on our Promethean Board by moving their name to the choice they want.  Simple as that!  And when I have the inevitable new student, or two, or three each year, I don't have to worry about throwing away clips or cards or whatever from the student that moved.  I just simply type over the old students name and resave my chart.  But what about subs, you ask?  No problem, they just do lunch choices the old fashioned way..."Raise your hand if you want...."

The trick to making it work is to make sure you don't save the lunch choices file each day so you start over fresh each morning!

Download your copy here!  There are several designs to choose from and several layouts so you can pick the one with the lunch choices that match your school {and you can also message me and let me know if you need one formatted differently and I will be happy to add it for ya!}.  They are PDF files so you can import and use on SMART or Promethean Boards or you can upload as an image and print a poster magnetic poster to post in your room too. {Thanks to one of my TPT buyers for that great idea!}

Transitions

I'm always looking for and changing up my transition songs, but last year I found a few gems that I'll definitely be keepin' around this year!  I keep this board open every day.

My favorite is Good Morning, by Mandisa.  It's such an energetic song and the perfect time for letting my kids clean up their browsing boxes and breakfast {Yes, we do Breakfast in the Classroom.}

And it's such a happy way to start off our mornings.  Honestly, it has put me in the right mind set a day or two!  You can grab your transition flip chart in my TPT store, but this file will only work for Promethean Board users...*sad face*

Those are my "must haves" for procedures in my room.  What are yours?
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