Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Winding down

As the year wraps up and my room remains in shambles....
my kiddos have been quite busy.

Today we did our "tie-dye" of  shirts which we plan on wearing as our swimsuit covers tomorrow at fun day. I must say the way I do Tie-dye is the easiest ever!

You need: (based on 27 students)

1. Rubbing alcohol-- I usually get 6-7 big bottles from walmart
2. white shirts- I usually ask the students to bring in one, old or new to use. I also buy a men's hanes pack for those that can't afford or forget their shirts.
3. Sharpies-- years past I have bought sharpie brand permanent markers.. but this year I went cheaper and got the target brand ones.. which were on sale and had a cartwheel coupon on them as well!. I only got 2 of the big packs. probably should have done 3 at least. But the kiddos did okay sharing.
4. rubber bands- just one package
5. spray bottles- i usually load up at least 4 of the mini spray bottles (got those at target, and use them for science during the year).
6. hangers or chairs.


A way better start to the new school year

My class this year is the best one I have had yet! I am so excited to actually be able to teach and not have to be dealing with tons of behavioral issues.














Wednesday, May 28, 2014

classroom clean-up underway!

With the end of school approaching, my goal to get my room ready for next year looks to be unrealistic in the 2 days we have left.  I started about 2 weeks ago checking in all my classroom books and making sure there were no sly book thieves (which there totally were!).  

Today after school I had a couple goals: 
1) Roll down the library lamination machine and continue laminating my posters and the like that I still needed laminated from last year.
2)Clean out the cubby corner: fix lit. circle book sets (tub them and label them), dust, get sci tubs straighten, make science bulletin board area for next year.
3) get the desks into the cubby area to clear the floor.
4) move couch to better spot and put the cushions on. 
 needless to say I left the building around 8pm.. hungry and with swollen feet.

 
look at that mess....

my desk area is a disaster zone. That is tomorrow's mission. 


getting there.. still have to take down some decor from our tiki/summer themed end of year party today.

can't wait to get the couch all setup! score on free couch!! Can you spot Baywatch Frank? He is our newest classroom donation that is beyond totally cool! 


I will post some better pics of my sci cubby area later.
I decided that all the above cubby wall space would be dedicated to science. 

In lack of a better place for lit. circle book sets they now reside on top of my cabinets. 

The To-do list:
  1. Sand and paint base of spinning book rack and bring it with new bearing. 
  2. Put up books on floor on spinning case.
  3. Finish science wall posters.
  4. fix 3 awkward cubbies of extra storage space.
  5. Put contact paper down under sink... reorganized the now not flooded area
  6. get a couch cover and vacuum the couch.
  7. take down all signs on cabinet doors. wrap butcher paper.. recreate door fronts. 
  8. Setup classroom economy -- forms, money, etc.
  9. beautify filing cabinets
  10. finish laminating
  11. finish folder games
  12. setup native american bulletin board
  13. setup wall area above whiteboard
  14. organize game cabinet
  15. organize storage closet
  16. cut laminated pieces and sort them.
  17. setup hanging files
  18. re-develop reading nook.
  19. organize readers
  20. figure out better location of mailboxes.
  21. setup T.A. desk.
  22. Get poofs for the ceiling.
  23. finish unit binders and bring in.
  24. get electric pencil sharpener of awesomeness.
  25. Look into area rug for reading nook.
  26. more book bins
  27. lids for rest of lit. circl book tubs
  28. get writing process station setup
  29. Fix math game shelf.
  30. create laptop nook--
  31. straighten cubby island.

and the list continues....

Friday, March 28, 2014

Interesting story on Autism on NPR the other day.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/03/26/294446735/brain-changes-suggest-autism-starts-in-the-womb


It brings up the new research data that suggests that autism is linked to cells being unorganized in the cortex of the brain during development in the womb.. what causes that.... that's the question. Highly recommend listening to it. The listener comments are decent as well.