Teacher Necessities and Accessories

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Guess what?!  Teachers can look cute too when they go to work!  Not only can you dress in style but lets be serious comfort is also key!  If you teach elementary you know that most of your day is spent on a floor or bending and kneeling to meet the level of your students!  Check out these back to school items that I think are key to every teacher's closet or desk.

1. A cute mug:  If you are anything like me you start your day with a cup of coffee.  Sometimes you may even continue with another one throughout the day or you may throw in a warm cider or cup of tea mid day to give yourself an extra pick me up!  Even if there is not caffeine the taste and smell of anything fall makes me happy.  These mugs will put a smile to your face!

2. cardigan:  I could fill my closet with cardigans!  I pair a cardigan with almost every outfit!  It may be the teacher in me.... when I am out and about I love pairing a cardigan with some nice skinnies and a killer pair of boots.  When I am teaching, I can pair that same cardigan with some dress pants and awesome flats! (also pictured above)

3. casual dress:  I love dresses for so many reasons.  They always make me feel beautiful and always have.  This dress would be perfect for teaching.  It works on hot days to help keep you cool while still remaining professional.  It can also be warn in the fall and winter with some nice tights and a scarf!  It's a win win.

4. statement necklace or scarf:  This passed year I was pregnant.  I wanted to wear my "normal" clothes as along as possible before I had to buy maternity clothes.  When I did have to buy maternity clothes I decided to stick with the basics.  I ended up buying three basic tees in three different colors and paired them with a new scarf or necklace each day.  It changes your whole outfit and makes it look like you are wearing something "new".  It takes almost no effort and adds so much to your outfit.

5. Tervis travel cup:  These cups are great and lets be serious we probably have 5 in our cabinet but starting the year off with something fun and colorful that you know you will use all day everyday is great!  Maybe you opt for a new one, maybe you use one you have, either way it's a must.  You can keep drinks cold or hot.  I use these for coffee on the way to school and twitch to water for the way home.  They are great to prevent spills too.

6. flats:  Never have I ever warn heels to school.  I never saw a point in putting my feet through the torture.  I hardly ever sit down when I teach.  Because of this comfortable shoes were a must for me.  And again, not only did I want comfort but I wanted style.  Something that adds a little "sparkle" to my outfit without the effort.  Flats are the answer.  Animal prints adds some pattern to your all black and grey wardrobe.  An army green can also give you a little something extra instead of the typical black shoe.  I also have learned that mixing patterns is fun too!  Don't be afraid to mix those leopard flats with some stripes on your shirt.  Some black and white stripes, with a black scarf, and those leopard flats would look great!  Maybe pair them with a bright shirt on top, some black pants, and leopard shoes!  Get funky-- the kids LOVE it!

7. Binders and office supplies: Target!!  OMG I have an issue because I can never seem to leave that store without spending $100.00.  Is it just me?!  They have great office supplies again all of which can color coordinate.  Many times they have different patterns in the same colors.  These are great for your teacher supplies for your desk areas. They also offer awesome back to school items meant for a college student that are great for the classroom.  Crates (that I turned into student stools), chairs, pillows, etc.  All of which are bright fun colors that your students will love!

8. maxi skirt:  Not only was this my go to outfit when I was pregnant, but it is also a go to outfit for me now!  Extremely comfortable yet still professional.  This one is cheap, not too long, and comes in multiple colors and patterns!

BACK TO SCHOOL!

How did you decorate your classroom this year?

I used to go for themes.  In fact, if I were in the classroom this year I would have contemplated a "Frozen" theme.  However, when I carry out my classroom themes, I focus on color when it comes to decor.  I think the colors used in a classroom is what sets that classroom apart from others (in terms of the way they look).  When a classroom is color coordinated, it makes everything seem cleaner and less cluttered.  Colors and patterns don't seem to fight with one another becoming distracting for the eye.

Above you can see I used purple, green, orange, and black.  It seems like no matter what colors I choose, black is always in the mix.  Black is a color that makes all the other colors POP!  I also use black on my bulletin boards as I mentioned in my previous post! If you notice in the picture above I stayed within the same color scheme but was able to use multiple patterns without it seeming too crazy.  I used those fabric swatches for the crates around the room.  When it came to areas that used a lot of fabric, I stuck with simpler or plain designs.

An example of this is the pattern on the curtains.  I stuck with the smaller polka dot pattern instead of a bold pattern.

Something so simple that I have learned too is to keep your the same color book boxes or baskets together instead of mixing them up.  By putting the green in one row, purple in another, and orange on the bottom, it keeps it looking cleaner and more organized to the eye.  (I even went as far as to remove the baskets in the curtain picture after first week of school papers were all collected.)

Something else that helps soooo much and is soooo easy is to cover up some of your shelves.  In my classroom, those shelves below my window ran across my whole classroom.  Some of the shelves held math supplies, recess games, scissors, listening center books.  It just looked so busy and so messy!  As an easy way to cover up that mess, I always kept black curtains in front of the shelves.  It gave a clean look to the classroom.  I chose solid black instead of a pattern because I did not want it to be too busy to the eye because it ran the whole length of my classroom.

Here I just used the remaining fabric from my crates to create these banners.  They added just another touch of color and fun to the classroom!  To make these, there was no sewing involved.  I simply use iron on adhesive tape!  If I can find a whole room picture I will post!  

What really matters...

I got an end of the year card from one of my students and in it her mom wrote telling me how her daughter takes what she has learned at school and shows people at home. She doesn't go home to do math or write sentences, she goes home and tells people how to be a bucket filler (making people happy and feel good about themselves). She then went on to thank me for teaching her daughter values that go beyond just academics. With all the stress of high test scores and student growth, I think we sometimes lose sight of what we need to continue to teach our young learners. Manners, kindness, how to help out, responsibility, and how to interact with other people politely. These are the lessons they will remember the rest of their life. With this note alone, I've done my job this year. This means more to me than a standardized test score.

Where has the time gone?!

WOW!  It has been so long since we have come to our site.  We had ideas for this site towards the end of last summer.  I am one of those gotta do it right now kinda people, so....we did.  However, then school started.  As any teacher knows once school starts, it never really stops until the end of the school year.  Which brings us here.  The start of a brand new summer.  With this new summer comes a new baby and a new job! My family has been blessed with a beautiful baby boy this year.  We could not be happier.  Dana is of course his titi (aunt--although not by blood, she is the closest thing to a sister I have) and adores him as well.  This year has also brought a new job.  I decided to stop teaching for a while and take on a new career that will allow me to spend more time at home with my little nugget.  However, despite this new job, new baby, and new things going on in our lives, we are at it again.  The idea to take on this site sparked from the interest we have gotten on Pinterest.  Each day I see more likes on our "How to Fill a Bucket" bulletin board and from that pin we have seen other shots of our classroom hanging around Pinterest.  How great!  I want to use this site to connect the world of special education with the world of elementary education.  We want to share ideas from experiences, lessons, classroom setups, and strategies that we have found successful.  The idea of two brains is better than one is coming into play!  However, first, stay tuned for my top tricks on how to make a classroom look more like a home instead of a cement block cold room with random books and colors thrown in.  I think there are different key strategies to making a classroom feel more homey and welcoming to young learners.  This first impression with students and parents can set the tone for the year.  It's all about the first impression!  After that we will plan ideas about "Meet the Teacher Night" and move on into integration strategies that meet the needs of all learners.  Now remember, we are not experts.  In fact, we are relatively new to this field, but we love what we do and we take pride in what we do to help the learners that have crossed and will continue to cross our paths.

2nd Grade Classroom Tour (Kelly)

Decorating and organizing the room is what I look forward to every July.  August is when the vision officially starts to come to life!  Although there were a few step back in the vision this year due to fire codes (no hanging from the ceiling and no lamps) and a new classroom, it was all worth it in the end and I think it came together nicely!  Here is a series of before and (almost) after pics.  Still missing the name tags and book/book box labels.

BEFORE

AFTER: Side 1-- This side has the morning routine in order with words and pictures.  The blue chart will be the daily schedule.  The bin is where they turn in any notes for the teacher, homework, or classroom work.

A reminder to: Be Responsible

                     Be Respectful

           Be Safe

               Be Patient

                                     Be ready to do your best

AFTER: Side 2:  Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  If you have not read this book I really encourage you to do so.  It makes itself for a great behavior management plan in an elementary classroom!

http://www.amazon.com/Filled-Bucket-Today-Guide-Happiness/dp/0978507517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376006446&sr=8-1&keywords=have+you+filled+a+bucket+today

It can be found right there on amazon!

Each student has their own "bucket".  The idea is that we need to be bucket fillers by doing kind acts and saying nice words.  When we do these things we make someone else feel good and we feel good too!  But when we are mean, we become bucket dippers and we take from someone's imaginary bucket (their heart in a sense) and we make them feel bad inside.  The children can fill buckets and get rewarded when they do so!

Students fill out a slip when they want to fill a bucket.  Slips are read at the end of each day.  The student's can take home their slip and fill their bucket with a pom pom.

BEFORE

AFTER

Close up:  Proud Wall- this is a spot where the students can choose work from the week that they are proud of and put it here in the classroom.  I will have to rotate each week with one half of the class, then the other half (no I do not have 12 students! HA!)

Close up: Synonym Word Wall-  This word wall is different than the traditional word walls (which I also have in the room).  This is a wall students can come to during writing.  If they want to use the word "cool" in their writing but feel like they have used cool too much already, they can come to this word wall and pick from the "cool" envelope a synonym.  This goes along with the idea of putting certain words in jail that are used too much.  However, with this word wall, you are aiding the students in various choices to use instead. It is empty in the photo because we will study a word (maybe two) a week to help add words to our wall.

Close up:  This is the spot I will put the word work choices for the week.  I tried to keep all the writing topics on this wall.

Close up: Computer --> that way. ;)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER: book/ book box labels still to come.  Caddies and baskets will be on the table groups not on the shelf.

BEFORE:  What a mess.... it's a good thing I have great friends who helped me move all this!

Partial AFTER

More of the mess BEFORE

AFTER: Reading corner (Those lamps had to go....)

BEFORE- Storage

AFTER

Whole view from door.

Sorry if the pictures became redundant.  It is hard to get the full picture without every view.  I hope you enjoyed it! Just a few more little touches to go!  I can't wait for the learning to take place in here!

Back to School

Who says teachers get three months off school.....clearly not a teacher!!  We have been back in the game lately and getting the classroom ready for the kiddos to arrive.  Here is our first TPT download!!  Check it out!  These labels were used in my room for my word wall and bin labels this year! ENJOY.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Blue-Chevron-circle-ABC-labels-809683

Chevron Graphics by: Emily Wean

Welcome!