Create a Classroom Setup Kit

One of the best ideas I had a few years ago was to create a kit of all the necessary supplies I would need to get my classroom set up in August.  There is nothing worse than coming back ready to get your classroom organized and decorated and not being able to find the tape or stapler you need.

This is a list of what I have in my kit.  I have been doing this for a few years now so I just edit my list whenever I add something new to it.  Most items fit into a small storage box.  The paper cutter and cardstock/paper get stored in a separate container.

• Create a Classroom Set Up Kit:
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Staples
• Staple Remover
• Masking Tape
• Painters Tape
• Double Sided Tape
• Glue Stick (keep in plastic bag)
• Goo Gone
• Cotton Balls
• Ruler
• Fishing Wire
• Push Pins
• String
• Paper Punch
• Paper Clips
• Magnets
• Magnetic Tape
• Post-Its
• Pencil
• Black Marker
• Quart Freezer Bags
• Gallon Freezer Bags
• Fiskars Cutter
• Astrobrights Cardstock
• Astrobrights Paper

Everything fits in this Sterlite container except the paper cutter, freezer bags, and paper/cardstock

Every adhesive you can think of 

Magnets for displaying items on my chalkboard

Stapler and push pins

Scissors, ruler, pencils, eraser, black markers, paper punch, mini flashlight, chalk, and paper clips

I make sure I put this kit into a safe place where I will be able to access it immediately.  I have a wall cabinet that I store everything I need for the beginning of the school year.  That way nothing important gets misplaced or goes missing.  When I come back in August all excited to get my classroom set up I don't have to hunt around for the supplies I need.

End the School Year With the Beginning in Mind

A few years ago I started being very intentional about planning and getting organized for the following school year while finishing up the current year.  I've had this blog post in draft form for a couple years and decided to pull the trigger and finish it so I could finally post it.  I wanted to post this now because I only have six weeks of school left and I know many other teachers will be done weeks before me (lucky!).

It's that time of the year when we as teachers are all thinking about the huge list of things we need to accomplish between now and the end of the school year or frantically packing up our rooms for the summer break. When packing up your room make sure you know where you are packing things that you will need to start off the year.  Seems obvious, but I can't tell you how many times I have started the school year wondering where I packed something important that I need when arriving back to school in August.

I have a blue wall cabinet that I clear out at the end of the year and I make sure to pack everything I need to start school the following year in that cabinet so when I return in August I just open it up and everything I need it write there for me.

I pack up everything I need for my classroom setup and the first weeks of school in this cabinet.

Start by creating the following:

• End of Year Packing List.  This list should be customized to your individual classroom.  I made a list a few years ago and look it over every year as things change in my classroom set up as rearrange/get rid of furniture.  I start by sitting at the back of my room and looking at the door.  I then take a 360º counterclockwise look around my room and make my end of the year packing list.
• End of the Year Calendar (last six weeks of school):  This is sort of my To Do list put on a calendar so I don't ed
• Classroom Setup Kit: This is a kit I put together of all necessary supplies for when I return to my classroom in August to set it up.
• Classroom Setup List:  This list is sort of the reverse of the End of the Year Packing List.
• Back to School To Do List:  This is a comprehensive list of everything I need to have organized for the first few weeks of school.
• Back to School Paperwork List:  This is a list of copies I need to make or printables I need to create for the beginning of the year.
• Summer To Do List:  This is a very lofty/unrealistic list of all the school related things I may want to work on over summer break.

I will be doing a series of blog posts in the coming weeks to help you get organized so you don't feel overwhelmed by all the end of the year tasks to close up your classroom.  I will also share tips on how to spend time now getting yourself prepared for Back To School so you can come back in August feeling relaxed and ready to start the school year.

#mtboschallenge Week 4: Day 1 of School

This is Week 4 of the #mtboschallenge on twitter.  The challenge is to blog once a week for the remainder of 2014.  Each Saturday there will be a different prompt shared to blog about.  The prompt will be shared prior to Saturday on twitter using #mtboschallenge  You can link up on my blog (or any other blog that shares the link up). Also share your blog post on twitter with #mtboschallenge .  You can copy the following graphic into your blog post.  Each Sunday @druinok from  Teaching Statistics will host a 3-2-1 Summary prompt where you can blog about anything you choose.  We really hope you join the challenge!

The prompt for this week is to blog about your first day or week of school.  Please check all the blogs that link up and leave comments.  If you started school earlier and already posted about your first day or week feel free to link that post.

Tuesday Sept 2nd was our first day of school this year for students.  We started the day with a 2 hour orientation period with our first hour students.  I had told my students and parents at Back to School Night that I would provide breakfast for the students.

We went through all the apples and four bags of donuts.  These kids were hungry!

This was our schedule for the day.  During the orientation period we went over lots of information in the student handbook, watched a few short informational videos that were created by students, and had a station where we went to the cafeteria/playground and our administrators filled the students in on how the lunch lines work in the cafeteria and other important expectations.

Day 1 Bell Schedule.

During my 30 min math classes that day we started out with introductions.  I introduced myself and then I had the students tell me their name and if they prefer use a nickname.  I had them tell us what elementary school they came from and they had the option to describe their day so far in one word.  To not put pressure on anyone I told them they could pass on giving the one word description and nobody did!  Popular words were confusing, fun, and stressful.  I came up with the one word idea at the last second and I really loved it.

After introductions we got started on my first day post-it prompt activity.  This is my third year doing this and it's still one of my favorite things.  I was cracking up when I saw the first two posters during my first hour.  I told students to put the post-its on the posters and they ended up making an array, I told them I loved the array, but they could put the post-its anywhere on the poster.  They got a little more footloose and fancy free with the last two posters.

Love the arrays they started.

They got a little crazy on the last two.  LOL

Do you just love the boxes full of consumable texts on the floor?  Yes they drove me crazy all week, but I am happy to report that as of yesterday during Homebase, boxes are all gone.  There are piles of Volume 1 books ready to hand out next week and the Volume 2 books are now boxed up and stored away until we need them when we start Chapter 9.  I felt like I was running a little sweatshop, with the kids unpacking, separating, and repacking books frantically.  My Homebase is full of great helpers and most students didn't have much homework to be working on yet so it worked out well. I try to never do myself what students can help do.

Students in action.

Here are the completed posters. When I do this activity.  I pass out a pack of post-its at each table with four per student.  Then each student writes a response to each prompts.  When everyone at the table is finished with the prompt ONE person collects them and puts them on the poster.  That way I only have six students at the posters at a time.  It's much more controlled than every student getting up and putting their own post-it on each poster.

I used the same four prompts as last year and these posters are the same ones I used last year (I laminated them).  I kept those up the entire school year, but this year I will need to space for anchor charts I create so they won't be up all year.

The students definitely enjoy this activity and I don't want to overload them with information on day one because they have already had the two hour orientation session full of information.

Lots of responses of FUN this year.

Always so impressed with their responses to this prompt.

Always laugh when they put "Teaching Us" 

Growth mindset!

Completed posters on my side board.  I have magnets on the back of them.

The finished product.

Day 1 went great this year.  The students were sweet, respectful and fun.  I have blog posts planned for Day 2- Workshop Introduction, Day 3- Carnival Bears (problem solving), and Day 4- The Marshmallow Challenge (team building).

My first week is over and it was fun, exciting, and exhausting.  I know it's going to be another great year because I can already tell how awesome my students are.  This weekend I need to spend some time going over my first lessons for Carnegie and figuring out how to incorporate growth mindset in my classroom.  Hope everyone had a wonderful first (or beyond) week.

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#mtboschallenge Week 3: Sharing Classroom Photos

This is Week 3 of the #mtboschallenge on twitter.  The challenge is to blog once a week for the remainder of 2014.  Each Saturday there will be a different prompt shared to blog about.  The prompt will be shared prior to Saturday on twitter using #mtboschallenge  You can link up on my blog (or any other blog that shares the link up). Also link your blog post on twitter with #mtboschallenge .  You can copy the following graphic into your blog post.  Each Sunday @druinok from  Teaching Statistics will host a 3-2-1 Summary prompt where you can blog about anything you choose.  We really hope you join the challenge!

This week we are sharing photos of our classrooms. I cannot wait to see everyone's rooms!  This post is very very photo heavy and explanations for the photos are in the captions.  I will let the photos do the speaking for themselves.  I take all my photos with my iPhone because it is quick and easy. I know they are not the best quality, but I take all my photos on my iPhone.  All these photos were taken at the end of the day Friday right before I left school.  We could leave at 11:30, but I finally left at 1:00 PM when my husband called to tell me they were all hungry and I needed to get home so we could go out to lunch.

This is a virtual 360º tour of my classroom, starting with the view from the right of the door and circling around.  I tried to make sure I got everything.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Enjoy!

The view of my classroom from the hallway

Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite

Top Ten List Poster I made on Vistaprint

Those cabinets are currently at maximum capacity, decluttering is on my to-do list

Posters ready for 1st day Post-It activity and boxes of texts to be handed out

Going through those white boxes and tossing is on my to do list

Another to do list item is redoing the CC standard posters and changing the border on the cabinet

My anchor chart stand I have been waiting for since my previous principal promised me one, patience is a virtue

Math Focus Wall has been revamped slightly, I may do a separate post about it in a few weeks

My teacher resources bookcase, wish it was black

We were the 7th grade Dodgeball tourney runners-up last year, some posters from that

This is where I keep artwork from my sons and notes from students, I have a pile of stuff more to add

On top of my paper sorter

I completely love how I've organized my back shelves this year

This is where my kidney table will go once it arrives, the B & G person forgot to order it last Spring so who knows when it will arrive

My happy place!

Wider view of my teacher corner

Paper sorter and desk

My Elmo is between the file cabinets

Another desk view

Elmo and lapdesks on bottom of the cart

Side of my file cabinet

Everything is ready to go for Tuesday

View of my classroom from my teacher corner

Window ledge decor

I change the border monthly and put seasonal decor

Pencil sharpener, kleenex, and MATHia graphic organizers

Learning stations/math games bookcase

I just love this corner

Close-up not finished but good enough to start school

Calendar and bell schedule

Another table for small groups, napkins ready for breakfast Tuesday

Computer cart and extra desk that must stay in my classroom taking up space because there's nowhere to store it #teacherproblems

Scrap paper basket and student planners ready to be handed out on the first day

Window cling looking out to hallway, to the right is a door that lead to outside, we consider our rooms the cul-de-sac

View to the left from my door

View from my door

I hope you had fun seeing what my 7th grade middle school classroom looks like.  At back to school night one of my parents told me that my classroom looked like something off of Pinterest.  I told her she could very well see photos of it there.  I hope we get lots of people linking up to this #mtboschallenge because I love getting a peek into others' classrooms.  Thanks for stopping by!

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