Classroom Sneak Peek!

I AM SO EXCITED! After waiting all summer, I finally got into my classroom yesterday! I have been so jealous of all the beautiful classroom photos I've been checking out on Pinterest and my favorite blogs, so I am full of inspiration and ready to go! My husband and I spent the whole day yesterday moving furniture and setting up bulletin boards. We're still waiting on most of the furniture to be delivered, so I am not even close to finished! Here are some of my current projects and links to where I purchased the materials!

READ blocks - Michaels $1.50 each

Huge clothespins - Michaels $1.50 each

"Write" banner - from my store on TPT

Colorful photo frames - Michaels $9.99 (buy one get one!)

Poster Quote Freebies - Technology Rocks

Lantern Lights - Amazon

Chevron Borders - Really Good Stuff

And finally, I saw the idea for this on Pinterest ages ago and always wanted to make my own! I found this bottle at the dollar store and it was perfect for the job! I can't wait to shake some "brain sprinkles" all over my kiddies next month :)

Much more to come! I am also working on a post with lots of reading and writing workshop setup ideas and freebies!!!!

Milestone Freebie & Read Aloud

Hi guys! I'm so excited to be celebrating another TpT milestone this month! I can't believe I've made it this far..and it's all thanks to my awesome followers! To thank you all, I'm giving away my chevron classroom rules for FREE for the next week! You can download them HERE. You can read about this month's milestone achievements on the TpT blog HERE.

I know it's been a while since I've posted, and I'm sorry for neglecting you all! If you haven't already read about it on Facebook, I'm attending the Teachers College reading and writing institutes for the first half of this month. I'm having an amazing time and learning SO many new things about reading and writing workshop. I have tons of learning to share with you all but for now I just HAD to share this book we read yesterday! Have any of you used it with your kids? I am in love with this book! I literally RAN to the book sale and bought it today!

For those who haven't read it before...Ralph is a student who has a BIG problem in writing workshop. He can't think of a story! Everyone else seems to have stories, but he just can't find one! In the end, he finds his own story and gains his confidence as a writer!

What a perfect story for the early days of writing workshop. I can think of so many ways to use this one book! Here are just a few ideas...
-Teach kids what writers do when they get stuck
-Demonstrate that all writers get writers' block...even YOU!
-Teach kids different ways to generate ideas for writing
-Teach kids how to orally tell a story to their partner to plan out their writing
-Ralph has to get out of his seat to think...teach kids to choose their own special writing spots around the classroom
-Create a chart of strategies and resources for kids to use when they get stuck
-Teach them how to peer edit and ask questions about each others' writing
-Can you think of any others? Share your ideas in the comments :)

I'm having an amazing time here at TC, but I can't wait to be finished so I can get into my classroom in a couple weeks! As soon as I get to work in my room, I'll be posting pictures and back to school ideas! 

Finally, here's some inspiration from Kate Roberts' keynote today: Despite all the current pressures and standards, we can still teach with LOVE, humor, and compassion. Above all, we must keep children at the center of all things! And one more tidbit from Lester Laminack: "Remember that we are not raising scores, but children!" <3