The Good, The Bad, The Unsure -- First week back.

Well, I've almost completed my first week back to school after being on maternity leave for 14 weeks. I will say -- I survived. Details are for another post!

This week was filled with emotion, but when I got in my classroom and watched my lesson plans come to life I got that teacher high back! So, here is the good, bad, and unsure about my week.

GOOD.

• Trust -- First thing Monday morning instead of setting our usual goals I let my kids move their seats to sit next to their friends. I SWEAR I'M NOT INSANE. This has always worked for me. I tell my kids that I trust them enough to make the right decisions when it comes to respecting me and they really try to live up to that expectation. So far, so good. It is so important to me to regain trust after being gone for so long.

• Array Review -- Since we just came back from a long break I wanted to check for retention. I threw out some Legos on the desks and we reviewed arrays! The kids were super engaged and I was able to assess quickly. 

iPad on the run photo quality. 

• Multiplication Showdown -- Talk about a blast. We about blew the roof off of our room shouting and cheering our teams on. I separated the class in to two groups and sat at the main table as they lined up across the classroom. Two students at a time would come up, I would flip a multiplication fact over, the first person to answer correctly gets the card. The team with the most cards at the end wins! B-L-A-S-T. 

BAD. 

Organization -- I. Need. To. Get. Organized. That is all. 

UNSURE. 

Conferences -- I have always loved doing conferences for reading, writing, major assessments. My experience has been that when students know you are going to be checking in with them and holding them accountable they will stay on their toes and strive to hit goals. However, I'm having trouble finding time to get to all of my students during the week. I need to get a more concrete schedule set to ensure I hit all my students during the week. 

As you can see, the good outweighs the bad and the unsure, as it usually does being a teacher. 

On a side note: One of my favorite blogs is starting a home organization challenge this Saturday. Who wants to join with me?! 

Teacher Tuesday: Bookshelf Facelift and ORGANIZATION!

So, I decided to go to school... DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REINACT OR RECREATE THIS STUNT.

I've been itching to get in the classroom and work on a few projects and I love how they turned out!

My first project was this white bookshelf I had in the classroom. It didn't really go with anything else, so I decided to use my leftover wall paint and spruce it up.

Even after the bright paint, I felt like it needed a little something extra! So, I painted some fun Dr. Seuss-ish lines on the side and looked up the word "read" in different languages. This end of the bookshelf juts out into the center of the classroom, so it's going to be a great focal point!

My second project was this GREAT cabinet in the classroom! It had a blue striped curtain hanging over it, which I  used as a drop cloth for painting... WOOPS! 

I decided to go through all the supplies hidden in the cabinet and see what I could use and what needed to GO. I ended up storing most of my math manipulatives and resources in the top portion and my FOSS kits in the bottom.

I also picked up some bright fabric from the sale bin at Wal-Mart and my momma sewed together these fun curtains to replace my drop cloth curtains!

I ended up going off on an organizing tangent and managed to get my social studies resources organized as well! I lined them along our shelf in chronological order. I plan on putting a timeline above them, so the students (and I) have a visual to go along with our lessons through time!

I ended up finding a ton of cool science stuff in the big storage cabinet and decided to take them out and put them on display in our "discovery center." By having these materials out I'm hoping students will be more willing to jump in to science and not be afraid of the different instruments! 

I know it doesn't look like much, but I feel like it's all coming together. My biggest goal right now (one month out!) is to see what all I have to work with! As you see, I still have a long way to go! 

This is my next big project... the classroom library! I want a fun, inviting space that encourages students to discuss and promote what they're reading! I've got a couple ideas in my head, but I'd love to hear yours! 

Happy Tuesday!