All the Small Things

Blink 182, anyone? Don't judge.

Today was my first official day back to work. To recap a little, last spring I taught 7th grade science, and I found out on the last day of school that I would be moving to 7th grade math. I loved science, but math just clicks. I have always been a math person, and while teaching kids is my passion, getting to teach kids math makes it even more fun. So, with the moving of content area comes the moving of classrooms. This week, I have been up at the school trying to get a head start on my new classroom. Everything seemed to be getting decorated very slowly... until today. I really got quite a bit accomplished today, but I am still not totally finished, so I will not post everything now. For now, I am going to showcase some of the things that I believe are either essential or just plain cute. Whenever I am asked about my philosophy of teaching, I want to respond like this...

Okay, just kidding (kind of). I really am into cute classroom decor and if you know me at all, you know I am into organization. Now if my husband was reading this, he may beg to differ--sometimes I fight with my closet, but I say it's an ORGANIZED mess! :) My organization mostly comes from being a planner and having many planners. (See what I did there?) These two items are two things that I believe are absolutely essential. I have to give a shout out to Erin Condren for making merchandise that speaks to my heart. Her desk calendar and her teacher's lesson planner are the two things I am talking about.

If you are wondering, these are NOT the only two calendars I keep, but maybe that's for a future post. However, these are two of the most important. The desk calendar brings just the right amount of color and uniqueness to your desk without being over the top. As for the lesson planner, it is every teacher's dream. It has tabs, two-page monthly spreads, pocket folders, zipper pouches, graph paper, notes pages, and on top of all of that, it is customizable. Perfection. Next on my list of small things in my classroom is my assignment board. You will get a full view of the board when I post more of the classroom, but going along with the "small things" theme, here are the cute days of the week printables I found. Once I printed them off, I laminated them, and cut out magnetic strips to put on the back of them.

 Have you seen this pin on Pinterest? It is called a "teacher's toolbox." You buy this small, plastic toolbox from Lowe's or Home Depot, and instead of filling it with nails and other manly stuff, you can store highlighters, staples, and paper clips (and whatever else!) A friend of mine made one first and told me I should, so I did, and I really like how it turned out! There are lots of templates you can find online by searching "teacher's toolbox," but I had a lot of time on my hands, so I decided to create my own labels using scrapbook paper that I had. Here's the finished product:

Are you starting to notice a theme in my classroom? I promise I really didn't go over the top with the seafoam color and chevron print (I hope). This next thing may be nothing new to teachers, but I love it and think it is great for classroom management. My mentor teacher had them, and I thought they worked great, so I borrowed the idea from her. Start with empty and washed out aluminum cans and color code them according to your different classes. Then, place popsicle sticks in them with all of your students' names on them (one student on each popsicle stick), and during class instead of choosing the same three students that continue to raise their hands while allowing the rest of the class to get away with not working a problem on their own, you choose a stick out of the can... randomizing! These are very easy to make, and another "essential" in the secondary classroom.

One of the last things I am going to preview before the classroom reveal is some of the cute posters I have hung. They really all speak for themselves. 

I literally laugh out loud when I see the "Please raise your hand if you 'mustache' a question." AND "Chill." Gets me every time. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a few of my favorite things from my classroom so far, and I am excited to reveal more in the days or weeks to come. Good luck to all of my fellow teachers who are also setting up classrooms!