Classroom Remodel Tour 2017

Hi yall
The last few weeks of the school year always seem to be when I kick into high gear about decluttering. I got my facebook timehop the other day and it said - "Yes, 14 days before school lets out is the perfect time to rearrange the room". Apparently, it is what I do. This year was no different.

As I update and remodel more - I will put more pictures up! :) 

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on the Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase. This allows me to keep my teeny little blog up and running. 

I have had SO many people ask about my room, that I thought I would do a blog post for you guys so you can PIN AWAY!!! :)

I decided that I couldn't take the cluttered look any longer!  If you want to see the evolution of my room, go to my classroom tour to see all my pictures of before and after.

It has always bothered me that our district didn't give you much in the way of built in storage. As I talked to my father in law about how I hated not having storage, he said  - "hey kitchen cabinets might be the way to go". I thought  - well, people are going to think I am insane. Then I thought more and honestly, most people in my building already think I am over the top about my room so would anyone even notice a few new items?!

Now, I am THRILLED because my room is everything I had imagined it could be.
Off to the tour...

My teacher space makes me so happy.  Here are a few things that you should know. 

1. Everything must come out of my room over summer. It all goes into the hallway so that they can clean.  

2. I have had two back surgeries, so dragging all my junk possessions into the hallway myself wasn't going to work anymore.  Enter casters. 

3. My cabinets are from Amazon. (You can find them here or by clicking the picture below.) They were only $88.00 each.

 * Disclosure - they were a HUGE pain to get, but in the end worth it. You can only order one, so I had to have friends get the rest and have them sent to school. 

They were easy to bulid. They don't have a back, but my handy father in law added a wood back to them. ( the two that look lower haven't had the casters put on yet.)

4. My father in law put everything on casters - every piece of furniture that I could. 

The casters I got are multidirection (360 degree) from here.

These will allow me to PUSH everything out of my classroom and not drag it through my classroom, hurting the floors and my back. 

I use the teacher toolbox above and below.  This toolbox keeps EVERYTHING that I use just about daily. I love that they are all the bigger drawers. I need big drawers, as I don't use as much small stuff - or let's just say, I have so much small stuff, that I need big drawers. 

I love my toolbox, I got it here. Click the picture below to find the labels for the toolbox. 

I also have a regular toolbox, that is blue and you can find that one here. 

These 3 drawer bins have been kept me organized. There are two sizes. One is a larger paper holding drawer set. You can find it here.  The labels are from here. The other is a three drawer set that is smaller and hold things like pens and pencils.  You can find the smaller ones here.  The labels are from here. I keep all of my writing utensils here. I have a TON and they all have a home.  Click the picture below to find the bundle of labels. 

 The cabinets below are incredibly nice. They were not cheap at $150.00 each. I had a gift card, otherwise, I wouldn't have purchased these. I would have gotten more of the amazon ones. The stuva ones to the right have been discontinued but they should be brought back once the tipping hazard is fixed. Find the galant ones here.

The galant series are very well made. They do not have casters. My father in law put casters on these ones as well. 

Inside, they house ALL of my curriculum for Math, Science and Social Studies. I use Iris project cases to hold all of my curriculum. They have been a GAME changer. I have used the filing cabinet. I have used binders. These have been worth the investment. 

You can find the cases here or by clicking below. 

 This is my focus wall and word work area. 

This is my newest area that I have reorganized. 

*the tall drawer cabinet piece is the Ikea Stuva. It has been discontinued, but they should have it back once the tipping hazards are fixed. This is secured to the wall. It holds my printer at the top. It holds my printer paper, and construction paper. It also holds all of my laminators, electric three hole punchers, and my electric staplers. It also holds my actual tools to keep all of my stuff tightened. 

*My table is from Amazon - you can find it here. 

My focus wall is the FIRST thing that my students look at when they are writing or reviewing. The black clear pockets are both horizontal and vertical (even though I have that digraphs poster in the wrong spot) You can find the horizontal ones here, and the vertical ones here. 

 The grammar posters are from here.

The shelf below is the Kallax shelf.  I just turned it on its side and put on casters. You can find the Kallax here.  There is a cheaper shelf available here but it isn't ikea. You can find it here.

The containers are from Big Lots, but you can find them here. 

You can find the labels here. 

I have been asked what goes into the bins. Here are a few things:

Word Work Task Cards
start with level A-1 and go up through level C-3. Each card has five words. Set one starts with only substituting the ending sound. Set two substitutes either the first sound or ending sound, while each word only changes one letter at a time. Set three can substitute any sound in the word, still only changing one letter each line. Each set has 45 words - with 135 cvc words in the entire pack! 

The boxes are called Iris Photo boxes. 

I used the rings to keep my cards together. These small rings make it so that they fit easily into the task box containers. 

I also use these magnetic letters for students to build word families. Students have four cards. One is to put together a puzzle, then read the card, write the word, then build the word. 

Click on the picture below to see my word family task cards. 

My students also play puzzler. This is another sight word game. Students pick a picture card, then, they look at the chart for the secret letter (they really can be confusing), then they have a bunch of mixed up letters. They must fix them to become a new word. 

Click below to see my differentiated puzzler sight word game. 

My students also use these Sight Word Fix it Sentences. 

By far one of my student's FAVORITE centers. They do so well with them. They come in pre-primer, primer and first grade. Don't worry - second grade is coming! 

Click the link below to grab them! 

These are the boards that you can use in your room as well. Click the photo above to find these boards. 

I use this shelving system to house all of my boards(click on either photo to grab the shelving!)

Inside the drawers, you will find my fine motor and stem bins. 

my students can grab stem boxes or other fine motor activities. They also can find shoe tying center, and peg board.  Of course, they also use dollar spot erasers to make their spelling words. 

My classroom doesn't have spots for backpacks and jackets - unless you count the hooks that I trip over daily. After surgery, I just wasn't trying to trip anymore. I found these sterilite bins on amazon. You can click the picture above or here to find them. 

This is my math tub, recess, mailbox and student supply area.  

My first year teaching I bought 5 of the grey bins at the top. 

You can grab them by clicking here . They are amazing. They are solid gray plastic and match EVERYTHING.  I suggest sticking with black, grey, or blue. White does start to show kicks and dirt. I have gone from 5 bins to 12. When I want a theme change, I switch the sign (They are held on by velcro dots)

I use flexible seating in my classroom, so my students need a place to keep their spelling notebook, poetry notebook, reading books, morning work pack, center packs, and pencil bag. They take only what they need. The bottom row of bins hold all of that. They are from Ikea (shocking - right) They are the trofast. You can find them here You will need bins to go inside. 

My labels for these are from here. 

The purple recess bins are from here. The labels are from here. 

                       The end is a mailbox and is from here. Now, I know this is expensive, 

                                            but it is solid wood and will last forever! 

I keep all of my math activities inside the tubs. There are hands on activities or games.

The black six drawer bins are all connected. You can find them here. 

Click on the picture above to grab the glue dots that I use to hold the labels on the outside. 

Here are some other pictures of my room I thought you would all like: 

I invested in these white containers. They were a dollar each ten years ago. They have a flippable lip to stack them SUPER easy. Find those here.  I bought 30 of them. It has been 10 years and they still look like new. Not ONE has broke. Last year, I tossed them into my dishwasher and they look BRAND NEW!  If I change themes - I pop on a new themed label rather than tossing containers for new ones.  You can find these labels by clicking the picture or here.

Latch bins are KEY to hold supplies. Look at this mess under my sink before - now look how great they look. I have an index and can find anything!  Find those labels here or click the picture above.

I no longer use these on a shelf, but here is another option using a shelf you may have in your classroom.
Find the labels here.

My library is always a work in progress. You can find these bins here from Steps to Literacy. These ones have stood the test of time. You can try cheap options, but you will end up wanting quality ones. You can find my editable labels here. 

I hope that you enjoyed the trip around my classroom. As I update my library and student desk area, I will share more. :) 

I will also take a video classroom tour so you can see it all live. 

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Classroom Items to Invest in NOW

We love to buy stuff for our classrooms. It's in our blood. We just can't help it. I have ever marker, pen, target spot item you can think of. There may be some stuff you haven't thought to buy. You may be a new teacher and don't know what to buy. You may be student teaching and want to buy things as you are in school.

These are things that I wish I had from day one OR things I had from day one that I happened to be smart lucky enough to get. Lots of articles will tell you NOT to buy things before you are hired at a school. Some people will tell you don't spend on your classroom. (Likely, they are skipping this post, too - and that is ok)

Here is the thing: YOU'RE EXCITED. You are GOING to spend money on your classroom (at least I bet you are if you are reading this). If you are going to spend your hard earned money - I can at least help you spend it wisely!

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on the Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase. This allows me to keep my teeny little blog up and running. 

Years ago, more years than I care to admit - I started buying. ALL. THE. THINGS. for my classroom. I KNEW I would teach third grade. (that is what grade I did my student teaching in) I thought third grade is it. I will NEVER teach a different grade. So during student teaching, I bought every single chapter book I could find. I went to garage sales, found other teachers giving away books etc. Guess what? I taught kindergarten the next year. Then first grade. All those books sat in a bin until two years ago, when I gave them away to a new fourth grade teacher. What a waste of time and money.

Here is my advice on the top 10 things to invest in that will more than pay for themselves through your teaching career. I try to only buy things with my money, that no matter what grade I'm moved to - I can use it and it won't go into storage.

1. Containers.  I should have stock with sterilite. My first year teaching I bought 5 of the grey bins below. You can grab them by clicking here or on the picture below. They are amazing. They are solid gray plastic and match EVERYTHING.  I suggest sticking with black, grey, or blue. White does start to show kicks and dirt. I have gone from 6 bins to 12. When I want a theme change, I switch the sign (They are held on by velcro dots)

The far left blue are lock and latch boxes. You can find them here. 

The middle are six drawer bins. You can find them here. 

The end is a mailbox is from here. Now, I know this is expensive, but it is solid wood and will last forever! 

I also invested in these white containers. They were a dollar each back then. I think the people of sterilite have caught on that teachers like them because they increased the price a bit but so worth it. They have a flippable lip to stack them SUPER easy. Find those here.  I bought 30 of them. It has been 10 years and they still look like new. Not ONE has broke. Last year, I tossed them into my dishwasher and they look BRAND NEW!  If I change themes - I pop on a new themed label rather than tossing containers for new ones.  You can find these labels by clicking the picture or here.

Latch bins are KEY to hold supplies. Look at this mess under my sink before - now look how great they look. I have an index and can find anything!  Find those labels here or click the picture above.

I also use them to house recess supplies! Find the labels here.

2. You will ALWAYS have a library as a primary classroom teacher, so spend the money on QUALITY bins. You can find these here from Steps to Literacy. You can buy at dollar tree, but this is not going to be a long term use. If you have tough kiddos, a lot will break. I invested in both and my dollar tree ones have been long gone. But, these ones have stood the test of time. You can find my editable labels here. 

3. A paper cutter.  A good one - you can find this one here.  Yes, your school likely has one - but when was the blade last changed? Did you know that - they need changed yearly due to all of the use? If you buy your own, you can go a good 5-7 years without needing a change. Our cutter is a mile away and I want to cut when I want to cut. I have one at school and one at home.  You can find this sight word game here.

4. a laminator. I have 4. Don't you dare judge me - I used to have five but gave away one to a friend. hahahah
I have two at school and two at home. You never know if one will break and then you are stuck. Plus, I send one home on the weekends for parents to help me cut out center stuff. See the volunteer forms that I use with it here.  I also use lamination sheets from here. I use the thinner ones now because I love using this cardstock - especially for printing center materials.

5. A teacher tool box. I KNOW, I KNOW - You don't think you will use it. I don't know what I would do without mine - seriously. I use it DAILY. My most used by me: velcro. Most used by my co-workers - change. hahaha   I got it here.

6. Lanyards - It may seem like something silly on this list of big items, but these are my FAVORITE!  I refuse to tie shoes in my classroom, and I will not untangle yarn knots!! I only threw away two or three after five years.  I used yarn for years and it made me mental. You can easily clean the lanyards year to year by hanging them in oxyclean for a bit and then soak in water and air dry. I got the lanyards here.  You can find the editable lanyard tags by clicking the picture or here.

7. A Lost and Found Bin - this has seriously saved my sanity! If one more student interrupted me with a staple or glue cap, I was going to jump out a window.  This bin is big. Like can hold 2 back packs big. I have had students put in jackets, lids, pencils, crayons - you name it. My students know not to bug me if they find something. If they loose something, they go look in the bin before they talk to me about it. At the end of the week, one kid empties it. You can find the label for this here. I got the bin from Big Lots for $7.

8. Read Aloud books. I don't care if you are a first grade teacher or a fifth grade teacher - kids LOVE read aloud books. I get more excited than my students to hear a new one, so buy them, but don't get too crazy. (Not yet anyway) I tried to buy a couple seasonal ones, a few for the start of the year. You never know what grade you will be in, but for the most part - read aloud books will last you forever! I buy hardcover used books from Amazon.
Here is where you can find the comprehension companions to go with the stories.

9. Magnetic Letters and trays - this is worth the investment in your classroom if you are a primary teacher! You can read all about where I bought my letters, and how I use them  here or click below.

10. Student Mailbox Center - this is another thing I wish I had purchased from year one. This isn't something you will move often so it will stay sturdy and your students will be organized. You can find the 1' binder clip labels here.

I know not all teachers have the money to buy these things all at once. You can save where you can, ask for donations, write a donors choose proposal or sell some of the things you no longer use. Your area may have a teachers facebook sell site and you could be buying new things in no time!

Did I leave anything off the list? Is there anything that I need that I don't have? I am ready to shop and buy more things.  (just kidding - sort of)

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End of the Year Gifts- Bubble Tag

Hey all!

Wow, I can't believe that I am starting to test my students for their end of the year testing! It is crazy how fast this year went by!

What are you doing for your students for gifts? 

I bought each of my babies two books. 

This year, I will be giving my friends bubbles, too!!!!  The bubbles are my favorite thing that I have done. All because of these adorable tags! They are so precious!!!  You can click on the picture below to see the editable file in my store. 

These ones below are ones that I made for when you just don't have time to edit. All you do is print and tag. These will be perfect!!!  Click on the pictures below to see those as well! 

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Made it Monday - The End is Near (Bulletin Boards, Crate Seat Tutorial & Student Gift Tags)

Hey there friends 

I go back to school on Wednesday officially. #sadface   I am going to the pool daily and trying to soak up that sun. I've been spending my mornings busy printing, laminating and cutting said lamination. It's a vicious cycle. I am trying to fit it all in before Wednesday morning at 4:45 yall. Yes, 4:45. #staypositive I am doing a little giveaway, so keep reading to see what it is!!!

I am linking up with one of my favs - Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It! 

In my room, I love storage. I love seating choices. I LOVE WHEN I CAN PUT THOSE TOGETHER. I jumped on the band wagon with making crate seats four years ago. It started with plain crate seats. These were ok, but my kids got them filthy. What was I thinking using white fabric?!

Then, the following year, I redid them using a vinyl polka dot material and made a bench. 

Click HERE to see the tutorial for the bench.

That purple thing is a bulletin board. If you want to learn how to make one for your class, click here to see that tutorial. 

My students LOVE the crate bench - especially during read to self. They lay across it and read. Adorable.

In the picture above to the left, is where I keep my vinyl crate seats. They were from college so I had to redo them. If you want to see how I organize my back to school night stuff like in the picture, click here to read about it.

The year after that I made another bench because the first bench was so popular. 

This year, I redid the crate seats because the crates that I had since college fell apart. My tops from the previous years were still good but didn't fit in the new crates. Pretty soon I will have enough crate seats to be class seats. #onlyhalfkidding 

There are a million tutorials out there, I'm sure. 

I'm also going to show how I made this new set.

You will need crates(target $3 each plus 15% off), wood(free from Home Depot and cut free too), fabric (3 yards for 6 crates), cushion (walmart craft section 4 pack)  and a staple gun. I know the thought of a staple gun is scary - Do it - it isn't scary at all. In fact, you feel like damn wonder woman using it. Get one! This is the one I have. 
I got my foam cushion at walmart in the craft section. You only need at most 14x14 pads. Mine came in a six pack for $6.97 - I made 6 seats so I had to get two packs. You can also do a twin size eggshell crate.

After you buy your crates, take one to Home Depot (I choose them because they are next to my house)
I tell them I am a teacher right away and I need room pieces for a project. Usually they have a pile of free wood. Today was no exception! I show them that I want them cut to fit on the inside lip of the crate. They cut all six for free and wood was free. I feel like a criminal when I leave the store carrying all this free wood. Then, I feel like Thelma from Thelma and Louise, like I got away with something once I leave the store. Try it. :)

Next, I used about 3/4 of a yard of fabric per TWO crates. Get a full yard if it makes you feel better.
Cut it in half hamburger style.

Next, wrap your board up with the material. I fold it just like a present. Use that staple gun. If you use a regular one, your hand will never forgive you.

It doesn't need to be pretty, I promise, No one will see it. As you work, you will get better! Then, I did the whole thing all over again, this time using the cheapest vinyl I could get a Joanns. It was like $3 to cover them all. You will need about 3 yards. Use your teacher discount. 

Can you find which chair doesn't have vinyl? I didn't have enough because I didn't cut the right way with the first one. Teacher fail. Another trip to Joann is in my future. #mypoorwallet 

I put a ribbon on the inside so I can pop the lid off easily. 

I was looking on Instagram and saw this picture. So cute-right?

Click this picture to follow her on IG.

Well, this sweetheart gave me the idea to create these.  I wasn't sure how it would look or if I could make the template how I wanted it to look. They turned out pretty good.

I didn't think anyone would be interested in my silly letters but WOW, people have been. I guess being able to label your walls is something people like.

Click below to snag these while they are still on sale!

Next, I FINALLY got my class list. I STILL don't have their pictures yet, so my editable hallway Nametags have to wait. I created these FREE editable printables for k - 3rd grade for a back to school kiddo gift.

The colored name labels are from Cathering at The Brown Bag Teacher. You can find her post HERE.

I'm going into my class to hang those banners today and I'm so excited. My classroom reveal should be coming shortly. I'm not sure it can wait until the #2getherwearebetter linky September 2nd. We'll see. 

I'm also working on my writing folders for my bulletin board display.
This is what it looked like two years ago.
These yellow writing folder labels are free in my store. Click the left picture.

Below was last years folder covers. They are all editable. I love that rainbow one! 

I keep my student writing in these all year, date stamped. My kids take it down during Reading Buddies and share what they have been doing. Then, at the end of the year, their reading buddy goes through, makes sure they are all in dated order, puts them back, and then I slap a bow on it and send it home as a sweet end of the year gift for parents. They all cry. It's awesome. Especially since they think I have kept their child's writing hostage all year. (I do send copies of it all throughout the year so they can see grading - it goes with a note that says you will get all color copies back at the end of the year) But, getting it all pretty is awesome. 

 You can see my crate bench in this picture. I keep legos and cardboard building blocks in them for inside recess. My kids LOVE this option when it is super cold outside.

I found this gem at Target at the dollar spot. I wanted a black calendar. I had a yellow one for six years, and the color was killing my black room. I made the numbers myself and they are all attached using velcro dots. I love me some velcro dots! 

If you would like to win a set of the chalkboard bulletin board letters, leave a comment about how you would use them in your classroom, along with your email. I will pick a winner on Tuesday August 18th at 8pm EST.

Enjoy your week if you are still off or lots of luck and wine if you are back to school this week like me. 

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