Classroom Reveal ... FINALLY!

   Ok, we have now officially been in school for 2 weeks! And I am finally ready to reveal my classroom pics to the Blogger World!
   My school is fairly new, just recently opened in 2013 with just one Prek and two Kindergarten classrooms, with additional grades and classrooms added each year. My Kindergarten classroom was added this school year to make four K classrooms.The growth is happening fast!

So, with that being said, I wasn't working with much, since it is a new K classroom.

   I currently have 18 kids and my room is the perfect for the size!

   I went with a Chalkboard theme because my classroom has a lot of white space and I knew black and bold colors would stand out!

It is not 100% yet. I wish I had more furniture, but I know as the year moves along, I will find things here and there to add to the classroom. But for now, this is what it looks like!

   It took alot of work to start from scratch again, but this is my Kindergarten classroom, and I LOVE it! As time passes, I know I will tweak the set up of the centers and the arrangement of the tables several times! (Hell, I already have done so about 3 times already in the past 2 weeks!)

But at least for the next few weeks,
 it will be a work in progress!

Classroom Reveal -- Finally!

   Well, we are off and running! The year has gotten off to a great start! In my last post, I was working on some self learning about what Montessori is all about. For a good part of the summer, after we settled into California, I have been working in the school and immersing myself into the Montessori classroom and have been observing the primary classroom teacher, I have been able to get a better idea of how each set of materials serves a purpose and how each one scaffolds onto the next set of skills. It does not directly relate to my role as the Spanish teacher, but it has been very useful to learn, as I wanted my classroom set up to mirror the main Montessori classroom.
    Anyhow, the school year has begun... and that is where my role as the Spanish Teacher begins!!
    Below, are the "before" pictures of the classroom...before I put my own little touches on it and tried my best to make it my own!

And here are the "after" pictures:

I tried to keep it simple. yet cute, and this is how it all came out:

Front of the classroom:

Back of the classroom:

Our Morning Bulletin Board:

Months of The Year Poster:

My Teacher Corner:

Our Art & Puzzle Shelf:

Daily Group Boxes:

 Our Writing/Drawing Center:

Our Math/Science Center:

 Our Library:

 It is small, it is cute and I LOVE it!

   Every day, Monday through Thursday, I teach a small group of 11 children and I have each group for an hour an a half each day. The room is a perfect size to have a small circle, do an small group table activity, read a story and then some engage in some individual work time.

   Being the Spanish Teacher is only one of my roles. You will come to see that I also step up into other roles throughout the day and week!

Dirt...Strikes...and Classroom Pics...

    Well, so I failed in trying to get classroom pics over the weekend and with good reason!!!  I was busy getting DIRTY at the Dirty Girl Mud Run held in Western New York this past Sunday morning with a few of my friends… and that wiped me out for the rest of the day…all the way into Monday!

   
     Anyhow, in other news....my former employer, Chicago Public Schools/ Chicago Teachers Union is on strike... for the first time in 25 years…and I think I have been feeling a little homesick lately. My husband says I should be glad I am not there… but I WISH I was there… fighting for what teachers want and what teachers and students DESERVE. THAT is an IMPORTANT fight to be fighting!!

    I stand by my teacher friends in Chicago 100000%.  It is not all about the money, it is about what it has always been about… RESPECT for Teachers and RESPECT for Education.

    I can rant on and on about this but I will probably lose all of you.  Just wanted to note that my heart is in Chicago, it is where my teaching career began and if it wasn’t for the experiences of working with inner city children and families in Chicago, I would not be the teacher that I am today! Stay Strong Chicago Teachers! =)

   So back to my teaching life here in Buffalo… one reason why it has been so hard to get classroom pics up is because, even in week #2, I am still changing something in one way or another! I am still working on my classroom arrangement so that it suites the needs of my preschoolers. And it seems like those needs change constantly and the room has to be adjusted everyday!

   So… here is what it looks like today! (It will probably change 3 more times before the month of September is over!) 

   And actually these pics are only one half of the room b/c at the beginning of the year, I slowly ease the children into centers, so that I can teach them how to play and clean up in each area. The pics of are the only centers/ areas that were "open for business" LAST week.

Circle Time / Rug Area

Library

Puzzles & Blocks

    This week, I have introduced and "opened" the Art Center, Listening Center, Housekeeping Center and Sand & Water Center. 

    More pics later... I am exhausted with all this Strike Business (and I don't even teach in Chicago anymore!)....time to sit down and watch the 1st of my Fall Shows Lineup: The New Normal... =)

Lots of News: Fun Classroom Decor, a TpT Store...And a Freebie!

Yay! Big accomplishments for me today!

1st: I decided on a theme for my classroom!  BEARS!

2nd: I unleashed my inner craftiness (thanks to great bloggers and crafters' ideas') and made some of my own classroom decor with my cute little bear theme!

3rd: I opened up my own TpT store...Finally! =)

So anyhow, I have been quite productive the past week or so!!

   I am a preschool teacher and I am all about "cute" and "welcoming" when it comes to how I decorate my classroom. This year, unfortunately, I do not have the good luck of being near any Teacher stores nor does my budget allow for too much spending to buy all the cute things I want for my classroom. So by stalking other bloggers and searching Pinterest, I found ways to make my own classroom decor with cute clip art and scrapbooking supplies, of which I have plenty!

 My Welcome Sign:

My "Where Are We?" Board:
    And thanks to the fun craft idea by Miss Kindergarten, I created a new "Where Are We?" Board.
 I was going to use the same one I made last school year, but when I saw how cute and easy this was, I had to make one!
      All it took was a dry erase board I found at Target or Walmart for $1, some Mod Podge (which I have been eagerly waiting to use), some scrapbook paper, letter stickers (although I changed my mind about the color of the letters afterwards) and a bit of ribbon! That's it!!

After I assembled it all, I made the location cards with some cute Bear clip art from Scrappin Doodles.

Here is my new "Where Are We?" Board! I am so excited about it!!

My Job Chart: (which I am even more excited about!)

Each child will have their own bear (created with my awesome Cricut machine) with their name on it attached to a clothespin.

My new Center Signs to coordinate with my Bear theme:

And because it is Freebie Friday, I have linked up again with TBA.

     AND because I am having a little celebration in honor of the grand opening of my TpT store...

I have posted these Center Signs as a freebie just for you! 

Click on the picture of the Center Signs above or HERE for your FREEBIE!

     I still have quite a few things to create and I am very excited to be able to get into my classroom next week! (FINALLY)   =)