Classroom Mission Statements

Instead of boring old classroom rules (I know, I know, they are very important), why not try something new this year? Madame Belle Feuille wrote a great post about classroom Mission Statements. It was great to get the kids talking about what was important to them, and I was pretty amazed with what they came up with. The ending is more influenced by me, as I saw this on anther mission statement and thought it was so lovely. As a class, we are reciting our mission statement every morning to give us a little reminder about how we want to be and treat others in our learning community. Check out her post for some great discussion questions to get the kids started, or for more mission statement examples.

Classroom Reveal 2015-2016

Welcome to my classroom!

This year, I chose to continue my cheerful circus theme. Here a few photos of the classroom. I haven't taken very clear photos of the whole classroom yet, so more to come.

Bulletin board in hallway. This is an idea that's currently making its rounds on Pinterest.. Here, my new kids have written their goals for the academic year inside the balloons.

This is out in the hallway, right beside our classroom door.

At the start of the year, I wrote student names on the popcorn boxes. These boxes are from a dollar store, and you can pop them out to make them 3 dimensional. I decided to keep them flat so that they wouldn't get knocked off by student knapsacks as the kids came in and out of class every day. The curtains are two long pieces of red fabric that I was able to hang from the ceiling tiles. I ordered the red and white awning from Amazon.

Sorry for the terrible picture quality.

This is an early version of our classroom library. From labelling to painting, I put a lot of effort into organizing and designing a welcoming reading corner this year. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

This is a set of four labels, including one for the class first aid kit (or band aids and lotion students can use),  that I will make available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

These reading necklaces are a fantastic way to get kids motivated to read daily at home. Each student has a necklace hung up with hook pins purchased at the Dollar Tree. I was lucky to have found these hooks at a discount. If you can't find ones at a your local dollar store, you can order these hangable push pins. If students read their weekly books, they can select a bead to place on their necklaces. I will write a blog post about my home reading program and make my carnet de lecture available.

Guided reading table. The pink stick-ons are used as whiteboards. The chair legs were painted yellow, and I maid those blue hanging curtain pieces to hide anything that I need to store under the table. No sewing needed! I picked up the necessary fabrics at Fabricland and got to work measuring, cutting and glue gunning them into existence.

Chalkboard clipboards! A lot of time and patience is needed for this DIY project.

Students use the calendar, weather, and daily schedule as part of our morning routine. We mark each day that we are at school with a sticker, and count our days all the way up until the 100th day of school.