Creative Clipboards!

Happy almost Friday everyone!!  Is it just me, or do the days seem longer the closer we get to summer break??

Today I wanted to talk about clipboards.  I use them A LOT in my room.  We use them when we're on the rug, but we also use them when we are working on our Daily 5 language arts rotations and our Daily 3 math rotations, as well as taking them outside to do work in nice weather.  I use them so much that I have a class set (which I will have to add to next year, since we are getting the overflow from a neighboring school that is going through remodeling).  For me, it is cost effective to get the wooden clipboards that are only 97¢ at Wal-Mart.  However, versatile they may be, they are not the most attractive tools we use.  So, I went scrolling along in Pinterest and I came across a VERY Pinteresting idea.  Cover them with Duck Tape!!

I don't know if you've noticed, but Duck Tape has come A LONG way from the early days of the thick, silver tape they were famous for.  Nowadays, there are so very many different colors and designs it can be a bit overwhelming!!  I went shopping around at various stores, and found different designs of Duck Tape in every store from Wal-Mart to $5 & Below, and the prices stayed pretty much the same. I wanted to find patterns and designs that would appeal to boys and girls, so I ended up buying quite a few different rolls. I did find a few different types, and decided to try them all out.  Here are three different types that I tried (I'm sure there are other types out there, I just haven't found them yet!).

The sparkly silver roll, pictured on the far left, is kind of like one giant sticker with a backing that needs to be pulled off before it's used.  This was helpful because I could put the tape right up against the clipboard to measure it out, without having to fight the sticky side.  Of the three kinds I used, this one was the thickest.  That made it a bit hard to work with around the edges and corners of the clipboard, but it still turned out very nicely!  However, I was only able to cover one clipboard before I ran out (I covered the front, back, and sides).

Next I tried the 'traditional' roll, which is the roll pictured in the middle.  The tape on these rolls is thick enough that it can, at times, be tricky to cut.  I spent a lot of time juggling the roll and the scissors while I cut the pieces, so it would probably be helpful to have someone hold the tape while you cut it.  I was able to cover two clipboards with this type of roll.

Finally, I tried the roll pictured on the far right.  This type of Duck tape comes with it's own 'slicer' so you don't have to mess with scissors.  It also has little tabs that hold the edge of the roll, so that it doesn't fold over and get stuck together.  Also, the tape on these types of rolls in considerably thinner than the other two.  I would compare it to the clear packing tape used to tape up shipping boxes.  This roll was super-easy to use, and I was able to cover four clipboards before I needed a new roll.  I think, of the three, this is the one I liked the best.

I think it helps to start out with different types, until you find the one you like the best and are most comfortable with.  I did not try any generic or store-name brand tape, so I cannot give an opinion on those.  Growing up, my mom always said there were some things you just had to pay a little extra money on.  I feel that Duck Tape is one of those things, especially since I want these boards to last as long as possible before I need new ones.  So far, I have gotten two years' worth out of the first batch I made, and I plan on using them again next year!!  I just keep adding new patterns and designs, and I have created a class set of unique, kid-friendly clipboards that they all enjoy using.

I would love to hear about how you use clipboards in your classroom!!  :-)

Room Set-up

Thanks so much to my followers who have stayed with me through this process they call grieving!!  It's still really hard for me to deal with, but I'm working on it.  My mom was one of my 3 official followers, and I remember the week before she died she told me how proud she was of the fact that I started a blog.  So, in the spirit of my mom, I'm going to try to get back into the world of daily blogging.  I know that's what she would want!
   I'd like to share with you some pictures of my finished (almost) classroom.  Since mom died two days before school started, I missed the entire first week with my Littles.  I'm still in the process of catching up!

This is my Environmental Print ABC wall, located on the wall right inside my classroom door.  This is NOT my idea!  I first read about it on the Growing Kinders blog and just had to try it out for myself!  I had a hard time having parents send in labels, so I recruited members of my family.  My mom was a big help with this project, and I'm glad I get to remember her every time I walk through my classroom door!  I also found a great resource to add labels, since I was having a hard time finding them.  Joey Barnes has a great Environmental Print ABCs Freebie over on TPT, and I used that freebie to fill in some of my letters.  If you look closely, you can see that some letters (like I,U,V) really needed the help of Joey's freebie, so thanks a zillion Joey!!!

This is my Art Center next to my Sensory Table.  My easels are covered with cheapo plastic tablecloths from the Dollar Tree, which helps to keep the chalkboards under the cloth free of paint.  My Sensory Table has two sides, and currently it is full of paper scraps and scissors so my Littles can practice their cutting skills.  My amazing teaching partner Heather thought of that idea, and I LOVE it!!  (So do my kinders!!)

This is the front of my room, where the SMART Board is located.  After my first year in kindergarten, I asked to have the Board lowered since it was installed WAY TOO HIGH for my Littles to reach the top, and I was nervous about having them stand on stools while they tried to use the Board!  On the top of the wall are the number cards for 0-20 (which is our focus for the first marking period) and they contain the number word with a matching numeral and set of dots.  I hot-glued the number cards in the order they would appear in a ten-frame instead of a straight line.  We do  A LOT of work with ten-frames in kindergarten, and having them displayed in this way helps my kinders to remember the formation.  My bulletin boards are covered with fabric.  I have found that fabric fades A LOT less than butcher-style paper.  I have used the same pieces of fabric for at least four years now, and they are still as bright and crisp as the day I put them up!  The green board is my Math board, and right now has the 2D and 3D shapes we are focusing on, as well as a poster of rhymes for writing the digits 1-9 and a Touch Math poster that shows the digits 1-9.  There is also a spot for a Math Word Wall which we will add to throughout the year.  The yellow board is my Language Arts board and contains the short/long vowel posters as well as a Word of the Day poster where we display various sight words we are working on.  Next to the LA board is a color words display.  The blue kidney table is where my little do their Independent work.  My Computer Center is located in front of the Math board, and up in the corner is where our TV is mounted.  We watch our 5th Grade Friends perform the daily announcements every morning.

Here's a shot of the front right corner of my room.  Behind the blue dividing wall are the lockers where my littles keep their things.  In this picture you can see most of my ELA Centers, including the Reading Center, Interactive Pocket Chart, and Listening Center.  Right now we are using the Pocket Chart Center to play the Name Game that I blogged about a few weeks ago.

This is a shot of the back left corner of my room.  You can see the Dramatic Play Center, as well as a bulletin board I'll use to display our Star of the Week's poster.  You can see the other half of the Sensory Table as well as the filing cabinet that contains our Behavior Clip Chart.  My desk doubles as the Magnet Letters Center, and the door behind my desk leads to one of the other kindergarten classrooms.  The blue table you can kind of see in this picture is where my littles do Art Center projects that don't require the easel.  For example, this week we studied the letter P so my kiddos made a piggy craft using the letter P.  The chalkboard is usually where I put our objectives for the day, including our daily schedule.

This is the back right corner of my room.  On the chalkboard is the small calendar I display in order to meet our State Validation requirements, but all of our Calendar Routine and Activities are completed on the SMART Board during Morning Circle Time.  Above the chalkboard on the wall is our classroom birthday display.  The blue bulletin board is our Sight Word Wall, and I'm still searching for ways to make it more interactive for my kinders!  The star burst next to the Word Wall is our Job Chart, and underneath that is our BLURT! Board.  Behind the stacks of chairs are the Blocks Center and the Science/SS Center.  The brown trapezoid tables are used for the Writing, Phonics, and Math Centers (during different times of the day).  Our Write the Room supplies are found there too.  My littles LOVE LOVE LOVE the Write the Room Center, do yours??  That door leads out to the playground that all three kindergarten classes use, as well as our morning and afternoon pre-k class.

This is a closer shot of the Science/SS Center, and the shelves that hold many of our manipulatives and interactive learning games.

Here are our classroom mailboxes, where my littles put their folders every morning and I can easily pass out papers.  The empty white wall space underneath the clock will eventually contain our Sight Word Rainbow displays.

Due to everything that has happened in my life lately, I TOTALLY missed posting pictures of the awesome package I received from my Mystery Blogger for the Back to School Blogger exchange.  My AMAZING partner was Kelly Brown, a kindergartner teacher from NC and fellow blogger!  She did a superfantabulous job of finding items to go with my theme of Dr. Seuss and dragons!!  Thanks so much Kelly!  

  Thanks again for bearing with me through this process!  I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into Room 130, and I will be adding more pictures as the room changes.  I'd like to leave you with a shot of my furbaby Isis, who was spayed on Monday.  She definitely does not like the Cone of Shame!!

Professional Development

Yesterday was the official first day back for teachers in my county.  Students in grades 1-12 start school on Thursday, and students in pre-school through kindergarten start next Tuesday.  Early childhood teachers use those three days to have entry conferences with our kinders and their grown-ups.  Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are days my county designates as professional development days.  I'm sure that most, if not all, schools have professional development days.  In my county, we attend back-to-school meetings to get the latest updates, as well as meet with other grade-level teachers across the county to discuss changes in curriculum.  Many schools are starting their first year with the Common Core Standards, however my school is going into its second year of Common Core so we feel more comfortable with it this year.  Not that we feel like we've mastered it yet, but we're working towards that goal.  I was wondering how other schools handle the beginning of the year.  Do you have days designated at the beginning of the year for professional development?  And if you're Early Childhood, do you have days set aside to have entry conferences with your incoming students?  Or is this something your school does over the summer break?  I would love any feedback!!

   I've been working hard on getting my room ready for this year's group of students.  So far I have a total of 19, 10 boys and 9 girls.  I've been working a little bit each day in my room to finish getting it set up, and I am almost finished.  In my classroom, I have a lot of different items that have a student's name on them.  Things like locker tags, mail box tags, BLURT! board tags, behavior chart clips, etc.  I laminated all of those items so that I could get as many years' worth of use out of them as I can!!  I brought all of these things home with me today in order to clean off the Sharpie marker so I can write this year's names.  I decided to clean them off using a Magic Eraser instead of the EXPO spray (which I LOVE too!!).  I had not realized just how many things in my classroom need to have student names written on them...needless to say my fingers turned black before I finished.  I have included pics so you can get a visual of what I'm talking about here.

 Doesn't it kinda look like I suffered a REALLY bad case of frostbite??  It got under my nails too...ick.

Here's all of the different things that I use in my classroom that need to have a student's name on them.  Don't forget that each item you see is one of 19!!

  For those of you starting with your kiddos tomorrow, have a SUPERFANTABULOUS year!!

Setting Up My Room

Holy Moley, long time no blog!!  My apologies to all!!  Been trying to suck the last bit of summer out of the past few weeks.  Don't know about y'all, but I'm headed back to work tomorrow.  My kiddos will come for their first day of kindergarten next Monday!!  Got a lot to do and a lot more planned, make sure to keep checking back!!  Here are some pics of my classroom as it waits patiently for me to finish getting everything set up!

 

This picture shows the view of my classroom from the front door.

Here is a shot of my storage closet!!  Room for improvement, but SO MUCH BETTER than it was!!

 This picture shows the lockers that my students use to store their belongings.  We spend some time the first week of school learning how to open and close them QUIETLY!!

 Here's a shot of the front of my classroom, you can see the SMART Board mounted to the chalkboard on the wall.  We spend A LOT of time learning how to use that piece of technology, but my littles love it!!

 This shot shows the side of my classroom located under the windows.  There are plenty of shelves behind all that stuff, and the door that leads to the outside playground.  I'll be getting our AWESOME custodians to help move around the heavier furniture.

 This is a shot of the back of my room.  I use fabric to cover the bulletin boards because it doesn't fade.

 This shows the back corner of my classroom, with a connecting door to a kitchenette as well as a connecting door to one of my team mate's classroom.

This is the butterfly bush located outside of our back door by the playground.  It got HUGE over the summer, ad there were SO MANY butterflies in it.  I really hope they are still there when my kiddos start!!


In order to wish everyone a great year, I have joined up with the Back To School TPT sale, where EVERYTHING in my store is 20% off.  Please stop on by!!