First Day!!

I have to say that the first day of school this year was probably the best first day I've ever had! Everything went so smoothly, and the day went by quickly! I was not expecting this because there have been so many changes with our school...half the students were from the former Union Grove Elementary, half our teachers were too, all teachers were in a different classroom, bus schedules were crazy, well I can go on and on. Here are some first day pictures and activities we completed.

The self-portraits and the names my students traced with torn construction paper will stay up all year. I always love their self-portraits...they all make me smile, but a few crack me up a little everytime I see them. It's amazing how some of these portraits look JUST like the student!! As usual, it looks like I have a few artist in the group!

T.R.A.V.E.L. Binders

This year we are trying to be a little more organized, so we came up with a binder that will hold everything important for our 3rd Graders this year. We are calling it a T.R.A.V.E.L. Binder (Teach Responsibility and Valuable Everyday Lessons). Students will have to take these home every night, have them at school everyday, and take very good care of them. This is what they look like, and what we have in them...

The cover...

The first page has an explaination of everything located inside as well as "directions" for each section. Our Course of Study for reading and math is on the back...

The next few pages contain our 3rd grade "handbook". This handbook just explains a few things we do and expect in 3rd grade. We are very thorough teachers, and I think we covered just about everything you can imagine. Parents will be able to refer to this whenever they have any questions.

Next, we have a zipper pouch for money and notes, our weekly newsletter, monthly calendar and lunch menu, and then our planner.

Finally, we have a series of folders for important papers, homework, reading log, graded papers, and parent signature sheet.



 So far these have worked wonderfully!!! I can definitely tell my students are much more organized by having everything located in one nice spot.

Orientation

What a busy night orientation always seems to be! Most of my students made it out, and all the new little faces from Union Grove was a little overwhelming. I'm looking forward to getting to know them and their parents over the year. My room was ready for everyone, and I took a few pictures of the final look as I waited for parents and students to arrive. Well, I still need curtains...maybe one day soon!

So school started, and...Whew!!

It has been a while since my little blog has been updated, SORRY!! It seems it takes me a while to find time to do anything extra during the first few weeks of a new school year. Well, the mid-term has arrived, and tonight I found a little time to update...YAY!!! Lots has been going on in my class so far, and I can't wait to share. I have a wonderful new class, and I look forward to coming to school every morning to see them.

A few weeks before school started, my shelves were finished, painted, and taken to my room. I was so excited about having them actually in my classroom I forgot to take a picture! I finally got one during my next trip to school, and here they are...

During this time, I also painted my stool, and fixed up some clothes pins for my clip chart.

 Just a few more things to do, and I'm ready for orientation!