Gator Classroom

People. I've been in the classroom for two days now and it has been a WHIRLWIND. It's like everything I learned rushed out of my head when those kids lined up at my door Monday morning. Talk about panic.

BUT

the good news is this week we are on the short day schedule (7:30-2) and we have an hour long enrichment block where the kids go to Watoto (which I mentioned in this post). I am definitely feeling overwhelmed, but I have a lot of support through TFA, my 4th grade team, my school, UF teaching friends, and my roommate! I also have to remind myself that Rome wasn't built in a day and I can't be perfect day 1.

I do want to introduce my classroom in all it's Florida glory. Mind you, it's a work in progress. I still need some rugs, some student work, and to put up my Florida posters and gear, but hey, it's better than the last post! Enjoy =]

Front door, word wall, and class library 

Close up of the word wall with writing posters above.
Eventually I want a table to use for writing underneath it.

My reading corner, before the cozy rug that's coming!

Yes, that is a dollar store blow up alligator

Best part of my room! Still need to add my little individual gators!

The front of the room

Good work bulletin board, calendar, and chart paper 

My school-wide rules and areas for the daily objective and standard

Teacher area and Gator of the Week

My little corner =] Especially love my class picture from last year. Miss them!

Love love love these pom-poms! Made of tissue paper and inspired by this

My SMARTboard. A little bland... maybe some Gator curtains??

My storage area and "take a break" chair. Needs a rug and some color....

Desks in pods of 4 (hey Kagan!)

Swampy name tags

For my front door

Behavior punch cards as my classroom incentive.
Different colors for different periods (three 4th grade classes)

Rewards for punch cards (taken from here)

Also taught them the "It's great to be a Florida Gator" chant and have attempted "Na na na na na GO GATORS!" but it was a bit of a struggle. I'll keep you updated. We were also misidentified as Florida State today. NOT OK.

Three/Thirty-three

Oh. Baby. What a week. I appreciate Friday afternoon sooooo much more than I used to! But I've had a great time and it's been an absolutely wonderful week full of learning- and I think the kids learned some too ;)

Biggest thing I learned? The three/thirty-three rule. It's something our principal says and it means that the first 3 weeks of teaching and planning will decide how your next 33 will go. Such a great reminder! Now is the time to set up the room; teach the procedures, rules, expectations, and discipline; plan the curriculum; and begin assessments. I can already tell that living with 3/33 in mind will help immensely come October, February, April, and other super busy times!!

For fun, here are some pictures of how our classroom is set up:

The kids started in pods, but now we're trying a U-shape

These are our computers and manipulatives along the back wall. Also some bean bags for reading, and our own bathroom!

My own desk(!) and the classroom library with bulletin boards just waiting for student work

The front board and a glimpse at our behavior system (pocket chart on the right)

 Some of the things we did this week were fun: read-alouds, writing activities, get-to-know-you activities, practicing procedures, and time on the computer. Some of the things we did this week were less than fun: math and reading probes (basic assessments for us to see where they are), FAIR assessments, sight word assessments, and STAR reading assessments. Yes. First week and we're already testing to get a baseline. Just a glimpse into 21st century education! I taught a little blurb on social studies, did a read-aloud, did some assessments, and monitored the kids. Definitely not sitting back and observing this year! Woohoo!

So to wrap it up, I love my kids, I'm learning a ton from my mentor teacher, my team is great, and I think I'll go back next week ;) I'll leave you with this picture, hopefully you'll love it as much as my kids did. Haha!

Ms. Douberly in second grade!