Love those giveaways!!

Denise at Sunny Days in Second Grade is having a "Freakishly Fabulous Four Hundred Follower" giveaway. I'm so excited to discover new 2nd grade blogs!!! Check it out here!

Post-Its!

Rebecca at Create-Teach-Share is having a Linky Party about creative ways to use Post-Its. So, I thought I'd share one of the many ways we use Post-Its in my class.

When we're studying visualizing in Reading Workshop, students draw the pictures they "see in their heads" on Post-Its. Then they attach them to their graphic organizers. Under each Post-It, they write the part of the story that their picture illustrates. Then I have them switch papers and retell each other's stories using the pictures. They can self-check by lifting the Post-It to read the description. Just another way to practice summarizing and retelling.

Here's a picture of our anchor chart for this strategy:

My Class Library

I love children's books! I just love them. It's a slight addiction... Ok, it's a bad addiction. I scour my local Goodwill (especially on the first Saturday of the month when everything is 1/2 price!), yard sales (check Craigslist for yard sale ads specifically featuring children's books), and I've even made the trek down to McKay's in Nashville. Of course I'm also a regular at B&N, but I've had to curb that habit-- it's bad for the bank account!!

I've organized and reorganized my library several times and I think I've finally gotten it like I want it. Now it's just the maintenance... Here's some pics:

My books are organized by topic. The bins with the blue stickers are nonfiction. The white bins are devoted to specific curriculum areas (math, social studies, poetry, etc.). If the book has a Guided Reading level, it's written on the back of the book on a sticker. Each book also has a small sticker on the front with a picture that matches the picture on the bin it belongs in for easy return. I have students return their books to the red bin on the stool and the "class librarian" puts them in the correct bins.

I keep a log of my books on this website. I love being able to type in any key word and it brings up all of the books I have with that tag! So easy! I also purchased a check-out system called CLAS from this website. Each book has a barcode and students have library cards. When they want to check out a book, they simply use the barcode scanner to scan their cards and then the book they want to check out. I love this system because, just like the real library, I can pull reports and see who has what checked out at any given time. I can also see what types of books each student has been reading. Plus, the kids love using the scanner!

I have students store their checked-out books (along with their Reader's Notebooks) in their book bins, shown here:

Just like new!

My friend just got a vice-principal position in a neighboring district (Go, Sherleta!!!) and had to clean out her room ASAP. We all scoured her room looking for treasure and she so graciously gave me a rolling desk chair. She bought it for her kids last year and they took turns sitting in it each week. I had wanted to get one too, but never did. So, I took hers and gave it a new twist. I recovered it in the same fabric I recovered my glider rocker in several years ago. I think it turned out cute!

Curtains, Curtains, Everywhere!

I dusted off the old sewing machine a few weeks ago to make some curtains for my classroom. I meant to only make one set of curtains, but it turned into a curtain-making frenzy! I had seen some other teachers in my building hanging curtains above their sink areas to hide stuff. I found some red material that matched my valances (which originally came from my 13-year-old son's nursery) and made the ones for my sink area. Then, I decided to make a black curtain to hang above my exterior door, which led to making a bandana print one for the actual door. Then came the red curtain to cover the little sliver of a window on my interior door. I love all of the new curtains! It really makes the room feel cozier!

Trash or Treasure?

Last year, my husband went to drop off the trash at the local collection center (in the south, we call it the dump), and came back with one of the ugliest pieces of furniture I've ever seen. It was a bench/pew, painted hunter green with a huge floral-covered piece glued to it. I immediately asked him what he was planning to do with this hunk of junk. He said he was hoping we could refinish it and keep it. I rolled my eyes. Really?
Well, it sat in our garage for a couple of months. Then one day I decided to try and do something with it. I knew I didn't want it in our house, but I thought it may have potential as a reading bench for my classroom. I already had a red/black theme in my room with my bookshelves and book bins, so I went to Hobby Lobby to see what I could find to decorate the bench to match my theme. I bought some scrapbooking paper, Mod Podge, and black paint and set to work. In about a week's time (and a lot of glue-scraping and sanding!!), this is what became of the ugly green bench:

Once the bench was finished, I decided to paint a corner cabinet that once belonged to my grandmother. I didn't have a place for it in our new house, so I thought it would be cute (and useful for storage) in my classroom as well. Here's the finished cabinet:

I eventually painted a stool and door sign to match:

I love these pieces! And to think it all started with a trip to the dump!

Almost Ready!!

I went to school to finish cleaning and organizing today. After cleaning the filing cabinet out and scrubbing sticky goo from old nametags off the desks, I think the room is almost ready. I finally was able to get rid of my huge teacher's desk, so there is much more room this year. Even though I still have a few more things to do, I thought I'd post a few pics.

Views from the door and corner:

Small group area (which now serves as my desk as well):Class library:

Class meeting area:

A small group center:

Student computers:

Word Study Center:

Sink Area:

I'm almost done... Just a few more finishing touches!