Tell All Tuesday: My Dream Classroom

I am joining Teach Talk Inspire and My Day in K for another Tell All Tuesday. This week it's about your dream classroom. Of course I turn to the place where my life is most organized, my Pinterest board. I just assume that everyone else has the same problem as I do... and that's that we all have our classroom, home and everything else in our lives magically organized through their Pinterest with a long list of admiration and wishes.

 Duh... I am totally turning to my Classroom Decor & Organization Pinterest board for this one. Don't we all? I know I am not alone on this one. ;)

I will start off with the fact that I am sharing BOTH of my classrooms this year with another teacher Yeah, you heard me right. I have 2 classrooms. How does that work you ask? Well since here in Alberta, Canada or where I teach anyways kindergarten does not come to school every day all day like they do in the States. My kinders will come Monday, Wednesday & every other Friday. I taught this schedule last year. So that means that on Tuesdays, Thursday, & every other Friday that my class is not there that another teacher will be teaching kindergarten to a different set of kinders. Got it? Therefore I do not get 100% say on how I would love love love to decorate the classroom (insert sad face). Last year I had to do this for the 1st time and it was a real struggle for me. I like to be in control and do things my way. Now for my 2nd classroom situation... On the Tuesdays & Thursdays that I am off from teaching kindergarten I will be teaching grade 2. The other teacher who taught grade 2 full time last year wanted to work part time so that she could spend more time with her youngest son before he starts elementary school so I am basically coming into her classroom to teach Tuesdays & Thursdays. There ya go... now you know why I have 2 classrooms. In all honesty, while I LOVE to be in control & decorate my classroom with everything super matchy matchy and organized since I have my daughter that is not my biggest concern this year. I just want to survive my 1st year of juggling the whole mommy/teacher thing. I am letting the other teachers take the decorating reigns for the most part.

So if I could have total control of my classroom this year and I didn't have to share this is a taste of what it (or they) would look like.

I have done the jungle theme and ocean theme. This year I would love to go all out with a garden/bug theme. I am going to use a garden/bug theme with things like the students' name plates, name tags, cubby labels, etc. I would <3 to have a reading area set up with a green carpet & white fence. I know I have a photo some where on my Pinterest of Deanna Jump's old classroom set up with a white fence but I can't find it. 

I also think it would be fun to have a tree painted on the wall with 3D branches and leaves. Unfortunately we are not allowed to paint the walls at the school I am at now. 

I like how open this classroom is. It reminds me of my room. Oh and that it has tables. I love using tables.

I have been wanting this IKEA bookshelf to turn into a reading bench for 2 years now. I love the modern feel of this classroom and this amazing rug.

I just love everything about this classroom. The amazing rug, bright colors, how open and clean this room looks are all things that I have to have in a classroom.

That's just a glimpse of my dream classroom. Of course there are like 100 more photos on my Pinterest that inspire me to be the almighty teacher/classroom decorator. I can't wait to see what other ideas I can get from your dreamy classroom.

Oh, I almost forgot... I made these Bug'n Out Name Plates for my class that I figured I would share with you in case you could use them too. 

Makeover Madness

Well I did it! I finally did it! I made over quiet a few items in the Lovely Literacy and More store but I will just share the 1st three that I made over. I am not finished with my store makeover as I plan to makeover all of my older products that I haven't gotten their touch ups yet. 

The Day the Monster Came to School is the best seller in the Lovely Literacy and More store but I was not totally in love with the cover page. I liked it but I felt like it needed a little bit more pop without changing too much. The bright gold and royal colours in the background by Krista at The Creative Chalkboard is what it needed.

In the top four of my best sellers is this Bright Ocean Classroom Theme Decor that has everything you need to decorate your classroom and/or your daily class calendar. This product that was once 343 pages is now 548 pages. I created the option of a chalkboard background for each item in the pack. 

Does anyone else feel like they sent their products to the spa for a day and they came out looking like a brand new person? Well that's how I feel about these Ontario I Can Posters for the Kindergarten Curriculum. Instead of paying someone to give the massage it was me that had to give it. The cover for this product was in desperate need for a makeover. Now I am off to give all of the Alberta I Can Curriculum Posters a new up-do.

Don't forget to check out FACEBOOK for FREEBIES!!!

Shout out to Jen @ Sparkling in Second Grade, Amber @ Peppy Zesty Teacherista, Emily @ Third in Hollywood, and Ashley @ Teach Create Motivate for putting all this together. Oh and also for giving me the kick in the rear end that I needed to get back to work on the store since being on maternity leave. 

Teacher Week 14': Where

Today is all about showing where you spend the majority of your time.... the classroom or more like my home away from home. I am sure everyone's classroom is their 2nd home. If you're like me you often have your classroom more organized and cleaner than your own home. 

Here are some before & after photos of my classroom this year. 

School doesn't start for 2 more weeks so the classroom is not 100% ready. There are still a few more things I need to add. It's definitely different decorating a classroom for grade 4 instead of kindergarten. Well here is a glimpse at what's going on so far.

The classroom I moved into this year had 2 of those ugly green chalkboards. I painted it with black chalkboard paint & hot glued some cute light blue clothes pins to the board. This will be the Student Work Display area.

This classroom is part of the add-on from a few years back so they are portables. The awful cream walls in this room just kill me. :(  I wish we could paint them. I still have some more posters & things to put on the wall to try & cover these ugly walls up. I don't want to make the walls full of clutter either.

Here is a glimpse of the classroom from the door. I love having an exit door also in the room that leads to the playground. It's especially great to have in the summer and fall when you just want the door open for fresh air through out the day.

This area is for student work to be displayed. The computer & writing table is set in front of this area.

Eventually student work will hang from that brown pillar that runs in the middle of the ceiling in the classroom. 

Learning all about plants is a big part of the grade 4 curriculum so that white rack will have lots of plants on it eventually. The students will be in charge of caring for them through out the year.

The classroom colours are navy, lime green & turquoise. I still need to add lots more colour to the room & get some things to hang from the ceiling.

Here is the word wall display and cursive handwriting alphabet I made for my classroom.

There's that dreadful yucky wall again.

I had to get a close-up of the clothes pin for the students to put their work. You can't tell that they are chevron, polka dot & stripes from the photos.

Our school ordered book bins this year for every classroom for Daily 5 and we are so excited about that. My bins are of course lime green and turquoise. 

Well that's a glimpse of my classroom so far. I will have to post the finished product once it's done. I am not going all out for the room until I come back from maternity leave in January. I plan on buying a couch for the reading nook then along with a lamp & some stools. 

Stop by Blog Hoppin' to check out all the other classrooms.

Oh & don't forget the sale that is going on tomorrow at Teachers Pay Teachers. 

Sunday Smorgasbord

I'm linking up with Fabulous in First and her fun Sunday Smorgasbord for a first!

 

 

 Finally laminated and put together my welcome banner for the upcoming school year.

 

You can find this welcome banner & How We Go Home sign over at Lovely Literacy and More's TPT store, TN shop, or EPals... Just look for the Ocean Themed Class Décor.

 

 I can't wait to use this How We Go Home sign!

My kinders only get home via parent pick up by foot, car pool and bus so I only used those signs.

 

If you follow me on Instgram @ lovely_literacy_and_more than you have already seen my Wish List that I made for the upcoming school year but if not you can click here.

I will post this Wish List on the outside of my classroom door and tell parents when they come to drop off school supplies & at Open House that if they'd like they can pick from the Wish List throughout the year for classroom supplies.

This year more than ever I will have lots of supplies we will need for our classroom. I just took a list at the class supply list for the kindergarten and I feel like it is short, but that's compared to my last school where the list was a page long. At my last school almost every classroom had a Wish List, even the older grades. Do you have a Wish List?

Finished & added the First Grade Dolch Sight Word Readers to TPT, TN, & EPals this week.

 

Did you follow Nikki for all her fabulous giveaways today over at Melonheadz?

I was SUPER excited when I was one of the ones to comment and receive this wonderful clipart set!

Thanks Nikki! You're the best-

I'm in love with her clipart :)