Friday, August 12, 2011

i have been...

working my butt off!!! (don't you wish that actually worked? i mean, if that were true, after the time i've put into my room this week, i'd be nearly invisible!)

i was moved from 2nd grade to 5th grade, so i needed to revamp my room and decor. (somewhat for the older students...but mostly for me.)

so, here's a tour of my room...

i finally made some banners and my sweet hubby helped me hang them up. i've also started collecting vintage globes. see the giant one in the middle? given to me by a fellow teacher.
my check-in chart. students pull their card out when they arrive. (quick and easy attendance) i also plan to use this chart in some way to monitor bathroom breaks. i used to use it for my 2nd graders in order to track behavior, but i think my 5th graders will laugh at me if i ask them to turn their card.
my writing center. i ordered 3 more inflatable globes to fill in this area a bit more. i wanted a theme that would last for a few years...i'm not much for picking a new theme each year...so i went with maps/globes/travel.
spelling station. monthly books. estimation station.
my classroom rules. simple and sweet.
also, my "skills board". i will record standards being taught and vocab for each subject. i sectioned it off with electrical tape, and my kind friend, sarah, cut the titles out with her cricut.
homework board. i just covered a piece of foam core board with dry erase paper. sectioned it off with electrical tape and labeled with scrapbook stickers.
thanks to my pinterest obsession, i made a quote to go above my main board. all letters were purchased at 50% off from hobby lobby.
part of my reading area. you might recognize the canvas i made. the little frames will showcase photos of my students of the month.
i covered two of my bulletin boards with old book covers. (again, thanks to pinterest.) it might be hard to notice, but there are 12 bulldog clips hanging on the board. students will display work they're proud of and swap it out weekly.
my favorite pic!!! remember the dark blue couch from above? the one with the babyish circus animals and dots? my final project today was to make a slipcover for it. (i used 2 clearance tablecloths from target.)

i must admit, i was rather bummed when i found out about my grade level switch. but, after working in my room all week, i'm finally starting to get excited about my new kiddos! (although i'm still in denial that they come back next wednesday.)

12 comments:

kelly said...

are you serious?? your room looks awesome and so much fun!! lucky kids!! you did great!! =)

meganklauer said...

OMG! This is the coolest classroom I have ever saw! Your students are SO lucky!

aja said...

megan...that's so sweet! thank you.

aja said...

oh...and Megan? I just realized who you are...I follow your blog and I adore your scrap style!! I love to scrap, but it's getting harder and harder to find the time. thanks so much for stopping by!

Kristi said...

Love your classroom! It's so cute!

Sarah said...

are you in my brain!!! you have the same style!!! love your room!!

小浣熊 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
小浣熊 said...

Hi, I really love your idea of decorating the bulletin boards with old book covers. Can I share this clever idea with other teacher colleagues on Facebook?

N. said...

Hi - I would have loved to be a 5th grader going into this room! I know this is an old post, but can you tell me how the foam core dry erase boards worked out? I'm trying to figure out a dry erase surface on our command central board and I can't find anything that fits the bill just yet.

aja said...

@N...I made the board about 6 years ago and it's still holding up great. Large piece of foam core, dry erase contact paper, and electrical tape. It erases pretty well with the dry erasers. I have to use the spray to clean it about once a week or every two weeks.

Unknown said...

Hello! I realize this post of from long, long ago but I hope you can answer my question. I'm wondering how you hung the letters above your board? I love that idea and after quite a bit of research, I still haven't figured it out! :)

aja said...

Hi Mel. I use the 3M sticky tabs for all my classroom decor. They hold strong and I can stretch and release the adhesive when I need to take something down without damaging the school walls.