Wow, I can't believe it's been a week and a half since school started! It's been super busy and fun! I love 2nd grade.

Monday was Back To School Night! I got to meet all my students and their families. Everyone was so excited to see the classroom and ready to go back to school!
This is a bulletin board my husband helped me hang outside my classroom! I printed the word WELCOME and the Melon Headz Kidlettes on 11x17 paper to make them large enough for the board. The board is actually a piece of foam board used under siding on houses - we got it at Menards and used removable mounting tape to attach it to the wall. I got this idea from my new colleges. Our hallway  looks so nice, each teacher has a board outside their classroom!
I gave out these flip books to parents who attended so they would know a little more about our classroom! I got the template and instructions for making this Kelly at First Grade Fairytales!

School started Wednesday! My morning started out with this treat from our wonderful principal...
It's so nice to know you are appreciate as a teacher! Made for a great start to my day!

Here's a look at our first three day plans...
 

Here's some of those activities in pictures...
Getting started on name tags first thing! My class is full of artists! They love to draw and color, many of them brought the mega packs of markers, 150 shades! Every time we do an activity they ask if they can color or decorate it! Love it!!

Here's what the name tags look like on the door next to our classroom pledge poster!

We practiced lots of procedures and went over classroom rules. We used this "Classroom Rules" book from Amy Lemons! I love it, we wrote about each rule, drew a picture of what it would look like, and then wrote about how we can follow that rule.
At the end of the book is a contract that says I will do my best and follow the rules, the students signed it and took them home to share with their parents.
We also did this cut and paste what should I do/not do activity from Amy's Pack, and the good choice/bad choice cards. I had the kids "vote with their feet" when I read the scenario from the card if they thought it was a good choice they went to the right side of the room, bad choice left side of the room. Then we discussed each one. I loved everything in this pack! It really helped us get off to the right start.

We made a 2nd graders Can-Have-Are map together, and then they paired up and added new thoughts to a map of their own. Great practice in partner work and choosing a good place in the room to work.

They are great thinkers, they came up with awesome responses!
We compared and contrasted first and second graders.
We used the same process practicing how to work in pairs, use the correct voice level, and pick a good spot to work. Both of these Activities came from Babbling Abby's  Super Second Graders Pack. We also did the "My first week" book and First Day Jitters activities from this pack. All of them were great!

I introduced myself using this idea I got from Jodi at Fun in First grade. The kids LOVED it, Jodi has the tags to put on the bag free on her blog! I was so impressed with what students brought and how well they presented them!

 I made labels for all of our folders and notebooks. We took some time to get them set up and organized.
I printed all of them on label paper so they were easy to attach and the kids were able to do it themselves.

 
We made these "All about me" pennants that I will make into a banner for our classroom. I got the template from Brittany on TPT for free.

We read the "I can Be a Pal" Poem and did the activity from Kristen Smith's I can be a Pal unit. I love this unit, it has great activities for creating a classroom community!

We made this craftivity to record our goals for 2nd grade! Almost everyone wants to learn to write in cursive by the end of this year! This Activity came from Linda Kamp - Go For the Goal craft.
 
 
I love how they turned out, they are now hanging on the bulletin board in the hall.

And we practiced our reading fluency a LOT! They are already great at it! The first full week we were able to start meeting with the teacher because these guys already had 15 min. of reading stamina! I am so excited to start introducing more centers and they can't wait either.

I can't wait to share more with you. The last week we began our reading and math interactive notebooks, and dove into the curriculum a little more. I will be back to post about it soon!

Thanks for reading, hope you are all having a great beginning to your school year, or enjoying the last of your summer if you haven't started back yet!

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It's teacher week on Blog Hoppin! I am so excited to see who, where, why, when, and what you are all about.

It's Monday so I am sharing a little more about ME!

I have been a second grade teacher for four whole days and I love it! I love the connection to the students that I feel and the ability to teach in a variety of ways that I could not when I was only working with small groups. I was a special education teacher for 8 years prior to moving to second grade. I've taught at every grade level K-12 over those years. I've found something special to enjoy about each one but my best fit is primary! I feel like this is my dream job, and I'm so thankful that God opened the doors for me to be where I am today!

I am also a wife and mother! I enjoy spending time with my wonderful husband who I've been married to for 18 years, and our two children - Andrew is 17 and a senior this year, Amber is 16 and a junior. I know our lives are about to change a lot as they get to the end of their high school years! I am trying my best to cherish each moment I have with them!
 My husband and I getting ready to go to church.
 The four of us at an orchard last fall! What a fun day we had!
 My children and I on Mother's Day! They are such wonderful blessings to me!
 The four of us on vacation to northern Michigan this summer!

I also teach Sunday School at our church, my husband plays the guitar during our worship times, and we all enjoy being a part of a congregation that is reaching out to a world who needs Jesus!

That's my life! I love where I am and who I'm here with! I doesn't get much better than that!

Tomorrow is WHERE you teach Tuesday! Head over to Blog Hoppin to check out all the wonderful classrooms that amazing teachers put together all over the world!

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I am so excited to share with you pictures of my new teaching space! I love it and I think my students will too! So here's my 2nd grade classroom all ready for those little ones to show up...
This is the view from the doorway looking into the room. I love all the windows but the lighting made it hard to get a good photo with my little camera. The frames in between the windows are my class rules. The tubs in the cubbies are for reading and math centers.


 Another view of the back of the room. I love having the natural light!

 Writing center! Under the clock is our Daily 5 rotation chart.

 Small group area! Space on either side of the white board is reserved for anchor charts.

 
 Another view of the small group area.

Word wall - the plastic drawers underneath hold word work activities.

 Student book boxes, books with characters on top of the cubbies.

My desk and storage area (ignore the mess on the shelf behind my desk - still trying to organize some things!

 Classroom library with CAFE board!

 Love this space! I think my students are going to do a lot of reading this year!
 One more view of the library!

View from the back of the room facing the board. I am so excited about the gutter book shelf under the board - it's full of back to school books!

Calendar on the front board.


 View from the small group area looking out.

 View from the library looking out.

 Another view of the front of the room.

I am so excited to welcome my 13 students and their families into this classroom on Monday for Back to School Night. School starts next Wednesday. I am spending the last few days putting together first week plans. I will be back early next week to share them with you!

Head on over to Swimming Into Second Grade to see more classrooms! Love checking out how other teachers set up their rooms!

Swimming into Second

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