Back to School...First Grade Classroom Tour!

Hello there! 

I'm so happy you stopped by for a visit. I have been absent for quite some time and I am truly sorry. I have been meaning to blog but it seems like life has been getting in the way. I had good intentions to blog over the summer when I was off work but I worked a lot over the summer getting lots of little things accomplished as well as preparing for a new grade level this year. Of course, over the past month I have been preparing my classroom and now I am going into my third week of school with my firsties so life is still busy. Add the beginning of our bathroom remodel to that and oh my! Life is great though and I am so blessed. Now...hopefully I will be sharing a new bathroom with you before too long and then a new bedroom after that, but for now, I am sharing my new classroom.

Welcome to Mrs. Vicky's First Grade Class.....

Here is my desk and little office space in my room. I love the setup and especially love the ribbon garland and faux chalkboard look I created on the front. 

All of our classrooms have a full size stove in case we want to do any lessons involving cooking or for party days and so on. I rarely use mine and would rather not have it, but I just decorate around it.  I loathe the mauve color of the cabinets...our school was built nearly 20 years ago and it was popular then.

Here are a few close ups of this area....

My mini fridge and microwave are in the far corner near the back door leading outside. I decorated the top of the cabinets with a few new things as well as things students have given me over the years. The back of the stove also holds things students have given me. I made labels to put on the outside of the cabinets telling what is inside. This will be helpful for substitute teachers and students as well.

My reward system and some student supplies.

I added the monsters after the first picture was taken.

Above the water fountain area. 

Here are some random views of the room. I won't explain everything but if you have questions about anything, be sure to ask. This is standing near my desk from left to right around the room.

The door below is to my HUGE closet. It is amazing...I need to take pictures. I have two closets...the other one is used to house extra first grade curriculum and supplies.

Here is the door to the other closet.

My small group area...still tweaking!

The student library...which they love! The rug came from Ikea. I have wanted it forever and finally bought it this summer.

The hubby helped me make this little bench. It took two file crates and a piece of plywood...all of which I already had. I just bought a new piece of colorful fabric to cover it and he attached it to the crates for me. The pencil pillow also came from Ikea. This is a favorite thing in the room!

I made the button banner to go with the rug.

My schedule which changed slightly so I am redoing it tonight.

My chair in our whole group floor area where we learn reading skills.

This board is to the left of the chair so students can easily turn to see it.

My behavior chart which goes along with an online program I use called Class Dojo.  They get rewarded for positive behaviors which encourages them to try hard to display good behavior. They each have a clothes pin with their name on it and clip up or down on the chart. They get to draw a number to one of the drawers you saw earlier when they get 25 points. The drawers hold a variety of things...candy, toys, fancy pencils and erasers, coupons for things like sit at the teacher's desk for the day or eat lunch with the teacher, etc. The students love it so much!

Our class motto.....

My writing board which will eventually have some things on it...lol!

I am using flexible seating this year and students can choose an alternative "seat" and choose where they want to sit.

Here are some more options. The counter holds our chrome books. Every child in our district has one this year to use at school. High schoolers get to take theirs home. 

My para pro's (teacher's aide) table. She is with me for half an hour a day and works with two groups of students during centers.

The birthday cupcakes now hold student  birth dates.

Another view of my small group area.

This was taken on Meet the Teacher day. I had paperwork in the folders for parents and a treat for the kids.

One of my Ikea carts holds math manipulative's.

Another favorite of the students...lol!

This area is to the right when you walk in from the hall. I have work posted there now. The student cubbies are to the right and left when you walk in from the hall.

I used paint chip cards from Lowe's for labeling the student cubbies this year. I love it! They each have a book bin that matches in their cubbies now. I should have taken a new picture. They store backpacks and lunches in their cubbies as well as a few books in their box.

The cubbies to the left of the door and the student mailboxes where I put their graded work and notes to go home.

Tissues and hand sanitizer are essentials in a classroom! I bought this colorful place mat at Ikea and it houses these things nicely.

A few close up shots of the area behind my desk. A parent made me the burlap painted pencil a few years ago. Another parent made the straw dispenser full of pencils last year. It has a teacher quote on it.

I have tons of necessities in my teacher toolbox...paper clips, binder clips, band aids, and so on. It is so handy...I use it all the time! The colorful words like teach came from the Target Dollar spot over the summer. They had the cutest stuff this year. 

One of my favorite things this year is my organizer my amazing hubby built for me. I labeled it using vinyl letters I cut with my Cricut (which by the way has been so handy). I have one slot for each day of the week and one for extras. I put my curriculum for each day in the slots. I have laminated some bright colored paper to divide them if I have two weeks worth inside. The middle holds my most used binders. This piece has been a lifesaver. I am all about organization as most of you already know. :)

So, I know that was super long...but I hope you enjoyed visiting first grade for a bit. My classroom is my home away from home and it is very special to me so I wanted to share it with you. I am sorry I haven't been around much lately. I actually visited everyone a week or so ago but didn't get to leave comments. I am trying to catch up today between helping the hubby with the bathroom demo. It's a mess but it is going to be so worth it! Have a beautiful week my friends and until next time....