Guest Blogger: Erin @ The Short and Sassy Teacher

Hi Y'all!
I kind of felt obligated to throw a y'all into my writing while I make my guest post onto the beloved southern belle, Lana's blog! I just about jumped for joy when Lana asked if I would be interested in doing a post for her..and well...here I am!

My name is Erin and you can usually find me over at my blog, The Short and Sassy Teacher.  I've been doing a series of posts on tips and tricks, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas over here!

It's no secret that I like to shop and like you I always have my eyes peeled for a great deal on something that I can use in my classroom.  I've put together a small collection of organizational items that you can use to hold classroom table supplies without breaking the bank.

First up are metal tins or pails. You can find these just about anywhere now, but Target's Dollar Section is my favorite! They always have fun bright colors or patterns to choose from..and well...I always holla for a dolla!!!!

In my classroom this year I used a system like this to hold all of my kids individual supplies they need. Pack of crayons, scissors, and glue stickets were stored in buckets near their table groupings.  This freed up room in our desks and made our supplies easy and quick to grab!

These square tins I found at Target a few years ago...I'm hoping they'll turn up again!

#TargetTeacherLove

If you're a fan of the look of Mason jars like I am, but have reservations of using glass in your classroom..uh...doesn't that spell D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R.?? Never fear, Wal-Mart is selling packs of 4 of  these adorable plastic versions! They come in both 'clear' and 'aqua'!

Okay, try not to let the simplicity of plastic cups (and my handwritten labels-sorry) disuade you from this set-up.  Picture your classroom tables with a simple plastic paper tray like the one above in the middle.  Inside of each tray you have a plastic cup labeled with each student's name.  Inside the cup the students can keep their basic supplies you need on a daily basis.  If you don't use crayons everyday you can substitute them for hi-lighters, red pens, dry erase markers...whatever works for your classroom.

Now the best part, is that when your kids switch tables, they just take their little cup with them! If  the cups crack, break, or just get plain ole' grungy looking...replace them with a fresh cup! It's pretty darn affordable! When I used to work in kindergarten, the kids' cups were changed out on a quarterly basis. They always loved getting a new colored Solo cup...it's the little things I guess! :)

I've used small or large, paper or plastic, clear, printed, or solid...the possibilities are endless!

I fell in love with these plastic Target baskets the moment I saw them! The colors are perfect for my  classroom! These baskets are normally used to hold party supplies...

They make the perfect containers for shared classroom supplies!

What kind of organizational finds do you love? Do you have any favorite shopping spots for classroom organizing products?

Thanks for reading and I'd love for you to come over and visit me at The Short and Sassy Teacher sometime!

XO

Erin

Second Look at my New Classroom

Last weekend, I showed you the first look of my new classroom. If you missed that post, you can click here to see it. Those pictures were of Day 1.

I felt like I made a lot of progress on Day 2. By Day 2, I had packed and brought almost all of my school supplies from home, minus two boxes. 

The first area I worked on is what will become my classroom library. I used pillowcase curtains and love the bright pop they bring. I also LOVE the beautiful green landscape outside of my room. I also unpacked my new rug from IKEA. I left stuff sitting on all 4 corners to help the corners fold down correctly. I will be adding at least one white bookshelf in this area.

My next goal was to unpack all of my teacher stuff. I have a huge bookshelf behind my desk that I LOVE. It's not finished at all - I really just placed things here and there on it. I have some organizing to do in this area, but I love the potential it has.

I found this cute cursive alphabet set inside the closet. It was already laminated and just needed to be cut out. I cut that out and replaced the older alphabet set that was displayed. I love this new one!



I felt like I made a LOT of progress on Day 2! My main goal was just to get all of my materials to school and unpack those. I got almost all - I had one more load to bring later.

Here are nice comparison pictures from Day 1 and Day 2!!

Day 1

Day 2

I have to brag on my four year old - he was with me during this entire time and did SO good. He happily played with blocks, read books, played with Superheroes, etc. 

Five for Friday 8-17

Y'all, we went back to school this week (teachers only) and I am exhausted!  I can only imagine how I will feel next week with students!  

I had hoped to blog each day and link up to Blog Hoppin', but it just didn't work!  My goal is to blog regularly this school year.  

Here's a look back at my week with Five for Friday!

One - I am super excited that my school is going to purchase 5th grade a class set of Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule. Our plan is to do several novel studies through the year and truly integrate Social Studies and ELA.  I am excited to use this book during our Reconstruction unit! 

And...someone on Instagram told me that The Watsons go to Birmingham was on sale in Scholastic for $1.00.  I have lots of points saved up so I was able to use some points to purchase a class set!  Even without points, they are so affordable!  We will do a novel study with this text, too.

Two - We had Open House this week.  I had all but 4 students come, which was a great turnout!  I had several stations for parents & students to go to:

• Sign-in sheet (documented b/c we are a Title 1 school)
• Complete parent info on orange sheet (basic info for parents to fill out)
• Bus/Car sheet - How does your child get home?
• Helping Hands (optional)
• Packet to take home (field trip letter, class t-shirt letter, class party information, welcome letter, PASS results, paper for parents to fill out)
• Email sign in for pictures taken throughout the year

Here is a look at my helping hands!  I place a sign that says, "Be a Helping Hand.  If you would like to donate an item to our classroom, please take a hand!"

Three - I made first day gifts for students.  I always like to have a gift on students desks as they come in the first day.  Inside they have: an eraser, a bookmark, a pencil, a snack, and a drink!  We don't serve breakfast the first day so a snack helps tide them over until lunch.

Four - My classroom is ready for Day 1 next Monday!  It's supposed to be a rainy weekend so I am hoping for lots of rest and relaxation before the school year begins!

Five - I just had to show my new necklaces!  These are all from Our World Boutique.  Check them out online!  They are super cute and affordable!

Teacher Week '13: Classroom Tour

This is the day that I have been looking forward to during Teacher Week '13!!  Classroom Tours...LOVE!!  I have worked so hard on my classroom and it is getting so close to being exactly how I have envisioned it!  It has truly been a work in progress over the past 6 years, but I am LOVING it this year!  Prepare for picture overload!

This is the view standing at my door looking towards the back left. I love the colorful pom poms!

This is from the same spot, looking towards the front of the room.

As soon as you enter, on the left wall is my student cubbies.

I have a small area where our pencil sharpener is right by the cubbies.  These framed inspirational quotes are perfect for that spot!

At the back of the room, I have several cabinets.  On this cabinet I have displayed Math and Science Vocabulary Wall cards and pocket charts.  This year we had to select which words we felt were "power words" in our Math units (as 5th grade teachers in our district).  This area will be perfect for those words!  I love that Math and Science vocabulary will be the focus of this area.

This is the storage right beside.  It looks a little crowded because most of my Open House and 1st day materials are sitting there for now.

To the right of the storage cabinets is most of my teacher storage area and bulletin boards.  

We make many anchor charts and since I only have two bulletin boards, I use them both to display our charts.  Here you will also see baskets for white folders (weekly folders that are sent home) and graded papers, as well as our homework bin and other materials.

Beside that is my classroom museum display, which is new this year!  I love all of the cool items I've collected and can't wait to add new items.  I have a friend in Montana looking for something that is specific to Montana and I am hoping to find something Tennessee related, since that is where I am from.

These organizers house most of the materials that were in my desk. Last year I went desk-less and have loved it! The clear basket holds various read aloud's that I use during the year and the pink basket holds Social Studies read aloud's (picture books and novels) and Reading/Language Arts picture books that are used when teaching certain skills.

Next is more storage for various things from leveled readers to stickers!  I also have two Tennessee VOLS teddy bears!  Around here, most students are Carolina or Clemson fans, but this girl says "Go VOLS!" :) 

This is a picture of the back area as a whole.

To the right of that area is my computer desk (that I snagged for only $10 at Goodwill) and my student computers, plus storage.

This is the view from my computer area looking back towards the door. 

This is the view from the back wall and from my guided reading table/desk area.

Same spot, but looking towards my classroom library.

Same spot, looking towards the door.

This is the front of the room by the door.  Here you see: my student desk covered in chevron fabric where I store all of the materials/copies that I will use for that day, student helpers and classroom ambassador signs and name-tags, district-wide lockdown poster (must have), and our bucket filling area!

These inspirational quotes are above the student desk at the front.

Close up of student helpers and class ambassadors...

This crayon wreath is a cute touch!  I actually made it for a birthday party and then re-used it for my classroom after adding school stickers.

This part of the board will have the date at the top, today's goals and today's homework once school starts back.  Confession: today's goal and today's homework actually needs to be switched. Homework should be on the left.  Oops!

This chevron welcome banner is currently in front of my Smart Board for Open House.

On the left of the board is: Common Core "I Can" statements, idiom chart, and a pocket chart that will hold our weekly vocabulary charts.

Below that is bins that will hold each table's Math manipulatives for each unit.  We will grab these for Math and then put them back here at the end of the lesson.  You will also see 3 holders that hold popsicle stick with student numbers.  One is for first drafts, one is for editing & revising, and one is for final drafts.  Hopefully this will help me track who is working on what during Writer's Workshop.

And now...my classroom library!  I have really worked hard on this area this summer.  I bought all new bins at Big Lots (in the colors I've always wanted!) and designed new labels.  I also love the chevron pillows, Snapshots of the Year timeline, owl pillow, and rainbow colored tissue balls.

This book has my calendar above.  I love the way it looks!

This is a close up picture of that bookshelf.

This is my bigger bookshelf with photos on the top.  This is also the area for our classroom fish, Swimmy, but he's still living at my house!

Above that bookshelf is our "READ" banner and our classroom schedule.

This is a look at my last bookshelf with the Snapshots of the Year timeline.  

Closer up photo...

These bins are sitting a supply desk at each group. Some groups have these blue bins and some have pink.

I've had a lot of people ask if these labels are available on TPT. The background is only available for personal use, not commercial use, which means I cannot sell products with that background. However, I have created these with a similar brightly colored chevron background.  If you are interested, click here to go to my store.  

And that my friends is my 5th grade classroom!  I love it! :)