Show and Tell Tuesday!! =)

Happy Show and Tell Tuesday! 

Today was felt like a really LONG day. We switched specials and lunch with 4th grade, so they could take their FCAT writes test. I don't envy their schedule... at all. I like my afternoon specials... makes for a quick end of the day. Thank goodness we're back to normal tomorrow. =)

I'm linking up with Denise from Sunny Days in Second Grade for her very awesome  Show & Tell Tuesday linky party. This week's topic... our classrooms! Click the link below to check out some amazing classrooms!! 

Here are some pictures from my classroom. I moved into this room after being in my old classroom for six years. I LOVE this classroom. It's really spacious in comparison to a lot of the classrooms in my school. My sister has the same exact classroom, but just on the opposite side and corner of the building. She has her room set up a little different than mine, but not much. 

Ok, so below is a picture of the area that you walk into upon entering my room. I have a little "office" type area set up with my filing cabinet, desk, and shelves. I'm a type A personality when it comes to organizing my space, so all of my papers are in their correct spaces, I have quite a few binders, and everything is labeled with my label maker. My students also have their own mailboxes where they can find their homework and fliers each day. Student workbooks are in the baskets next to and on top of the student mailbox. I don't give them their own books. Their desks don't get as messy, and their papers are always pulled out of the books neatly if I do it {or if I have a volunteer pull them}, I also can check papers quickly if they're pulled out as apposed to keeping their books intact... again type A. =)

Below is the view of my whole group meeting area. I have a carpet {I'd like a prettier one... zebra striped maybe??}, and a rocking chair {it needs a makeover!!}.  My kids were doing Daily 4 as I was snapping pictures. They were pretty focused... they're always impressing me. =) 

Below is my low circle table... they use it for word work or work on writing. They love sitting on the floor around the table. It's probably a nice change for them. The picture on the right shows a bit of my classroom library and my little white bench. Next to the little white bench is where my math workstations are kept. Can you believe I found those shelves on the curb? Awesome find!! 

In the picture below left,  is my other circle table. I frequently pull small math groups here, and during Daily 4 time, my kids like to sit here and read, do word work, or write. On the picture below right is one of my table groups. I have three of them with six desks in each group. At the very beginning of the year, I tried to do a "u" shape with my desks, but they were always out of whack by the end of the day. It was driving me CRAZY! After about a week of the madness, I switched to table groups. This is MUCH better. My favorite part is the hanging paper lantern with the table group sign.  I would hang so much more stuff from the ceiling if it wasn't so high!

The picture below left is a picture of my library. I have about 32 baskets with books separated by genre. All of the books are numbered with the number and name of genre on the front of the basket. The pictures below right are of my guided reading area. I have guided reading books that range from level d through v. My highest leveled readers are old science and social studies readers that were going to be sent to surplus last year. I jumped on them before they were sent away!  As you can see, I don't use my cubbies or hooks for my kids... they store their backpacks and lunchboxes in laundry baskets below their mailboxes {see top picture}.

All of the pictures below are of my front board area. My schedule and common board are on the left, my word wall is in the middle, and my calendar and number of the day are on the right. In the space below my front board are my students' reading logs. I find that if they display their reading logs, they'll use them more, rather than out of sight out of mind. =)

So there you have it... my home away from home. I took a ton of pictures, but I think this is a pretty good representation of my space. I hope you enjoyed it!!  If you have any questions about how I organize my space, please ask!! I'd LOVE to answer your questions. =) 

In other news... we're SUPER close {1 friend away} from 400 friends {OMG!!}!! I haven't put together our 400 follower giveaway yet, so if you're interested in being a part of it, please let me know by leaving a comment below with your email address! Thanks in advance for your help!! 

Have a FABULOUS rest of the week!!! Don't forget to check out all of the BEAUTIFUL classrooms... click below! 

-Jackie-