We officially began school last Thursday, Aug. 1st!!! Yes, you read that correctly, Aug. 1st and it was on a Thursday. I have no idea why we start on a Thursday, but we do. We have teacher work days and in-services days up until Thursday, August 8th, which will be the kiddos first day. Today (Saturday) we had Open House from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. I have been working in my classroom the last few weeks to get it prepared. I have the same theme as last year (Black and white zebra with blue and red highlights) but I decided to make it more Wolfelicious than it was.
Click HERE to see my classroom last year or here to see a close up pictures of the different areas in my classroom from last year (2012).
Here is the before pictures of my classroom. Since I am in the same classroom as last year I didn't have to take a lot of things off of the walls.
View after walking in the door.
View from the door but looking diagonal.
View from the door looking all the way to the left.
Now, onto the fun part!!! I know I love checking out other rooms. I always love to get new ideas.
For Open House I put some information my kiddos will need at their desks. When they come in for Open House they leave their supplies at their spot and parents fill out the forms. This year I laid out puzzles on the floor that the kiddos could play while their parents were writing away.
The forms are: (Forms on the left) Student Info Sheet, Transportation sheet, a clip for my Dismissal Stars. (Forms on the right) Welcome letter telling the parents what to do, Important Information, Student Handbook, Behavior Expectations, and School Information.
I usually have the student's Take Home Folder ready at Open House with even more information in it but this year I decided to do it a little different and have the Take Home Folders ready for the first day of school.
Here is what it all looked like at the child's spot.
After the student's parents filled out the paperwork they clipped their clothespin to the Dismissal Star of how they were going home. I thought the Dismissal Stars would be an easy reference to see how each child is going home and easy to change for those that change how they go home.
The next picture is the view of my classroom as soon as you walk right into the class.
View from the door but looking diagonal.
View from the door looking all the way to the left.
I ended up switching where I had a few things from last year. I really like how it looks this year. It seems alot more open.
Here is my bulletin board. I made it my calendar and my Super Improvers Wall.
My other bulletin board in my classroom I made an iPhone. A friend of mine (Rachel) came up with the idea and made the apps. I added the word family to the apps and drew the iPhone. The name of the bulletin board is iFamily. Get it?? iFamily!! Each app is a word family! Throughout the year when we are working on the word family, I will write words that fit the family. I LOVE how this turned out!!! Thanks so much Rachel for the Wolfelicious idea!!!
Last, I have my table set up for Open House. The apples on the right came from HERE. The apples are my wish list items. The three papers on the table are my sign-in sheet (families get volunteer hours for coming), email sheet, and a party sign up. I give a choice as to which party the families would like. If I have parents that forgot to sign up for a party, I go ahead and add them to a party that needs more people. The baskets are for paperwork and fees. The other baskets have water bottles that say Welcome to Kindergarten.
Thanks for checking out my classroom. I still have a couple more things I want to do to it. When I add them I will post them too. I hope you like it!!! I know that I do!!
Your room looks great-and I like your "ifamily" board!!
ReplyDeleteYour classroom looks fabulous.
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful. Your children are lucky.
ReplyDeleteCute room...LOVE your polka dot chair!
ReplyDeleteHeather Haugen
Your room looks great and very inviting. We start on a Thursday too. I actually love it, because I get a weekend to recover after those first two busy, long days.
ReplyDelete❀ Tammy
Forever in First
I love it! Did you get to paint it or was it like that? It just makes it feel more homey :) Love all your details and really love your teacher chair. I really want to redo mine:) I am having a Classroom Theme linky. I would love for you to stop by and link up!
ReplyDeleteAloha,
Corinna (✿◠‿◠)
Surfin' Through Second
Love your room. I am doing a black and white theme this year as well. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
ReplyDeleteLove the iphone board...super cute!!
ReplyDeletePam
http://mrspspecialties.blogspot.com/
Looks great! Love the black/white especially your chair!
ReplyDeleteKristi
disneymum.wordpress.com
Great room. It' looks nice and open. That's the way I like my room too. I love all of your zebra touches. Where did the zebra chair sacks come from? I really love those.
ReplyDeleteDonna Williams
darryl40w@att.net
I just LOVE your green walls! Did you get to paint them?
ReplyDeleteCorrina
From Mrs. Allen's Teaching Files
Your room is adorable!
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Crayons and Curls
Looks great April!! So organized!! Love the iFamily idea!!
ReplyDeleteI love the water bottle give aways! Do you make it for the kids or for the parents? How do you "police" it, for lack of a better word?
ReplyDeleteI love your iPhone iFamily idea!!!! I am going to borrow that somehow!!
ReplyDeleteSarah
WishfulTeaching
I do love the idea of the families coming to visit before school starts - we do not do that till about week 3. What a lovely classroom - well done
ReplyDelete