Back to Shhhh.... Not Quite Yet!

 Well, friends, here we are! It's mid-July, and you know what that means... Back to School is just around the corner! In every friendly neighborhood store, school supplies abound! If you're like me, you have a mixed reaction. A new year, new students, a fresh start... it's exciting! But, it's only July! I want to relax and enjoy my summer.... who am I kidding? I'd be a lost soul if not for constantly dreaming/scheming/planning for the school year.

So, I plan. And plan. And plan. I'm starting at a new school this year (hooray for being gainfully employed!!) in Indiana... 4th grade here I come! It always makes me nervous to start at a new school, though, because I haven't yet learned where to make copies, who to befriend (other than the janitors and secretaries, that is), and where to find things. I'll get there.

I started with a rough sketch of my classroom...

where the desks will go, the library, my desk, the whiteboard, the computers, etc. Thankfully, I was able to get into my classroom a few weeks ago and snap a few pictures. I've got a great room to start with, but it's so very bare!!

So now I'm working on dreaming up bulletin boards to work in my space... I'm big on functional bulletin boards--not strictly decorative. For example, back when I taught 3rd grade, I had this board to record how the kids were progressing on memorizing their division facts.

They earned a "gumball" sticker for every set of facts they memorized and were quizzed on (out of order, of course!).

Or this one, that I used for reading (the kids filled out slips and earned a "kernel" of popcorn to put in their bag (paper kernels) for every 100 pages they read. Top two readers got to have McDonald's lunch with me!

But, I have to invent some more or steal some ideas from other teachers. :) The 4th grade team at my school is doing a reading "Passport" (pictures to come in the next several weeks), so no need to take up a BB with my popcorn board, and by now the kids SHOULD know their math facts...

Hmmm... Ideas, anyone? I'm always looking for new and exciting bulletin boards!