First Semester and tour of my classroom

WOW! Christmas Break already? Where has the time gone? The school year is now half over with. Hard to believe 2015 is a handful of days away! It seems just like yesterday we started school. The first semester is over with. We have a few things to wrap up in January when we return.

Here is a look at my classroom and what we have been up to for the last 90 days.

Storage galore compared to my last school!!! These pictures are before the madness, before I got everything set up and into place. Still working on moving and organizing even after 4 months.

This cabinet was cleaned out some and I covered it with a giant gray sheet!

Part of the cubbies with all of our ELA curriculum on it.

Cubbies with manipulatives and center games on it.

99% of this cabinet belongs to me! I have bought tons of items in previous years as being at Charter schools you tend to not have curriculum. I need to sort things out and get rid of a few things still.

My classroom getting set up. Still have a LOT to do!

This blue book shelves against the wall will house my library that I've worked hard to build over the last few years.

The beginning of the class library :)

Who can't help but spend $$$$$ at Target? Yup this pretty much all came from the Dollar Spot but the folders. Those came from the school section.

Back of my classroom. Coming together slowly

This was before I had to switch furniture around and finally settle on my classroom the way it is now.

Two giant white boards up front <3

This is what I settled on doing with my desk area. It wasn't an easy choice but with having the possibility of 30 students I had to move and rearrange things. Not 100% happy with it still to this day.

Ready and set up for Back to School Meet the Teacher Night! WOOT

Vegas Recap

Oh my word, the conferences were amazing! Nothing but the very best gathered in the conference area for a week of sessions. There were tons of new teachers, bloggers and sellers who attended the Teachers Pay Teacher conference among the many different Staff Development for Educators conferences and sessions. The sessions were almost always jam packed full of information. I brought back a LOT of information to process and implement this coming school year. Speaking of which I report next week Wednesday back to school...

The Staff Development for Educators conference I attended was I Teach 1st. I learned many different ways to implement centers, what to do and what NOT to do according to some as well as many different math games. I was able to meet tons of teacher celebrities and attend sessions taught by them. Nothing better than getting to meet people in real life! This conference I attended Monday to Thursday and then on Friday I had the opportunity to attend the first ever Teachers Pay Teachers conference! That in itself was just AMAZING, the room for the keynote speakers was buzzing with warm and creativity. The presenters on Friday were just wonderful, true to life teachers and creators. I gained more knowledge on Friday than I think I did the other four days I was in sessions. Sad to say, but TPT sure knows how to hold conferences from the get go!

About me

Well where should I start? I teach second grade, this coming school year 2014-15 will mark my second year in second grade and third teaching. I will be working in the Wild West! The first two years I taught were in Charter Schools. This coming year I'm teaching in a traditional Public School. I look forward to having curriculum at my fingertips and the endless support of other staff members. While school ended a little over a month ago, I have already been in my new classroom flipping furniture around and moving things into places where I'd like them to be. The feel of my classroom has taken on a new vibe and is feeling like mine already! I'm excited for school to start in August. Until then, I'm busy reading teacher books, curriculum mapping and attending a few conferences. Busy busy busy! I enjoy traveling and was fortunate enough to live in Germany for three and a half years. While living over there I was able to travel all over Europe. Although, there are a few countries I wasn't able to make it to and would love to go back one day. I know eventually I will make it back to travel more. I'm slowly adding items to my Teachers Pay Teachers account and creating more products to use this coming year in my classroom!