Almost There

Can you believe that there are only 12 more days before the start of the new school year? Plus, there are only 5 more days before workshop week begins! Where has the time gone? Either way, it is an exciting time of the year and I am pumped!

Today, I went into school for my last time before we have to be there. I should not kid myself by saying the last time, but wishful thinking, right? I got a lot done in my classroom. It was definitely a great day at Farrington Bay.

 The view from inside my library... I LOVE how my chapter books are organized by beginning, popular and other chapter books. My students will enjoy reading books from this shelf.

My M.A.T.H area is also ready to go. I organized the manipulatives that I need for throughout the year. I am really excited about this area because the materials are organized in a way that students can grab them quickly to begin games. I also have my books ready to go for ADVENTURE math.

Here is my guided reading area along with my M.A.T. H and CAFE boards. Students can easily acess both boards. I organized all my fun guided reading items along with my leveled readers and testing kit. My fancy new chair pockets have white boards, an eraser and a marker for students to access during guided reading or small group lessons. I LOVE how quickly they'll be able to get started.

Here is the home of my word work choices along with my writing center. I have my trays ready to go for my writing activities. I still need to put posters up and add other necessary writing center materials (ie: crayons, markers, pencils etc.) Right next to my writing center, I have my word work station. I have my word work choices sorted and ready to go. Again, quick. easy access for my students.

Here are all my games and BIG BOOKS. I went through my games and tossed all the games that my students did not use. I also added the BIG BOOKS to this shelf. I am thinking that this might be an area to put my bean bags for my students to take a break when needed. I'm not sure if I am going to have one yet though.

The FUN reading area is ready to go. I have my chairs along with two brand new Miami Dolphins chairs. I got those for my birthday and I LOVE them. I know that the new crew at Farrington Bay will too. In the middle, is a palm tree with a beach ball. I also have my ABC books out for the start of the year. These are books that my students enjoy reading first.

Here are my supplies cubby. There are labels for all my supplies. My awesome paraprofessional came into school to help me today and she really did A LOT. I am so thankful for all her help.

Here is a view from the front. Tables are set and everything looks ready to go. I still need to put name plates on the tables, but with class lists still changing, I have to wait until Open House.

Here is my art center. I have my construction papers ready to go. My puzzles are organized. so only I can reach them. I will pull one puzzle per week for students to complete. They love working with puzzles.

The teacher area! Yes, No clutter and organized. The mailbox is set up with trays for each table. 

Here is my table for my paraprofessional. I also have the green shelves to keep copies for daily activities. I plan on labeling them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I will have a week's worth of activities ready to go for my students. I can also meet with students in this area as well. It could be a special treat for them. Who knows? Either way, it is a pretty cool area.

My desk looks great! Let's see if it can stay this way. I have it all laid out exactly how I want it. I plan on keeping one bin on my table for things that I receive throughout the day. I will check that bin at the end of each day. I will not keep any miscellaneous items on my table this year. They will be thrown away.

Here is a view from the door. It looks like a fun place to enter! It is like my home away from home. It's going to be a FINtastic year at Farrington Bay. I can feel it!

Look at my beach balls and lanterns. They bring a beach-like feel to our classroom. I will put table numbers on the beach balls. We will change the names of our tables each month (coin, shapes, short vowel tables etc.). It will keep students reminded of important skills throughout the year.

There are the book bins. My shelf only has space for 16, so my other two are sitting behind the shelf. There is space for more if I get new students.

There's my wave wall for my wave words. Students can see the wall perfectly from anywhere in the classroom. It really lightens up the room.

Here is view of the library. I got the shelves by the computer today at Goodwill for 7 bucks. It fits perfectly in my library for smaller library bins from my library. The library is one of my FAVORITE places in my classroom. The best way to become a better reader is to READ, READ, READ!

Final view of my classroom. This mostly shows the library, M.A.T.H area, guided reading and 3 of my tables. Looks great!

I am happy with my progress thus far. I am also thankful for all the help along the way. All my former students, parents and colleagues have been great help and I am truly grateful for them. Now, I can take a couple days off today to relax before we have to return to school on Monday officially. School is right around the corner.

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions about anything that you saw, please comment below. I am happy to share ideas with you.

Mr. Farrington