M&M Math and Teacher Appreciation

First ~ I decided to show you how I organize math in my classroom. 

At the end you will read about the 

fabulous teacher appreciation going on!



The math area of my classroom is near my small group table/desk.
All the drawers are clearly labeled with the plethora of math manipulatives
 my sweets and I need access to! For a while I was storing them in the blue
and red wall cabinet and that was just NOT working. If you are going to teach math
hands-on with manipulatives they MUST be accessible to you
 and your students. On a side-note, if you have a sub no where will
 wonder where anything is because it all clearly labeled. 



All the drawers are from Office Depot. There are 2 small drawers and one big drawer
and they are awesome because they don't just slide right out.
 On the other hand, you can simply put pressure on both sides
of the drawer and pot it out. Under the drawers are my math stations.
 I keep my stations numbered. I attach a piece of velcro to each station box
and each M&M number card. It makes stations pretty easy! The white drawer
on the left is our Math File! We use EnVision math. Everyday my sweets get a new math
sheet to work on. When they are done they open this drawer and place
it the labeled file that says "today's completed math sheet." There is also a file
for "corrected math sheets." If a student had errors that needed to be corrected
on their math sheet they correct it and return it into the corrected file.
I also have files that are labeled for the current math stations.
This makes identifying and assessing completed math station work very simple.
I put a class list in every file. Once a student has complete and turned in a
particular math station recording sheet they place it in the labeled folder and
highlight there name. Second graders LOVE to highlight! The white drawer on
the right is for our connecting cubes. I have a lot and use them all the time.
My one stipulation is put all colors back in the appropriate
 collared bag.  The red bin from IKEA (which I love) is for our math books. I love
children's literature! I think it is so important to integrate literature in math.
Over the summer I plan on creating math literature units to
 go along with every topic I teach in enVision math!  





This picture is a little blurry. The drawers closest to the right are awesome!
They are for lost and found game pieces,  skinny expo markers and small dry
erasers, erasers (any and all), dice (all kinds, if they are not your
 average number dice they have their own labeled ziploc inside
 the drawer), spinners and timers (for stations), and counters and game
 pieces (just like the dice, they all have their own little baggy to keep
them in order). Now how do my sweets keep up an organized classroom?
Explicit modeling and PRACTICE.  So that is what math looks like
in my room. Next week I will post on how I organize my "guided" math groups!

How do you organize math in your room?

Second ~ I'm already setting aside time tomorrow to do some
SERIOUS TPT shopping. They are offering 10% off and just
about every other TPT seller is offering an additional 20% off.
I will also be putting my TPT store on sale! 

Check It Out HERE!

For the record I have added several new products to my store.
 My class will be doing a bee week starting next week
 and I created a unit for us to use!

The Buzz On Bees ~ Check it out HERE!

I also uploaded to my TPT store *some* of the candy themed labels 
I have created to organize my classroom after several people suggested it. 
I had toyed around with the idea and there suggestions encouraged me to do it.
 Quite honestly I looked around for such things on TPT and couldn't find anything.  

By the way I'm trying to figure out how to add the reply to

 comment function on my blog. If anyone knows how to 

please let me know!  All that is to say I love reading 

your comments ~ it makes me do a happy dance. 

I also like responding but want he reply thingy to make it more personal!



Organization Classroom Tour ~ May's Currently

     Well. . .  I will start out admitting that I have been MIA. I truly do LOVE reading all the awesome blogs out there. I read them everyday ~ it's my downtime, my inspiration, my encouragement. . . That said I also "plan" on being more consistent. I will say that my first year of teaching is almost over and my first bit of advice to ANY firs tear teacher is to just accept that the first year will be hard NO MATTER what you think!!!! (how's that for a long sentence)

May's Currently:

I LOVE that Farley from Oh' Boy Fourth Grade does this ~ it always pushes me out of my shell. The whole pageant title pushed me out of my shyness (my boyfriend helped me out . . . hopefully that's alright). 

     While I've been MIA I've been reevaluating how I function as a teacher. I realized that being ORGANIZED is essential and started working on my from to make manipulatives and resources more available to my students and myself. One of my ABSOLUTE favorite things to read on blogs is classroom setup / classroom organization. I LOVE IT! Without further ado this is my home away from home. I will be posting the rest of my classroom in the next several days.

I have two entrances to my classroom. One is on the left and the other on the right. This is the view you see when you walk in through the left entrance door. My crate seats were made by my grandpa and are in excellent condition after a year of second grade fun. I use my guided reading table for small group work and as my desk. My rule of thumb is that it has nothing on it at the beginning or at the end of the day. The blanket is a Dots candy blanket. My classroom is candy/primary colors themed. I am always cold so it comes in HANDY. 

This is another view. There is a linky I read about that was going around called "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" (or something to that effect. That corner next to the filing cabinet is what I consider to be my "ugly" ~ mostly because I haven't quite decided what I want to do with the red bookcase. I amy move it to a different area of the classroom or give it away. One thing I've noticed is that teachers (or most of them) rarely can let things go. I want to be practical about what I keep in my classroom. I mean it is a classroom and is supposed to be a learning rich environment. I've gotten rid of several things and have been questioned on some of those decisions ~ but I still love the decisions I made. One of those things was my "traditional" teacher desk. Below you will see some of the things that allowed me to be completely fine (actually thrilled) to get rid of my desk).

another angle

Behind my small group table I have "book bins" for all the subjects I teach. They are labeled and they hold the current teaching manual, related papers, textbooks, and anything else I will use often while teaching that subject. It has been one of my favorite organizational tricks. 

In the subject bins I also keep a notebooks or such that I am modeling to my students and doing with them.

I saw this idea floating around Pinterest and decided I was going to make one. This thing was about $12 from Home Depot. I used avery full page labels (plain sticker sheets) to print my candy themed labels onto. If anyone would be interested I'm happy to share :) It took my a couple times to get the perfect size but I did! To purchase these labels go HERE!

These are my favorite drawers. I will only by them from Office Depot. They are awesome. Why you ask? They don't slide right out, yet if you push in both sides they come out nice and easy. I use a ton of these in my classroom. The blank yellow one needed a label but I hand;t quite decided what I wanted it to say yet. When I do I will simply go and type it up. The reason for the line is in case I just want to write it in Sharpie till I have time or REMEMBER to print it out. People I forget WAY to many things for an individual of my age. I'm a young teacher ~ I mean youngest faculty member, people always say I look to young. . . you get the picture.

This is the bookshelf I'm not in love with but I do love it is clutter free. Above the desk is my Mon-Fri drawers ~ love those. I also have an "extras" drawer. This is for those times I need a time filling worksheet, hidden picture fun sheet, quick craftivities, and things like that. I also have it in my mind as a back-up plan for a sub who has to much "extra" time. 

In the desk to the left I keep my to be graded system. You can read about that HERE. On the right side of the desk is my copy folder an basket. I will add a picture of my folder (I think it is so fun). I keep what needs to be copied in the folder o the left side. Once it is copied, it moves to the right side to be filed back in the correct place. The copies made to use are put in the basket. Once I get back to my room they get placed in their appropriate places. Except for the white stack you see that I didn't move due to being late to pick my kids up from Specials (or at least thats what I think).  Underneath the desk I have this awesome six drawer organizer that I use every single day. The labels tell it all.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour so far. I would love to hear of  any thought you all have. I love organization. I believe an organized classroom make the teacher more efficient. In turn the teacher has more time to focus on academic instruction.

Missing My Sweets, Sub Stuff, and a Freebie

Sadly I've been out of school for one whole week sick, in and out of doctors' offices and hospitals. I truly love my job and my sweets. It is simply killing me not to be teaching them! I have been reading a ton on teaching methods, strategies, etc. and just want to go and use it all. Next week is Spring Break!! (of course all plans for day trips and the like are cancelled because I'm sick :(. 

I have been making labels like crazy for everything in my classroom. I have also really pondered the whole sub system. I am not entirely certain how emergency sub plans work. Are they super generic? Detailed? For every subject? I would love to read how you all organize and handle the whole sub situation.

I've also have been creating things for my class because I just can't wait to get back into school.

There Was An Old Lady Who. . . Cause and Effect

Flying High With Four Digit Numbers

I have a freebie from this unit: Synonym Student Book. Get it HERE.

If you download this freebie please let me know your thoughts! When I make things I want to make sure they are helpful to other hard working teachers!

By the way the first 3 people to follow my blog and follow my TPT store will get the Synonyms, Antonyms, Homophones Galore Unit for free. Don't forget to leave your email. I would love feedback on the product of course ~ want to do the best I can!