Simple Classroom Rules

Summer is officially coming to a close! I start in service on Monday & the kids return on August 25. I am putting some finishing touches on my room this week and enjoying my last week of fun in the sun! I am blogging to share a tiny sneak peak of my classroom, not much has changed this year, and to share a FREEBIE of classroom rules! In the past years, I have done a class make rule list/constitution, a few sweet simple primary rules and a couple other things! It always ends up being too much for me to keep up with when I am discussing positive or negative behavior with students. I had no clue what I was going to use for rules this year & I saved it for one of my last #Mondaymadeit projects of the summer!  After talking to my sweet sweet teaching partner, I decided to take her lead & go SIMPLE with my classroom rules this year & y'all, it really is SIMPLE, BE RESPECTFUL! 

Click on any of the pictures above to go directly to my TPT and download these posters for FREE!!! 

This is what you see from the back of the classroom when looking towards the whiteboard. 

A close up shot, I really like the simple look this year, no theme, no nonsense! Just plain & simple! 

I teach my whole group lessons from the back of the classroom in a cozy little area, but I decided to display the rules from the whiteboard where I normally give directions for activities. 

These cost me $5 and about twenty minutes! First, I simply printed out the rules posters on plain white card stock.  Second, I just slipped them into the Document Frames, that I picked up at Dollar Tree. You don't even have to trim the edges of the posters!  Third, I choose some gold ribbon, for my "Golden Rules" and hot glued it to the back of the frames. I then used small clear 3M hooks to adhere under my white board. Last step, was to simply tie the bows, separately, and slip them on top of the hook to hide it! 

Monday Made It

Well, it is already July 28...where does the summer go?! It always goes quickly, but I think this is the fastest summer has ever seemed to pass. I haven't partictated in Monday Made It all summer, until today! I recently bought fabric to cover my bulletin boards. I normally use the school supplied butcher paper, but I don't want to deal with rips and fading anymore.

The fabric is tiny black quarter foil pattern. Looks much better in person!  My #mondaymadeit was very fly by the seat of my pants! I used my extra fabric to replace my polka dot curtains. I thought I was going to have to go back to the store, buy more fabric, and then SEW curtains. But instead....

Fabric scrap curtains! YAY! I love them, one of the other teachers in my school made hers very similar & I was inspired & had all the materials ready to go! 

My second, much less glamours, albeit more satisfying was putting together a rolly chair that came out of a very small box, in a {MILLION} pieces! 

Here is a picture of my new pink chair in all her glory! I only had a tiny black stool from Goodwill last year, so I am thrilled to have a chair that I can roll back and forth from my desk to my guided reading table! 

 

Where are we?

My school does tons of different things for students, OT, speech, GT, reading, CHAMPS, PALS, counseling so I always have students out of the classroom & all over the building! In first grade it is still hard for some of the kiddos to remember where to go when they finish their pull out! I saw the super smart & cute idea to make a Where Are We? poster on pintrest of course! Last year I made this one:

I REALLY loved it! It helped my kiddos & even school staff looking for my class! But as you can see I forgot a spot for the playground! So I revamped this file & added the adorable Melonheadz clipart to it! This is my new one: 

I love it! So simple & cute! I simply printed the file, cut the spots out on the black lines, put Modge Podge on the back of each spot. I used a paper towel to wipe excess Modge Podge off of the pan. I glued 1.5 ribbon to the back of the pan with hot glue to hang on 3m hook on my classroom door. I got the super cute clothes pin from Michaels Crafts last year. I assign the job of moving the clip each time we leave to classroom to my teacher's assistant of the week. It worked beautifully last year for my firsties. If you would like to download this file click the picture above to go directly to my TPT store. 

Classroom Organization {Crayons}

One of the classroom crafts I have had my eye on for a couple of years is the Sterilite crayon drawers! This is the set that inspired my project! 

 I have used small baskets, cups, & buckets. They all have fallen short in the past. This year I am going to try using a drawer system for extra crayons that are misplaced from each table or center. The picture below is the set I just made, so easy & quick! I have seen the fully covered drawers but I choose to leave them pretty much clear so I can keep an eye on how full each drawer is! I also choose to combine colors (that are extreme opposites for easy sorting/picking) so I can save space! 

I purchased this mini 5 drawer organizer from Walmart, I printed the labels out on cardstock, cut them out, & used Modge Podge on the backs of the lables & attached them to the front of the drawers! I just used a paper towel to wipe off any excess Modge Podge that was on the plastic.

 Just click the picture of the drawers to go directly to my TPT store & download the freebie!  ________________________UPDATE 7/15/15_______________________ These drawers were a total lifesaver this past school year! I don't think a single student asked me for crayon or told me that they found one on the floor! They held up very well & I will be using this system for many years to come!  If you want to see more classroom tips and organization ideas like this please follow my Pintrest board! Click the picture below to go to the board on pintrest.com! 

Do you have any organization quick tips to share, leave a comment, I am always looking for more ideas!