Classroom Tour 2014-2015

I am super excited to show you all my room!  One of my very favorite things to do is come in and get my room ready for a new year.  This year was a little last minute because I almost had to move schools 5 days before school started!  I was very lucky and ended up getting to stay...yay!

Here are a few different views of my whole classroom.  I love the paper lanterns I used this year!

This is a view before my kiddos and parents visited for kindergarten orientation.  The folders contain important information that I will go over with my parents.  I found the idea for the glow sticks on Pinterest!  The caddies in the middle of the table will have different supplies as my students learn to use the properly.  

  

This is my main area for small group and whole group teaching.  It contains all of my resources for my students to refer to.  I'm so happy with the look of the simple black and white polka dot decor!

 

Here's an up close look at what's on my front board.  

The voice level chart has made a word of difference over the last couple of years!  It really works!  

This year I have decided to go back to a physical calendar.  I have been using the SMARTboard for the last couple of years and I feel like my students are less engaged.  We'll see how it goes!

My specials signs are more for me to make sure I get my class to each special on time!

Using hand signals have saved a lot of time and I love it!

This first picture below is my new desk from IKEA!  Love it!  Behind that is my new set of rules.  My school is using the PBIS behavior matrix.  I adapted my rules to match!

The next picture will be my word wall and focus boards from reading, math and writing.  

The third picture is my writing board.  I have back to school words to help my kiddos spell while writing.  I will change those out to coordinate with what we are learning. 

The last picture is a pocket chart that will be used my my station rotations.

This is a view of my classroom library. I didn't have anything on the wall here, which was super boring, so I made a board my taping up poster board!  

 

This is an up close view of a few components of my classroom library.  

I LOVE my new library labels!

 Our school received a grant to get some classroom iPads this year! Woo hoo!!  Of course that meant that I needed to come up with some technology rules!

I love using my behavior clip chart.  My students really seem to respond to it.

The plastic bins are where I store my materials for stations.

 

The rest are just some miscellaneous photos from my classroom... 

 

I'm loving how everything turned out this year!  I added a lot more black, painted some things, added my own bookshelves and really ran with the black and white polka dot theme!

A Rally for Ryder Fundraiser

Meet Ryder... He's an amazing little boy who has been through so much in his first 2 years of life.

Ryder was born December 30, 2011.  He was a healthy 8lbs. 12oz. baby boy.  Or so we thought...  In the next 24 hours we would come to find out Ryder was very sick.  Ryder wasn't interested in eating.  The nurses assured us there was nothing to worry about.  The next day, the doctors felt Ryder's abdomen looked distended.  This was the first time anyone thought something may be wrong.  The doctors suspected a bowel obstruction.  We were then transferred to the Cleveland Clinic for further tests.  At 5 days old Ryder had his first major surgery to confirm his diagnosis of Hirschsprung's Disease. This is a rare genetic disease. This disease only affects 1 in 5000 births. Hirschsprung's disease occurs early in fetal development. Basically with Hirschsprung's Disease you are missing the nerves in your intestines that contract and relax to push waste through and out.  Ryder's case was extreme, meaning he had Total Colonic Hirschsprung's Disease affecting his entire large intestine and a section of small intestine.  Ryder has had his entire large intestine removed and is living with two ileostomies.

Ryder is now two years old. He has had 5 major surgeries and has spent a lot of his life in the hospital.  The next major surgery for Ryder is coming up in early September.  This will be the first of two planned surgeries.  

Throughout Ryder's long battle with this disease, his parents, Laura and Nick have been beyond amazing!  They are both fortunate to have medical backgrounds and were able to understand terms and procedures that the rest of us couldn't.  This helped with months of at home care, including daily IV's and administering multiple medications.  They have taken off so much time from work to both be there every day that Ryder has spent in the hospital.  Unfortunately, even with good insurance, the medical bills pile up quickly.  Ryder struggles with eating typical food and gets the majority of his nutrition though special formula that is very expensive and is not covered by insurance.  My hope with this fundraiser is to ease some of the financial burdens off of Ryder's parents.  

Ryder's story is not over.  No one knows what the future holds but at this point he is a thriving smart two year old little boy.  Ryder loves Legos , Mr. Potato Head and hats!  He is an amazing little boy who is loved by so many people!

Here's how you can help!

With the help of an amazing group of Teachers Pay Teachers authors, I have put together a bundle of some awesome products!  This bundle includes $90 worth of products including an exclusive Melonheadz clipart set that can't be purchased anywhere else!  Check out all of the incredible products that are included:

Look at this adorable set of Ryders!  You can only get it in this bundle!

 

(Click on any of the pictures above to view the product.)

Every single dollar donated is appreciated and needed!  

If anyone is interested in making a direct donation, you can click the button below.

 

Thank you SO MUCH!!

Special thank you so the authors who donated products: Melonheadz Illustrating, Rececca Seeley, Terri Izatt, Brinca into Bilingual Mrs Nicolau, Sara Prue, Leslie Hope, Laura Boriack, Sara Frampton, Kindergarten Kristy, Good Enough Teacher, Kristen Stefanko, and Erin Blatnica.