Monday Made It... Back to School Edition!

With school starting up in two weeks I don't know what I'll be doing on my Mondays anymore! I loved how Tara's Linky allowed me to ease myself into the blogging world. So here are my most recent Made It's and definitely check back Friday for my 2015 classroom reveal : )


Confession... something has been bugging me about the color scheme that I chose this summer and spent HOURS prepping for... I HATED the red! It looked slightly circus-y (that is definitely not a word, but you understand right?). I was also inspired by the look from Tales of a Tenacious Teacher and her colors returned back to my first year's colors (meaning I have tons of storage that matches the blues and greens of her color scheme) that I realized I would be unhappy ALL year if I was stubborn and stuck with what I had already prepped. The beautiful solution I came up with was to get rid of the red items that I made over the summer and simply substitute it with a royal blue and BAM! Everything fell into place : ) Now I am in LOVE with my classroom decor!

My Growth Mindset Corner!

I am SOOoooo excited to be teaching my students about growth mindset this year and thus I needed a common place for students to find references. This space used to be a Word Work bulletin board that had grammar, spelling, and Mentor Text items on it. I really only liked the Mentor Text section since students put up their wow sentences under it, the rest was stagnant and served little purpose. 

Last years use of space... notice the gaping hole where they took down our clock 2 YEARS AGO

A start to this years use of space... no more hole in the wall, just a bit of teacher clutter I need to deal with!

And here is the same corner this year! I've dedicated it to anything Growth Mindset. There is a wonderful tree where we can write on the leaves the different IB attitudes/profiles that we feel go with the Growth Mindset concept. I plan on using the bulletin board for our weekly lessons on Growth Mindset & metacognition. For most of the year it will have the thought changers "Instead of saying/thinking this when things are challenging...think this". I also grabbed this wonderful Growth Mindset interactive journal off of TPT that I plan on using with my students and some of her posters will end up living here. (see?! I'm a great PR for other people's TPT stores. Someday I'll work on mine). But really... the one goal I have for my students when they leave 5th grade this year is that they have grit and perseverance. So many students accept failure or an inability to learn by 5th grade and it is heart breaking.

Updated Library!

My second Made It was simply spending some time putting together 4 Wallmart bookshelves. I actually love doing projects like this so I was a happy camper : ) The shelves are $15 a pop right now with college kids coming back and I figured it was time to buy real book shelves. 

Sadly the lighting is low so it doesn't seem as bright, but I think you get the picture. The bookshelves help create a larger reading nook and I obviously still have a ways to go with the stacks of books still on the floor and the unlabeled series baskets on the bottom shelves. I will live and die by the rainbow color coding system though, books ACTUALLY make it back to their home! The colors are designated to a certain letter in the alphabet so all of the Judy Bloom books don't always end up side by side, but at least it's in the same section as the author's last name!

here's the couch that bellies up to the library shelves. On the right side of the couch is a huge shelf with all of the kids book baskets that creates a definitive reading section. 

Front of Classroom

It's done! My Daily 5/CAFE is up, homework board is ready, schedule ready to go, and all I have to do is add the Accountability Talk posters from Tales of a Tenacious Teacher up in that blank blue space above the boards. I have no idea why I have never used that space between my board and that awkward cork strip above it. It took less than 20 min. to put up and it is now a space I will actually use! I think the garland will only live on my SMART board through back to school night seeing as it will cut off the top portion of whatever I'm projecting, but it sure is cute for now!

Side Notes:
*I went to a 3 day PD course on Climate Change in the classroom this past week that was simply wonderful! We stayed up in the mountains for a few days had had hordes of amazing guest speakers that wanted to connect their knowledge with kids. I have so many science experiments and guest speakers set up for the upcoming school year! And look at who we came across on a hike between lectures...

his friend was right behind him : )

*And guess what my neighbors just threw out...
4 director chairs! Can I say back to school teacher gifts for my 3 co-teachers and I?! Time to sand, paint, and start sewing!

Happy last days of summer,