Getting the classroom ready!

To keep myself busy while both my kids are at school I've been working on my classroom :)  I teach 3-5 year olds in a Parent's Morning Out program.  I started it a year ago and I'm still trying to get the word out and bring in more students!  Harder than I thought it'd be - and being patient is even harder!

I'm organizing and creating materials for the class and I thought I'd share my latest creation :)  I needed some large, colorful signs to put on my bins and containers so the kids know where things go.  I got some free borders/frames from this seller at teacherspayteachers.com.  Then I just collected random pics that suited my needs.

My finished product turned out pretty good :)  Now I just need to laminate them and put them up!                                  

I also have FELT, DRESS UP, DOLL CLOTHES, GLUE STICKS, CHALKBOARD and more.  I'm still trying to figure out how to post things you can print on my blog, so if you can't get these to work, or if you're interested in the whole set respond below with your email address and I'll send the document :)

I don't consider myself super creative like some people but sometimes I can get  good ideas-esp when I start browsing Pinterest and get inspired by others :)  Here are a few things I've made for my classroom-they aren't my original idea but rather tweaked inspirations I found on Pinterest (you can follow me here if you want).                                    

                       

This is part of my calendar for circle time. After we do a devotional and say a little prayer, we do the calendar and this-which includes the weather, letters, shape, Bible verse, color and the date. You can find the template for the weather chart here

You can find the template for the Bible verses here.

As you can see I velcroed my calendar to four crates tied together with zip ties. I store my carpet squares and calendar "extras" in the bottom two most accesible crates and felt activities and my Sunday school song books in the top two. 

I have a nice little corner meant for a fridge that I use for our book nook. I made it with two tension rods and a shower curtain :)

This is how I discipline. When they do something good I give them a color on their rainbow. Likewise, I take one off if they do something they're not supposed to do. I use this a lot during transitions and I try and watch for kids playing nicely together during centers. At the end of the day, if their rainbow is full, they get a sticker and/or smelly (I put a cross on their hand with a smelly Chapstick-they LOVE it :). I'm thinking of changing the rainbows with my themes (although they take a bit of work to make)...make a snowman for winter, fill in your star at Christmas, your heart for February, etc...

I made these for my oldest child's nursery but now am using them in the classroom. I'm currently writing a curriculum for church prek classes and this goes well with it. I found the material at a fabric store, cut the squares out and attached them to a thick form board-with glue and pushpins. Easy :)

I have limited wall space because of windows, mirrors and closets so I'm using the fridge for our class jobs.  They put their picture next to the job they want. 

Lastly, because of my limited wall space I am going to have a word "book" instead of a word "wall". It's a flip book that we'll add to as the year progresses.  I'll post pics when i've put it together :)

Well, that's about all I've got for now :). Now I just need more kids!!  Love to hear your ideas for your classroom!!