Teacher Touches

After getting to be in my classroom and see the exact layout and everything yesterday, of course I couldn't resist going home to start planning and making my classroom decorations, signage, etc. I don't go overboard on that stuff, but I do want to make the classroom personal and fun to be in.

I always prefer homemade decorations, bulletin boards, etc. to store-bought ones, and I'm using a minimum of store-bought, bee-related items. I did come up with an acronym I'm particularly proud of - I think the front windows into the hallway will say "Mrs. D's BEES" - except here is bees:

Cheesy, I know -- what's happening to me??

One thing I feel very strongly about is that third grade is the perfect year to build a lot of responsibility and self-reliance. Kids need it when they get to the upper grades, and really just life in general. One way that I do this is by having an area full of supplies that students are welcome to. I've always wanted to call it the "Help Yourself Shelf" but never got around to making the sign. In my last room, it was always just "the yellow shelf." Students don't need to ask to get materials from this shelf - it is their space, and they are responsible for retrieving from it what they need to complete the task at hand.

I'm kind of obsessed with the how the lettering came out:

The last thing I made yesterday was a template for my weekly newsletter, which I plan to email out to parents every Monday. If someone will tell me how to post that on here I will do it!

So far, so good... a lot of work on the horizon and I can't wait!