The Clutter-Free Classroom Project Week 1:

Before Pictures!

EEEK!

I didn't want to post any before pictures but I saw some brave blog buddies doing it so I had to!

I am joining The Clutter-Free Classroom Project!

I am so nervous to post these because what if I don't organize and my room keeps looking like a hot mess??? Hopefully you all will keep me motivated! :)

Here we go!

This is right by my door and my coat rack. It used to hold my math manipulatives but it is now the cubbies! I have gotten 3 new students in the past few weeks and the 4x5 wasn't cutting it! I love this 5x5 but if I get more than 2 new students I will be in big trouble! I still need to add names and numbers. I have my orange "turn in" tub on top, some tissues, hand sanitizer, a tub to hold some awards, and the purple envelopes hold their class money! I really need to pass them back out! I would really like to put some sort of decorative contact paper on top and on the bottom of the cubbies but I don't know if I have the energy for that! Maybe!

 

This is {supposed to be} the bookshelf where I keep all of the guided reading books and other Harcourt materials. The books are pretty organized by level and lesson but I hardly use them because they are just too hard for my ELLs. I also keep random stuff in there so I want to make it a little more efficient by keeping the books that I use more often. Right beside this bookshelf is my horseshoe table that I {am supposed to}use for small groups. I've had so much junk on it that I have been pulling my small groups on the carpet and on the students' desks! That is soooo bad!

So this is the infamous horseshoe table that needs to be cleaned up so I can use it for my small groups! I want to make those cute Pinterest snowmen with the shaving cream {as you can probably tell}. I am organizing my emergency sub plans in the red tub! The rest of the stuff is just miscellaneous cra... I mean, stuff!

This is my portable bookshelf/storage-thingy. I have a love-hate relationship with this thing. I love that it holds a ton of stuff (there are shelfs on the front and in the back-this picture is of the back) but then I hate that it takes up sooo much space! I am in the process of organizing this bad boy! I plan on having all of my art materials in their own little tubs with labels! I can't wait! I just have to make the labels and organize them... such hard work! I have a tub of books just hanging on top. I either need to organize them in my library or donate them!

This is my Sand and Silt FOSS kit. It is an awesome and easy way to teach science and it correlates to our standards! :) We are all finished with it so I just need to fill out the paperwork so it can be sent back to the district warehouse where they replenish it and send it off to another teacher!

That big ol' pile of paper on top is {ungraded} homework!! I need to fill up their sticker chart so this pile is a priority!

My sink and counter area are just a places that hold random things. I have some danish butter cookies a container with paint cups that was left by the old teacher.

More random stuff, disinfecting wipes that don't fit in my newly organized cabinets, more hand sanitizer, a basket, papers, and my pencil sharpener! Blah! I need to clean, clean, clean!

This cabinet is also portable and it holds lots of stuff, which is good because we don't have any built-in shelfs and stuff (beside the teeny ones above and below the sink). I have tubs of math manipulatives that I don't use in there and my bee-u-tiful construction paper! I will take a pic tomorrow!

Above the cabinet is where the mess is! As I was organizing, I put all of the stuff I didn't know what to do with up there! I want to go through and either throw it away or find a place for it all! 

The baskets under my calendar wall are supposed to be the classroom library! I need to organize them, label the books and the baskets, and keep it that way! I just haven't had the motivation to label each book! I would really enjoy seeing my kiddos using it efficiently though!

Here are all of my math manipulatives and my old cubbies {the 5x4}. I need to re-label the ones on the left and need to throw out some stuff on the right! If you look closely on top of the right shelfs you can see me as a first grader! I keep my Kindergarten and First Grade picture for my kids to see so they are reminded that I was once their age too! I love my heart pillows but they are such a pain to keep on the floor! I hang my read hearts on the coat rack but they take up so much room!

This is a bookshelf that is behind my math manipulatives. I keep crayons, scissors, markers, notebooks, and junk all over it! I know I can find a better place for all of those materials!! I just know it!
There is also a pile of picture dictionaries on the floor. I need to start using them!
If you squint you can see a picture of my sweet Alyssa on the whiteboard! I love that child!

This table is supposed to hold my daily plans and materials. It is just under my whiteboard so when I try to write I have to be on my tippy-toes. It is a mess. I still have stuff in the baskets that I was supposed to use before the holidays! I want to get rid of the baskets and use hanging file folders for my daily materials!

Now to the scary part of my room -my desk area! I just use it to hold my lesson plans and the rest of the stuff that doesn't have a place! Good news is that all of the drawers are empty and I just need to organize the stuff on top and this baby will be GONE! The table behind the desk is where I keep my laptop, the document camera, projector, and speaker. I didn't take a close up picture but there is always junk on that thing!

This is a side view of my desk area. I stuff all that wonderful fadeless paper in the corner, leave all my junk (bags, cart, and Target shopping bags). Sometimes I can't even walk through there! YUK!

This is another messy bookshelf behind my desk. I have teacher resource books, Harcourt teacher editions, markers, Biffytoons, page protectors, CD's, airfreshner, and a collection of stuff on the surrounding floor area! I know this space can be used more effectively!!

This is my writing table and next to it is my listening center. I need to get rid of the extra boom box, get rid of the rocks my sweeties brought from home during our Sand and Silt unit, and find another place for the paper and my box of borders that is overflowing!

I don't even want to talk about this picture of the stuff on top of my filing cabinet! Blah! Gross! Mess!

This is a close up of the bookshelf behind my soon-to-be-gone desk! So many note pads!






WOWSERS!! Those are a ton of "MESS" Pictures! I really hope blogging about my progress makes me have progress! LOL

I wanted to show you all my class rules with the updated picture for Rule #5! Yes, I did tape my face to the rule! :) They walk by it every morning and see my face! Ha!

Alrighty!
I would love to hear some encouraging words about my hot mess of a classroom!

So I don't know if anyone got to the end of this *HORRIFIC* post but if you did, I thank you!! Yay! It's almost FRIDAY!!!

TTYL!

Whole Brain Teaching...WHAT??? and Some Awards!

Hello my dear bloggy friends! Yes, all FORTY of you! Wow! I published my first post on Tuesday and not even a week later I have 40 followers! It might have been that I was commenting on other blog posts and asking begging for them to check out my blog!! Ha!

I had said that I would talk write about my classroom rules so here I go!

[I thought I had taken a picture with my handy dandy iPhone and it is no where to be found! I do have an old picture though. In the current/new picture, I had covered the smiley face on Rule #5 with a picture of MY face! Ha the kids love seeing my picture and it reminds them of the {importance}! LOL]

These are my classroom rules:

1. Follow directions quickly
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak
3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat
4. Make smart choices
5. Keep your dear teacher happy

I did not make these up! {I wish I had!} They are from Whole Brain Teaching. I was honored to attend a Whole Brain Teaching workshop in my district with Chris Biffle {One of the guys behind WBT!} 

Whole Brain Teaching or WBT is not only a classroom management way of life but a completely different way to teach!!! I have not seen ANY blogger that I follow talk about it but if you have or use WBT... please tell me!!!! I love it and love how my students respond to it!! If you are interested on seeing some lessons check out the website {HERE} or YouTube them! There are some awesome teachers out there doing some awesome WBT lessons! It incorporates gestures, repetitions, positive reinforcement, and fun to get 100% ENGAGEMENT in your class!!!!!! It is UHHHH-MAZING!

Let me tell you a little more about the rules. On the first day of school, I teach the first 2 rules. Then, the next day I teach the other 3. I repeat them and have the students practice with each other. All five rules have gestures that accompany them when you say them. You can see them {HERE}. As I was looking for a video, I noticed that I do them a bit differently. So, I will be videotaping myself and my class practicing the rules on Monday... so be on the look out for that! I'm so excited to share my experience with WBT! :):):) 

Check out the Whole Brain Teaching Website {HERE}. There are a TON of FREE resources. You can print off the FREE ebooks that have the rule posters. You just have to make an account... super easy and totally worth it! There are also a ton of other resources, like Biffytoons (HFW), SuperSpeed Games and PowerPoints, forums with other teacher experiences, and much much more!

I will write additional posts on other WBT stuff that we do in my classroom!! I can't wait to share so you can use it in your classroom!!

:)

AWARDS!

I have been given 2 awards by some awesome blogger friends!!! I will start off with this one:

Here are the rules:

1. Show your appreciation.

WOW! I can't believe that anyone would mention me on their blog! Thanks so much ladies. You really made my day! Please check out the following blogs that have given me the Liebster Award:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

2. Nominate other blogs with 200 followers or less by posting a comment on their blog.

Here are other blogs that I have recently discovered:

Also, check out A Pirate's Life for Us!

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Check out other nominees of the Liebster Blog Award and see what they have to offer!

The next award is this one:

The rules:

• Thank those that presented the award to you and link back to them. 

Thank you!!!! Live. Laugh. Teach. your button isn't working for me!! But, thanks so much!

• Tell seven things about yourself.

1. I am 23 years old!
2. I have a four year old daughter. 
3. My husband and I will have our 5 year wedding anniversary next month!!!! 
4. This is my 2nd year teaching.
5. I student taught in 1st grade and fell in love!
6. I am highly qualified to teach middle school math! Ya, I know they are mostly taller than me. I am only 5'1''.
7. I love sweets, chocolate, and sour candies! YUM!

I will say more about myself in future posts!

• Pass this on to newly discovered blogs and let them know they've received the award!

Please check out the blogs above! YAY!!

That's it for my ramblings today!! :) I can't wait to blog-stalk, plan, and spend time with Aly today! :)

Room 20 Pictures!

Wooooh! It has been a long day! It was my first day back and my sweeties were angels! They were following expectations and doing their best! I was a little anxious to see how they were going to behave but we quickly reviewed our class rules {more on that later--- maybe tomorrow because this post is getting super super long and I don't want to bore you to death} and our scoreboard {keep reading---- again probably tomorrow because it just keeps getting longer and longer and I don't know why LOL}.

 We reviewed some phonics skills that we have been working on {glued sounds and digraphs}, read The Gingerbread Man {talked and wrote about the beginning, middle, and end}, did 3 rounds {YAY} of the Daily 5 Daily 3 since we are only doing read to self, read to someone, and work on writing {for now!}. I was super impressed with my kiddos and their eagerness to learn! I hope they are like that for the rest of the year! After lunch, We wrote a thank you note to a company that "adopted" our class for a holiday party before break! They were so awesome to us! They read The Polar Express to the kiddos, gave them cookies and hot cocoa, gave them silver bells, and brought Santa with a big bag of gifts! Wow! They were soooo generous! I even got a little gift, too! :) After writing the thank you note, we began to learn The Doubles Rap! Ha! The kids loved it. On Friday, we will make "iPods" to store our rap in! Check it out here! She has an awesome tutorial on how to make the iPods! Then, the bell rang! The day zoomed by!

Now, on to some pictures of my dear old new classroom! First, let me give you a couple of warnings:

1. My classroom is a hot mess! I left right after school on our last day of break and didn't get a chance to tidy up! I can't work in my room on weekends or on vacations because it's locked or something and they don't want to give us codes :( boo hoo
2. This is my first year in this classroom and my dear old hubby painted the walls for me! WARNING! The two walls that are painted are bright. I love them and it really changes my whole room's look.
3. I was am a hard core blog stalker! I have already implemented a ton of ideas from other classrooms! If I don't give you credit... that means that I can't find you original post!! Please help me if I miss anything!
4. I think that's it... but I'm not sure... so let's start with the pictures:

OhMiWord! How embarrasing! I can't believe I am sharing this with other teachers! LOL This is the view from my soon to be gone teacher desk! I have a document camera, projector, tv, a bathroom {that the kids don't use}, a pink rocking chair, and 22 little desks! Blah! I plan to move things around but I just can't find the time {where do I get extra of that!}

This is my Brag Tag Wall. It says, "Get on pink, earn a bead! Mrs. Matadamas' Superstars!!!" I won a class set of brag tags from a giveaway over at What's The Buzz in First. Here is her post on them and I just noticed that she got the idea from The First Grade Parade! Nice! I love them and the kids get so excited to earn a bead. My school used PBIS {clip chart - picture below} and whenever they are a Superstar {on pink}, I add a bead to their necklace. Once they have 10 beads, they can trade them in for a fun shaped bead and a trip to the treasure box! I am trying to persuade my principal into getting them as a whole school! Let's see how that goes!

Close up of my Brag Tags. They say, "Star Student Mrs. Matadamas' First Grade Class"! I {heart} them! Check out ImageStuff {HERE}. They were super fast and I really mean it... I put my order in and got them within 4 days! CRAAAZY FAST!

This is our behavior chart. I number the clips with the number that a student is assigned in the beginning of the year. They start on green and move up and down depending on their behavior. I want to revamp this one and make it way cuter but I just need TIME! :)

This picture is for Erica at The Honey Bunch. We are both going to get rid of our teacher desks and I bought these to put my pens, markers, stickies, and stuff I store in my desk. I got these at Staples and they were 50% off so I got them for 15 bucks each. I'm not sure if that's a good deal but we will see how well they hold up!

O.K. {in cheerleader voice} that was a super duper long post! I hope I didn't bore you or miss anything. I just wanted to add some pictures and see if anyone has any questions or suggestions. I will upload more pictures and talk about my class rules soon! 

I need to rest up now. After I blog stalk a bit of course! 

I also wanted to thank all my followers! Wow! I have 34 of you sweeties now :) 

Please comment and tell me this is WAY TOO LONG!

Talk to you later! ;)