Time to Go Back to School Sneak Peek

I've been MIA this past week due to preparing to go back to school.  Although  our official day is August 18th, I had two days this week of incoming kindergarten assessments and then worked in my classroom to get it set up for the new year. I'm not quite ready for the real classroom photo tour, but Ill give you a little sneak pen of behind the scenes prepping.

Every year I seem to move just a few things round.  I always feel like I'm paling Tetris with my room. There seems to always be one piece of furniture that just doesn't fit. This year I also wanted to add a little more decor to my room.  I bought some some tissue pompoms in white, black and red, and some chevron and polka dot lanterns.  You can find them here at

I think I'm going to order a few more pompoms, They have them in polka dots too.

I also found these at Walmart in the party section.  They are 8" come in a 2-pack for .97¢ I added my table numbers to them and will be hanging them from the the light fixtures.

 I had this old stool I had bought, and painted to look like a watermellon over 20 years ago.  This year I decided to make it blend into my classroom.   Alittle paint and some fabric is all it took.

 I took an old chair and recovered it too.  It wan't as easy as I had hoped, as the back was held on with plastic pegs.  I broke two in the process of prying the back off, but luckily the other two pegs hold it together.

 I needed a new book bag chart.  i had used labels on my old one ad didn't want to spend the time using goo gone to get them off.

 I needed something to hold all my pointers.  I found this small waste basket at Target for $2.99.  I used my Cricut and some red vinyl to make the letters.

 I printed out my stars with the numbers and see clear contact paper to adhere them to the floor.  I know have a number line from 1-30 that winds through my classroom.

You can purchase my number line in my TpT store

 This year I am adding items to my calendar wall to use with my Calendar Notebooks.

I'm using the blackened white version, but It comes in other color options too.

I also made this attendance lunch board, I just need to find a place to hang it.  I really want it to be a part of our calendar wall, but I need to use nails and really didn't want to put nails through my fabric.

I also made myself a new clip chart. I know there are different opinions on the use of these, but for me it really works.  I really try to focus on the positive aspects of student behavior and move my kids up the chart.  I wear their pins when the reach the top.  I also let them move back up the chart if they have had to clip down.  Once I see that they have modified their behavior.  When they clip down, we have a quick conference. I really stress to my students that they are great kids who made a poor choice and they can choose to do the right thing.  

Well that is all you will get for now.  Real classroom photos will come next week.I intend to stay away from school until Next Monday, when I officially must be back.  I thought I'd leave you with a little Back to School gift.  This is not in my calendar pack- it is just something I whipped up for myself and then decided to share.