September Days and Classroom Tour Part 1

 Wow! Where did August go?

I’m posting a look ahead of the September National Days. There were a few days that didn’t really have much that was usable in the classroom for students.

*VOTE* Look at the calendar and let me know if there are days you would really like to see me feature here on my blog. I am trying to only feature days that would be fun and/or meaningful to celebrate in the classroom and I usually only cover the days that fall on a weekday. I try to find freebies and fun ideas from around the web for you to use that day. I sometimes even create a special freebie!

Back-to-school!

Our first day back-to-school (with students) was on Tuesday. This week we have a BBQ and an informal Open House to welcome back the students and parents. The classrooms are open and the parents can see what we’ve so far (in a little over a week!). There is always the pressure to have some wonderful things finished and displayed, but I think parents understand that we’ve barely even started. I always tell my parents at Orientation that the year starts out slowly as far as difficulty level. We’re reviewing many of the things that they learned in Kindergarten and may have forgotten over the summer. This is definitely helpful when they are starting off with basic math pages that have you color a certain number or reading sentences that have about 3 words. It progresses quickly though and before you know it we’ll be zooming through new material!

I’m still setting up some things in the classroom and working on a display for the hallway (Our 1st & 2nd Grade Neighborhood). Here are a few pictures that I have to share with you now.

1) Our Best Work Wall – The supplies are all from Wal-Mart. I used the scrapbook paper pack that was shown. I did have to a black/white (numbers) page that I had from somewhere. You may need a few packs to have a good mix of the styles that you want to use. I put the mini duck tape over the top of the clothespin and hot glued a tack to the back. I am still going to add a small picture of each student to the clothespin so we know who did the work! 🙂 I made the letters and used a variety of paper backgrounds that coordinated with the paper. 

*Here are the words: Our Best Work

2) Noodle Pictures – The first day of school we read the book, The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing. In the story, the students make pictures our of noodles and both girls (the new friends) make noodle poodles. I haven’t had anyone ever (successfully!) make a noodle poodle, but we make a unique creation with a variety of noodle shapes. They have fun and it gives them something to bring home on the first day.

3) This is a little decoration that I made for the door. I don’t have this one ready to be shared. I still need to add credits to the file and then I’ll list it as a free or paid product. I wanted a silver background (like a baking sheet) and thought wrapping paper would work better than aluminum foil. The good news is that it went over the door very easily. I just had to tape it to the top and let the roll gently down. I then used double sided tape to underneath. You can see a seam to the right. The roll of wrapping paper basically only covered the left side (I had a little leftover, but not enough to finish the door) so I had to buy a 2nd roll. My husband bought the 1st roll (from Wal-Mart) and I was shocked to see that this fancy Hallmark paper cost nearly $6. So, 2 rolls was a bit pricey! I do have leftovers that I can use for wrapping. I even thought about salvaging the paper and doing some other cookie themed doors (Christmas cookies, etc.) but I used double sided tape to attach the pictures so they are not moving at all. That is why the lettering in the middle isn’t centered – there was no way to get it to budge without tearing the paper. Live and learn! 🙂

4) An apple for the parent – The poem is a TPT freebie by Bethany Miller. The adorable ribbon is from Wal-Mart (surprise! it’s the only big store that is really close) and it only cost $1 a roll. You’ll probably need 2-3 rolls. I left this on the desks for Parent Orientation meetings. 

5) Picture props! I made a poster for my 1st graders to hold on the 1st day and then emailed the parents a copy. They really enjoyed it. This makes a special memory for the parents. I made them for preschool and PK-5th grade. It’s a free download here at TPT. 

Well, that’s all for now! I’m off to enjoy some family time on our holiday weekend. Enjoy your day!
~Melissa