Back to School Blogger Exchange and Classroom Digs

Today is the first day of school! I am nervous and excited to meet my new students. Before heading  out to meet the class of 2020, I want to link up with two linkys. The first is the Back to School Blogger Exchange I participated in. It was hosted by Covered in Glitter and Glue and Adventures of Mrs. Smith, thank you ladies for hosting this. It was a lot of fun! I  also want to link up with Blog Hoppin' for Classroom Digs. It is the second link up for Teacher Week 2013. 

First up is the Back to School Blogger Exchange,  this exchange you were paired up with another blogger, and you spent some time blog stalking them and then sent out a box filled with goodies. I was paired with LaTasha from Life in 6th Grade with Mrs. V. Latasha knew I was planning a Dr. Seuss themed classroom, so she sent a box filled with Dr. Seuss goodies. I absolutely loved the two posters and erasers that I found inside the box. Thank you Latasha. 

Unfortunately, when I returned to work last Tuesday I found out that the Dr. Seuss  themed decor I had ordered for my classroom had not arrived, and probably wouldn't arrive before school started (and it didn't). I was so disappointed since I had spent the last few weeks planning out my Dr. Seuss themed classroom. Instead of going into full panic mode I quickly came up with a plan B. plan B involved...

Duct tape...I have lots of rolls of duct tape, so I thought why not use it. I created the following display. 

There were books duct taped to butchers paper. It was actually kind of cute. I also began using the duct tape on my bulletin boards as boarder. However, the next day I walked into this...

Yes, my entire display had fallen down. The border duct tape I started putting up didn't work either. I'm now in full panic mode! Not having money to go out and buy a lot I had to get creative. Thus plan C was created, and it is my current classroom ready for the new school year! Take a look: 

Twitter: at the end of the week using a sticky note students will "tweet" something they've learned that week. 

Readbox: This is my small, but functional classroom library. I have lots of books and only one bookshelf, so I will switch out books mid year. 

Super books: next to the readbox you will find this bulletin board that correlates with our building and district theme.  Student book reviews will go here. 

#Vocabulary: this is my word wall. Vocabulary words will be hash-tagged and placed on the cabinets. 

Blogging: I plan to get students blogging this year, this is where I plan to start. We will create paper blogs first that will be displayed here. Guided reading book bags are located on the table. 

Put your FACE in a BOOK: I plan to snap pictures of students reading various books and add to this board. Excuse the bubbles in the paper. The blue portion is a sticker and I was trying to get it straight when the paper bubbled. 

I couldn't figure out a good place for a calendar, so I'm going to try using this, week at a glance. 

This is the area behind my desk; it has class pictures from previous years. 

Insta: Outside my classroom, just on the other side of the twitter board you will find instagram. This is where we will place pictures throughout the year. 

Below are some other views of my classroom. It looks pretty plain, but soon student work will bring life to the classroom. 

Not bad for plan C. You're probably wondering what I'm going to do with all of my Dr. Seuss stuff when it arrives. We will have an extraordinary Read Across America Week this year.  

I'm off to meet the class of 2020! Head over to Blog Hoppin' and check out some more classroom digs.