WHAT IS TOO SOON?

Preparing for September. 

I happen to have the good fortune to know what I am teaching in September and I get to stay at my school. In Ontario, this is a luxury to most teachers with 8 years experience.  Next year it is already being talked about that the layoffs will reach most teachers in there 8th year and I will be thrown into the pool and be moved to new school and grade like my partner and friend Kaitlin. She has this happen to her each year and she is only a year's difference in experience than myself.  She handles this with such grace and maturity, but it is something that should not be happening. It is breaking the spirit of some incredible teachers. (But not Kaitlin's) 

So for now I will celebrate and can't help but be excited to prepare for September.  Is this too soon?  In Ontario we just finished school on the 28th of June. Nevertheless, I have been searching the Internet and pintrest for ideas for next year. This year I had somewhat of a Dr. Seuss theme and I am ready for a change.  I think I want to keep things neutral and not have a theme in my room this year.  I want to use the colours of our blog in my room, because I am in love with the changes to our blog.  I love our new look.  
 
I have been thinking a lot about the brag board outside my room as well, and what to do to show off the student's work. 

A teaching friend of mine came up with the idea of birds.  At first I wasn't sold on the idea because I didn't want to get caught up into a theme again.  She started talking about tying things into media and technology which our school had been putting huge focus on.  Very quickly after a visit to our teacher store, I too fell in love with the bird Idea and plan on tying it into twitter and blogging as a class. 

The outside of my classroom is going to be something like a clothes line with birds holding up their work.  I have been brainstorming "sayings" to put on the board like..."Mrs. Renaud's Sweet "Tweets" or "Work worth "Tweeting" about" or "How "Tweet" it is in Grade 3!"

So after I said that I didn't want a theme I ended up finding the cutest bird items to use in the class.  Here are the exciting things that I purchased, and I will keep you posted on how I plan to use them.  I am hoping to create a "Tweeting Language" package for my grade 3's this year.  I really feel , it will help with word choice and making every word count. I will teach them the rules of twitter and how you have to pack a powerful message into very few characters. I really think the students will be engaged because it is something they see so much of.  

Here are some birds that I will be using in the classroom.

Here is my new religion board, I have a great idea for an interactive religion board this year, and like I said I want to use our new blog colours. So stay tuned for the finished product.

 

These birds I want to use for the clothes line outside my classroom for their brag wall.  I will put pictures up as soon as it is complete.

I saw these mailboxes for the classroom jobs and fell in love with them too. Each child has a bird and they go in the bird house when it's there week for that job.  The top flap lifts up-how cute!

My students have bins to keep there things in because we don't have desks we have tables so I will put these on the bins with their names.

These are the cut out letters that match all the colours I want to use and they go with the birds. 

So much for not having a theme in my class (he he), but I can't help myself. Preparing for a new year is just so exciting. 

 

Hope everyone is having a relaxing start to the summer!

 

Christine