Currently October...I'M BACK!

Hello! 

I apologize for the lack of posting.  This whole new public school thing has been quite the adjustment to say the least.  It is already October and I have had an informal observation, walk-throughs, district principal observations, and my formal observation.  It all went smoothly but it has been a ton of prep work.  

I thought I would get back into the swing of things with the Currently link up with Farley from Oh Boy! 4th Grade

Currently

Listening....Dear Luke Bryan, 
How have I gone this long without listening to your gorgeous voice? 

Loving...Ladies and Gentleman it has been a whirlwind but it's official I do not have another formal observation until 3rd quarter.  This Marzano method is quite different then my previous observation method. Are any of you observed based on the Marzano method?

Thinking...A giveaway is in the works.  Follow me on Instagram @KruzinThroughKinder

Wanting...These beauties...

Tory Burch

Needing...Fall weather to arrive.  I definitely will not miss walking my students to their parents at the end of the day and sweating buckets.  Plus, I dream of rocking this look complete with my G.S.V.L. from Starbucks! Of course I can't wear the jeans to work but I can wear some cords!

JCREW

Trick or Treat...I love all things chocolate, halloween, and pumpkins.  I've been known to rock pumpkin carving contests...literally...

Well friends I am officially back! I hope I can keep this up! Have a great week!

Classroom Reveal

Sorry friends! It has been a whirlwind since we have begun school.  I am loving my class and we are working hard on setting procedures.  For many it is their first experience in school so it's important to remember that.  I also have to learn procedures since I am new as well to the school! 

It's finally time for my classroom reveal.  I am linking up with Swimming into Second for the classroom reveal linky! 

Just to keep a few things in mind we can not alter the furniture given to us or bring in outside furniture.  We also can't hang anything from the ceiling and our walls can only be 20% covered.  I will however be asking for permission to bring in my own chairs for small group and my computer.  

This is the view of my classroom looking in from the doorway.  How lucky am I that our school purchased seats sacks for us?  These are the large ones from Lakeshore.  

This is the view of my student cubbies and part of my word wall.  The yellow bins hold 3 different types of whiteboards.  The turquoise and pink bins are where the students put their folders, completed work, and I place paper in the 2nd turquoise bin that need to be placed in their folders to go home. The blue paper holder holds various paper for writing station.  The orange and yellow frames are student work display frames from www.Lakeshorelearning.com  I have since added to them.  They hold directions of what to put in each bin.  The students and I make these charts together and then I display them.

 This picture is a little dark of my computer area and one area to display student work.  I couldn't make a large display board as the last portion of my wall would be covered so I used this area and my back cabinets as a way to display student work.  

 This is my calendar area.  My math program asks that we use a pocket calendar chart.  This will come in handy when we begin to learn patterns through our calendar.  I have since moved all the months of the year and placed them in binder rings.  We flip through them as we sing our songs and as the months change. 

 This is my small group area and my word wall.  I am working on permission to change the chair. 

 This is where I will display our amazing words.  Our county adopted the Reading Street Common Core Series and vocabulary words are now referred to amazing words.  The drawers are for my small group materials.  The little science sign will be where I place my science vocabulary words.  

 This is my area where all my math manipulatives are stored.  The purple bins are also for math work stations.  Our math curriculum has math work stations built in.  It is actually amazing and I am so happy with the program. 

 This is my clip chart that I changed this weekend.  The owls are where I will display pictures of them holding the day of their birthday.  Each owl is a different month.

 This is a full view of my word wall.  I made it myself with scrapbook paper and the wooden cutouts that you can find in Michaels or Joanne's.  I LOVE how it came it. 

This is looking onto my carpet from my student tables.  Each table I stocked with crayons, pencils, markers, scissors and glue.  The drawers are all labeled.  

This is a picture of my classroom library.  Do not mind the randomly placed green blue and yellow bins.  Those bins the school places in our classroom for our 100 book challenge.  I am dying to add something HUGE above those windows but I am not trying to go against the school rules! I love my huge Pete the Cat. We have used him so much in the classroom already.  The kids LOVE to hold Pete when they are sharing.  The ice cream cones are for our ice cream words.  This is a little way we encourage the students to memorize high-frequency words.  Every time they memorize a list they add a scoop and get ice cream or a popsicle.  

I am happy the way my classroom turned out.  It wasn't my original vision but I have received comments on how inviting and functional the space is.  As long as my students are comfortable and learning that is all that matters to me. 

Let's Talk About Me!- Meet the Teacher

I'm linking up with the blog hoppin girls for Teacher Week '13.  I'm so excited to share a little bit about me.





1. I graduated with a degree in business and realized the day I was walking down the aisle to graduate that I probably should go back to school for teaching.  Therefore I quit my corporate job 6 months after I started and pursued my dream by attending graduate school and beginning my career as a kindergarten teacher in a small Christian school. 

2. I am obsessed with animals.  SEE? I will even hold an alligator :-)

3. I have a dog named Chloe that has a tongue that hangs out at all times. 

4. I am a sucker for sunsets and luckily they are BEAUTIFUL here in SW Florida.

5. I have an amazing boyfriend that makes me breakfast every morning and packs my lunch every day. He truly cares about what I am teaching in the classroom and we frequently can be found talking about math and science lessons.


6. I'm afraid of sharks but I will swim out to all depths of the ocean if it means that I will get the opportunity to hold a sand dollar or sea star. I was actually saving this one because it was nearly in the sand dunes and would have never made it back out to the gulf.

7.  It's very hard for me to not start my day with a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks :-)

8.  I really do have a little convertible and we love to drive around with the top down and Chloe loves when the wind hits her hair.

9. I enjoy working out and I make sure I do so at least 6 times a week.


10. I just began fulfilling my childhood dream of horseback riding.  It is my happy place and I am in love with horseback riding!

Currently

I'm linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade today for the August Currently edition.  Jump onto the linky as it continues throughout the year! 

A Passionate Teacher

This week my principal showed this video.  I think it sums up the way I feel as I embark on my new journey.  I am so grateful to be working at a school with an amazing staff and administration. 

Grab the tissues...

What's Important in a Classroom?

I just read a very interesting blog article written by Debbie Clement from Rainbows Within Reach.  It seems like there is quite the controversy brewing in Blogland.  Should a classroom be cute? How important is it for a classroom to be cute?

This brings me to my theory.  I feel that a classroom needs to be organized, visually appealing, neat, and functional.  But I also feel as if Pinterest has kind of become the new Face*ook.  People are scouring it thinking, "If only I had a nicer classroom. If only my bulletin boards were as pretty.  If only my reading area was more amazing." I think it is an wonderful source of inspiration but we need to make sure that we don't beat ourselves up over it.  


Your students are going to love you whether or not your classroom has the most amazing bulletin boards or if they are just plain jane with some basic borders.  You got this job because YOU know what to do.  YOU know how to make a difference.  Remember this classroom is for the students to learn and for us to transfer knowledge to them.  After that first day of school the bulletin boards will be covered with anchor charts, the book baskets will be out of place, and the puzzles pieces will be missing.   So don't get caught up on all the photos of the catalogue worthy classrooms. All that matters is that we enter and exit our classroom with the same frame of mind...to make a difference. Lets foster a love of learning within our students.  Lets show the world that teachers are the most important people out there.




What are your thoughts?

New Blog Design and Monday Made it Link Up

Yay! For a new blog design! I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out.  I owe a huge thank you to Christi from Design By Christi who designed my page and Crystal at The Library Fox who created my custom blog button and "mini me."  I highly recommend both of these lovely ladies if you are in need of a blog design or custom clip art.

Monday Made It!

Let's kick off Monday Made it with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics.  I have been very busy today. With only 1 more day left of my summer vacation, I have been running around to Walmart, Target, Joanne's and Michaels gathering up last minute items.  

MADE IT #1

After seeing the student toolboxes that The Ladybug Teacher Files created, I knew I had to change up my original plan.  I originally planned to do the table caddies but knew that in 1 week I would get frustrated when the markers, pencils, and crayons were scattered about inside the caddies leaving the caddies dirty and just plain...gross.  To ease my mind I created these beauties...

Goodbye dirty caddies, hello hidden dirt!

MADE IT #2

This weekend while on vacation in Chicago I decided I hated my word wall that I previously made.  I mean REALLY...hated it.  I thought about it  A LOT and I came up with another idea. I wanted to create a word wall that had items attached to it that began with each letter of the alphabet.  I didn't just want clipart so I decided to use the wooden cutouts that can be found at Michaels or Joanne Fabrics.  I adhered everything to chevron scrapbook paper and made the letters on the computer.

Stay tuned for pictures of it once I hang it in my classroom.  That's all for now! Make sure to jump on over to Tara's blog and see all the Monday Made Its!