Classroom tour: Jump down the rabbit hole with Alice!

Oh my lanta, friends! I just finished my first week of school. It was only three days. And I am SLAP exhausted. Wait. There must be a better word. I think they call it 'teacher tired'. Y'all know exactly what I mean. This is a good 10 levels above exhausted. #soserious Thank goodness for a three day weekend to recover before things get serious next week. 

I recently shared my classroom updates at RCA on my Periscope account and finally had time to snap some pictures today. I am sad to admit that I forgot my legit camera, so we are going iPhone style. Doggone. But, you will get the idea! 

If you would like to see my room live, you can check out my Periscope video right here: 

This is the after: 

Here is the before: 

So why Alice in Wonderland? At RCA, we are all about creating engaging environments that inspire our students. Since I teach reading, I wanted my students to feel like they are jumping straight into a book. I want them to learn that reading can take you on the most amazing adventures. What better adventures to find than in Wonderland?! 

Now, just a little note. I do not have an unlimited budget to decorate my room. At RCA, we are all about making things happen. Hutch {an RCA dad} and I made way too many trips to count to Hobby Lobby {with 40% off coupons}, thrift stores, Goodwill, and IKEA to make this vision come to life. I also found so many things on online yard sales, and I went straight to Facebook to ask beg for donations from people. If you really believe in something...you find a way to make it work. That is exactly what we did with this room. 

The entrance. I am a little obsessed with these hobbit doors that lead you through a giant stack of books. Everyone knows that things are larger than life when you are in Wonderland. 

Welcome to Wonderland! 

Love using my Mad Hatter's chair for read alouds. 

I was dreaming about having a grand library in my classroom. However, these were MEGA expensive to build. Instead, we went and bought book cases from IKEA, arranged them to look like a grand library, and attached them to the wall! 

Then I got my thrifting on and found all things old and vintage to fill them up. I found most of these items at Goodwill or old vintage shops. 

You can check out a tutorial for how I use my lock board {seen above} here: 

Right below my cabinets is my little reading nook. I know, I know. The Tweedles are a little creepy! And I sorta love it.

I so appreciate details. I have cabinets on both sides of my Promethean. On top, I have some of my resources, but I gave it a little Wonderland foresty feel by adding wooden platters underneath my things. 

I have my journal all set up for reading quotes. This is part of my Reading Bucket List unit coming out September 18th. 

This is a giant tree, but it is also a rock climbing wall. The students read in these little nooks during independent reading time. Don't you worry...we have a safety pad below. I have yet to have a student fall. Now me...I would break my neck. :) 

I needed a computer stand, so I got creative and used some extra things I had in my room. I had these giant cardboard books that I found on sale and needed a use for them. I used glue to secure them to a coffee table. Works like a charm! 

So there you have it...my little version of Wonderland. If you have any questions about my room, feel free to leave them below. I will add a little Q&A section below this post. 

If you would like to come visit RCA and join the revolution during one of our Educator Training days, click HERE for more details! :) 

Now I am off to hibernate. Until Tuesday! :) Happy weekend, my friends. Do something fun, take some time for yourself, & relax. You certainly deserve it. I will be back later on this weekend to share all of the many things that went down in my classroom during our first week of school. 

XOXO! 

Five Fun Facts #TEACHERWEEK15

Hi friends! I am so excited. Teacher Week 2015 is here, and today I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' to share five fun facts about me. 

Fact #1: I am sort of a daredevil. I am an adrenaline junky. Now...this doesn't mean that I am brave. I still think that I am going to die every single time I try a new feat. But that doesn't stop me from trying. One time, I even decided to jump out of a plane. I might have called my mom 5,000 times to ask her if she in fact, thought I would die...but once I got going, you couldn't stop me. My husband, Wade, hates heights. Somehow I managed to talk him into jumping along. You can watch this video to enjoy the experience along with us...

Fact #2: I am a dog lover. Let me clarify...not animal lover. Dog lover! :) I despise spider, snakes, lizards, frogs, and anything else in the slimy family. However, I love, love, love my sweet puppy Maya. I call her Tas. You know? Tasmanian Devil? She is full of joy and love, but boy does she get into everything. Yep. She is a mess! 

Fact #3: I loooooovvvvvveeee basketball. Football? Not so much. But man oh man! When it's basketball season, I am all over it! Wade and I are huge Duke fans and we are also frequent visitors at Phillips Arena to cheer on the ATL Hawks. 

Fact #4: I love cupcakes. Like I would eat them for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, midnight snack if my body would allow it. My absolute favorite cupcakes are Georgetown Cupcakes. 

Fact #5: I love to teach in costume? Like I might be obsessed with it! Why? Because, well...why not? ;) 

Now head on over to Blog Hoppin' and share five fun things about you! Don't forget to link up all week long! Here's what is going down...

Cheers & Chants in the Classroom: Set the Stage to Engage Week 8

Can y'all believe it? It's week EIGHT of my Set the Stage to Engage Series. It feels like I started it...oh...who am I kidding? It feels like I started it two years ago. :) There is just something about back to school that makes each day feel like at least ten. Can I get a witness? ;) 

I know y'all don't have a lot of extra time so let's get right to it. Week eight of Set the Stage is all about how cheers and chants can add a little spark to your classroom while getting your kids attention and helping them remain engaged. 

Check out a periscope that I did a few weeks ago about this very thing. One of my dear friends, Adam Dovico, joined me for this one, and we had the best time. This video includes several cheers and chants that we both have used in our classrooms for quite some time. 

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get your classroom cheers and chants started. You won't be sorry! :) 

If you missed any previous posts in my Set the Stage to Engage series, you can check them out below! 

          

Hope y'all enjoy! 

The Million Dollar Question: Reading Engagement

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know how passionate I am when it comes to student engagement. That includes during independent reading and reading instruction. I think one of the most difficult battles that we fight is how to get our students to love {sometimes we even settle for like} reading. Check out my Periscope from last week to see how I plan on engaging my readers this year! This is definitely one...of many future posts! 

I have been working and reading All. Summer. Long. I have been reflecting on my experience as a teacher and as a reader. My thoughts go in a million different directions, but even through the foggy ideas, one thing always holds true. I feel 99.9% certain that this answers the question: How do I get my students to read and love it? 

Seems simple right? Then why is it SO hard? I feel like often times, this practice is neglected because of standards and mandates. As teachers, let's be honest...we also like control. By allowing our students to select their own texts, we are releasing complete control! I know. It's scary, right?

However, if we find a way to make this happen, I strongly believe that it could potentially do more than just change our students' reading behaviors. I 100% believe this could change their lives. After all, lifelong readers is what we all strive to create. 

I am going to be breaking down my year in reading here on the blog as the weeks progress. I am sure I will have many achievements to celebrate, but I also plan to share my struggles. I am hoping that together, we can all work to change our reading instruction into something that truly engages and INSPIRES our students. 

I have also been collaborating with my brilliant friend, Adam Dovico, to create a new reading incentive program that we feel will inspire and motivate our readers. It's not reading logs. It has nothing to do with points. It's all about creating a classroom of engaged readers. Adam and I will be revealing this on September 18th. I. Can't. Wait!!! Here is a little sneak peek!  

I can't wait to share the progress of my readers this year. Let's change our readers...together! :) 

GIANT Jenga: Set the Stage to Engage Week 7

Oh. My. Word! I have been trying to get this Jenga game on here for some time now. I apologize to everyone that has been waiting. I accidentally deleted the Periscope, so I had to record it all again. Eeek! But not to worry...it's done...it's on YouTube...and it's ready to go! Whew! 

I am SO excited about incorporating this game into my classroom this year! I love to use games to engage my students. However, it is SO important that we are designing games to make the most of our time. We don't want for students to be in large groups where they are only responsible for answering three questions in 25 minutes. On the same note, we don't want to put them in large groups where they are all discussing an answer. Let's be honest...we all know that only one {maybe two} students are benefiting from this type of activity. Typically we find that the smartest person in the group is doing all of the work. Think of games, or even better, ways to play games that will engage all of your learners at every single second.

Check out this quick little video to find out how I will be playing Jenga in my classroom this year, AND how I will engage every single student during the entire game. 

You can click the image below to download the blank Jenga game sheet.

Note: Of course you can also use regular Jenga with the same concept. I have four large sets and eight small sets that I will be using with my students. I purchased my sets from Splinter Woodworking on Etsy. They were super fast and the quality of the game is excellent

I have also had questions about storage. Here is a little peek at mine. I simply used storage containers and created labels on my Cameo. {Don't mind my sweet little pup, Maya, on the side. She just wanted to get in on the action! ;) } 

Let me know if you have any questions below, and I will answer and add to this post! 

If you missed any previous posts in my Set the Stage to Engage series, you can check them out below! 

          

Hope y'all enjoy!