Linus the Minus

 I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea for teaching subtraction!  You can go here TPT-Sarah Cooley to get this amazing download.  My kids love learning about strategies and subtraction with this cool little booklet.  There is also another booklet about Gus the Plus that she has made.

 I also love that I can just pull up the PDF on my board and do it right along with them.  What a super clever idea to make this cool booklet!  As always, Sarah Cooley is one of the best teachers for coming up with some amazing teaching ideas!   If you haven't ever visited her blog- it is one of my favorites!  First Grader At Last

Super Smartie Blends

I mean, seriously, how much smarter can my little Firsties get!  Check out these awesome blends they came up with today.  I am so proud of them!

How To Make 10 Anchor Chart

Another great math lesson!  My kids came up with some awesome answers today when we discussed all of the ways to make 10.  They are so amazing!  They were telling me what to use- words, numbers, or patterns- and made sure that I used the correct terms on our chart.

WBT Posters

 I have made a new set of Whole Brain Teaching posters for my classroom which I am selling on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I just love these adorable Tots -smiley dudes- (which I bought on TPT).  My kids love them too!  They just brighten up my classroom!  Plus, they go right along with the Classroom Management system for WBT.

My Favorite Ten Frame

Teaching my students how to use a ten-frame with Pete the Cat and his groovy buttons was so much fun!  It is one of my favorite math lessons yet!  Plus they kept asking me to sing about his belly button all day long.  Since we were working on possessive nouns this week, I also finished out the day with a Pete the Cat Possession lesson.  They had so much fun thinking of all of the things that belonged to Pete!  Seriously, I just cannot get enough of this cool cat!

By the way, the ten frame was a freebie that I found on Pinterest!  Which makes it even better.  Of course, it used up a ton of ink to print.  But, he is so worth it!

Yardsticks and Clothespins

 I tried to figure out a new, different way to hang my students work this year.  I used clothespins last year, but when the hallway got repainted over the summer- then my clothespins came down.  I didn't want to fool with putting them up.  So, I decided to just make something that would be easy to put up and take down.  So, I got some yardsticks from Amazon....some purple clothespins from Oriental Trading...and some gorilla glue from Wal-Mart!  I love these!  I just attached them to the wall with some mounting tape which is also easy to remove.

New Organization

 If you haven't noticed, I LOVE organizing my classroom for a brand-new year.  I think since we have started a new reading series and changing everything over to Common Core, I am even more excited about starting fresh.  So, I made some new labels for all of my manipulatives.

 I also found these purple containers that I am now using for everything- for pencils on my students' tables, too.  I also bought some square ones that have come in handy for crayons.  I just love these.

 I have a new set-up for my folder box and my bin for our aides to run things off and laminate things.  I tried to make it look like home with a lamp and a plant.  It is sitting right when you walk in the room, and it does give the room a nice feel.  I couldn't live without the purple work box organizer.

 I am loving the new LARGE retelling cards from our Journeys series.  I also love that there are only 4 cards with this series.  It just seems to make more sense.

 This is my stations table where everything is laid out ready for the students to get before stations start each day.  They are doing a fabulous job putting everything back each day, and I am truly impressed.  I love having the station boxes (in purple) that contain everything they need for the station each week.  It is so easy for them to get and clean up each day.  Makes my life so much simpler!

 I started using this station chart at the end of the year last year, and I still love it.  It is so much easier to have only two changes each day.  That has also helped my to have nice, calm, quiet station time where my children are actually learning instead of trying to run from station to station.

 I also have this little chart that I keep in our whole group area on the carpet.  Simple- but it helps them to remember what Title, Author, and Genre mean.

 I am still using this awesome cart for my books in my classroom.  But, I just changed my labels to match the rest of the new ones I made for this year.  I do love this cart!  It was a really smart purchase.  It is totally indestructible!