Classroom Library REDO!

My "summer" project was going to be my classroom library. Last year when I got my job in second grade there was just enough time to get my room ready and then get plans ready. No time to try to go the extra mile. My classroom library was full-to-the-max thanks to a wonderful retired teacher who left a mountain of books plus all my own books I added to the shelves. They were already sorted by AR levels so I just left it that way and went about my business! 

I quickly realized that "shopping" for books as a student in a super crammed shelf was really not the best way to find a book that was interesting. I could never find a book I needed because I never had any idea where in the world it was. So my "summer" project was decided--sort library into bins! That "summer" project became two weeks before school project. Whoooooops! OH well! It worked out because, drum roll please, it doubled as a Masters homework assignment! Booya! 

Here's the library before:

And here's the after. Ooooo Ahhhh....amiright?

Here's the bins close up. The labels all have pictures to make it even easier to figure out what's in the bins! 

The next project is to take the pictures from the labels and to shrink them, print on labels, and stick on the corner of each book (basically make a sticker out of each picture). That way kiddos have no reason not to know which bin a book goes in. Until then there is a Lost Books bin they can put their books in if they don't know where to return it to! Hopefully that will minimize books being put in wrong bins! 

Ok, three days until Teacher Institutes, and I still have some things to do in my room. But I am so excited to get back to it! It's been so good seeing coworkers already :) And I'm excited for my new group of kids and a new year!

Mrs. Strunga :)

New Goodies for a New Year

Like it or not, if you're a passionate teacher you will spend some of your *small* paycheck on your job. You will buy things for your students--supplies that dwindle throughout the year, prizes, treats--activities and lessons from teachers pay teachers, and you will buy supplies for your room. Most schools get a *small* allotment of dollars to spend but if you are passionate, you will always dip into your own wallet and spend your own money. 

Now, some of us go a little beyond. I absolutely did not have to buy a lot of the items I did last year or this year to have a successful year with my students. I did not need polka dot rugs in order to create successful learners. But when having a discussion with my mom I told her about the hours I spent per week in my classroom...it's really like a second home. And I did not want my second home to be drab. I wanted it to feel as much like a home as a classroom can feel. So I went the extra mile and spent some extra money to make my room a place that I could spend time and with some decor factor.

But I could not buy everything I wanted in one year--I would be broke. So you just have to pace yourself. IKEA will pretty much be a staple trip, and the Container Store is just down the street. Both are wonderful! I always hit up Big Lots and the Dollar stores in the summers as well! So here is the loot I've picked up so far this summer that will go back with me in August to set up another wonderful year in second grade!

This cute beverage container from Carson's is going to house my Whiteboards. The $5 rubber bin they were in last year was ripping at the corners so it was time to upgrade. 

The whiteboards will go up top.

And the erasers/markers will go underneath. The erasers will go in the big black bucket from Hobby Lobby (summer clearance). And the markers will get divided up among the polka dot buckets (dollar spot - Target). When I need kiddos to come get whiteboards and take them back to their tables, they can easily grab one polka dot bucket and take it back to their table with enough markers for their whole table.

Ah, IKEA. I just love it so much. Funny story about the awesome blue bags. You have to buy them for $.59. But look at how HUGE it is. Well, my mom was thinking it was regular shopping bag size--it is folded up. So she bought three. And was a little frustrated. Until we opened it up. Then there was glee in her eyes. Too funny!

I bought some fabric...because, I mean, look at it.

Another lap desk...because, I mean, look at it.

But, I would like to build up my lap desks so my students who are at "Work on Writing" during Daily 5 can spread out around the room rather than having to sit at their desks. 

Magazine files which come 5 for $1.99. They are cardboard so I send them home at the end of the year. But until the school buys me a set of reusable book boxes, this is the best deal in the world!

Magnet board and magnets. I have a math center in store for this guy! 

I bought two of these awesome hanging drying racks! *Funny story about this: I saw it in the store, and it was on my list, so I kind of, sort of, ran to it with a little too much zeal for how empty the store was. Kind of like finding a deal on Black Friday sort of zeal. My dad was just looking at me like, Kristen...there are a thousand of these and no one else around for miles. They aren't going to run out. But I just really wanted this so I don't have wet, gluey papers laying strewn about my floor any more! So, yes, I had some zeal about this $4.99 purchase!

I bought 5 of these $.99 frames! This was one of the things I got home last year and thought, why didn't I just buy some of those? I saw on pinterest how other teachers used them and they are so cheap! I can put little welcome signs, directions for centers, anything! They are plastic...I could write with dry erase! SO CHEAP! So I bought enough to stick one on every table with a welcome sign the first day of school, and if that's all I do with them, I think it was worth it. But I am sure I will use them for more.

These are magnetic holders I plan to use for the math center with the magnetic board! And that wraps up the purchases at IKEA! Such a great store!

CADDIES! I bought 5 of these for $3 at Meijer. I had been on the HUNT for these. Michaels had 2 purple ones. Hobby Lobby had every color but red or black. Target had none. The dreaded Walmart had none. Online was going to cost me too much. And then one day at Meijer I just happened to glance down an aisle and see a bountiful harvest. Yay me! I will probably add a little ribbon/bow to dress them up :)

One more sturdy crate from the Container Store :) I think that will bring up my total to 10 for this school year. But I'm done. That's enough crate seats!

 The container store always had fun little goodies. My mom had to get me these pens that look like pencils...ya know, to freak the kids out ;) 

And Goo Gone makes this Sticker Lifter which is from the gods. It is THE best stuff! So I picked up that, too.

One of my favorite purchases from the day was also from the Container Store! ERASABLE HANGING TABS! No more insert plastic tab and paper tab...change out paper tab...insert plastic tab again. And you still use PERMANENT MARKER! The only catch is that you can't use rust colored eraser. You can even use rubbing alcohol to wipe it off if you don't have a white eraser handy. I am kind of glad I had not yet organized my file cabinet! 

My last summer purchase is from Big Lots. I have been stalking both Danville and Champaign stores trying to buy these bins for my classroom library. They are called Magazine Storage Bins but I want to use them to sort my library by interest/topic. They come in pink, green, blue and black but with my color scheme I only want black. If I can't get enough I may have to bust out some spray paint!

I still have to go buy supplies...because yes, kids lose crayons, pencils, and run out of glue so I, too, have to stock up on supplies. But first I will be heading to camp with the youth group for a week then to Destin, FL for one last week of summer bliss! Then it will be all school all the time! 

One last fun thing to leave you with...because I'm super geeked out about it and couldn't keep it a surprise :) When I was on Vista Print ordering my magnets, I noticed I could buy 50 postcards for $4.99! Now, yes, I'll have to buy postage...but how fun will it be for my new students to get mail from me before school even starts! Here's what the back looks like!

And here's where I'll write a little message and their address.

In a fun world, this is how they would find out if they got me as a teacher. But our school secretary would have my head! And I really like her and want her to continue to help me...so as soon as registration day is here I will mail these out! It will still be really fun!

Mrs. Strunga :)

Folders

Oh, I really have the buzz. The back-to-school buzz. I walked the aisles at Target...yes the back-to-school aisles at Target. They weren't even actually ready to go. Some boxes were still taped, waiting to be opened and put on shelves. The aisles were only half put together. One was still half summer BBQ and half mechanical pencils. But I didn't mind. I walked through and thought about school. I am only going into my third full year of teaching...so I'm still really excited. I miss all my coworkers. I miss the students. I miss my job because I LOVE MY JOB! But I know after I sweat my tooshie off on Day 1 I will miss the pool and air conditioning...ah such is life.

I have also already had TWO school dreams. My husband thinks I am seriously ca-ray-zay. I mean, he knew that before, but this just confirms what he knew all along. The first was that a local superintendent was going to be my substitute so I didn't bother to make detailed sub plans...and I had a terrible time getting to my classroom which when I finally did get there was covered in plastic and not student ready. And my principal was there to meet me wanting those not at all ready sub plans. And I was late to observe another teacher. AHHH stress. 

The second dream was that my two lovely friends in first grade redecorated their rooms just like mine...except NAVY, red, and white polka dots. And they hung table numbers over every desk. So 20 table numbers hanging from 20 tissue poms. SO WEIRD. Why do I dream like this? 

Could it possibly be because I am anal and have been pinning away and already typing my students names into documents like my folder covers? Probably! And now we get to todays posts! FOLDERS! WHEEEEE! Our wonderful school purchases us homework folders every year that are wonderful. I don't have a good picture but here are last years tucked away waiting for my students to come get them on day one!

On the front I made folder covers which had the student name, my name, and the school year. You can get an editable folder cover here

On the back the students kept track of their dojo points daily and then turned in the paper at the end of the week for dojo coupons!

Click on the picture above to get this Dojo tracker for your own classroom!

The wonderful part of the folders is on the inside one side is labeled "Keep at Home" and the other is "Return to School." Perfect!! Even on the first day I'm sending things home for parents to keep and asking things to be filled out to return to me. One thing I ask them to return is this survey. I had one last year I used from another teacher but I tweaked it to fit my classroom and my needs. Click on the picture if you would like to use it as well!

I've definitely had school on the brain but once the Hubs and I go to camp with the youth group for a week then go to Destin for a week, August 14 is going to sneak up on me! I want to be prepared!

Mrs. Strunga :)

Magnets!

I'm back on the blog again...what?!?! I just have the back to school bug...on July 3rd. It's probably because it's more fun to look at back to school deals and think about decorating my room than doing my final project for my grad school class. Hence why I'm blogging again. I'm just putting off that final project. Technically this is our week off...so I would just be an overachiever to be working on it right now! Come on! That is so not me.

Anyway...last year at this time I hadn't even officially gotten the job at Catlin. I was just wistfully pinning second grade things on pinterest hoping I would get the job. Then once I did I was in overdrive. The first day of school through the last day of school I kept thinking..."Ok, I'll do that better next year." But there were some things worth repeating.

Even on day ONE my students go home with lots of things in their homework folder. A survey for the parents to fill out, information about Class Dojo, etc. But something I was super excited about last year, and I've already reordered for this year are magnets! The original idea came from here. 

So I made this, uploaded it to Vistaprint, and ordered magnets to send home with my students! None of this is information that isn't already available to parents via our school website, but now it's available to them right on their refrigerator! It's very reasonably priced to order these magnets and they're the size of business cards! Some of my parents said they appreciated these! I put my information on everything but from day one I want to make sure my parents know how to contact me!! 

Mrs. Strunga :)

Another try at this thing called blogging!

Since starting this blog I've had two...yep TWO different teaching jobs. Which just didn't leave me much time to blog about recipes, my home, my life, or really my job. So I went ahead and put this blog on the shelf and let it get dusty (metaphorically).  So I'm dusting it off, again metaphorically, and going to try to share some happenings of the Strunga life...and mostly the Strunga classroom. 

Last year I spent hours upon hours stalking the blogs of much better and much more seasoned teachers while they shared pictures of their classrooms and highlights of what they were doing. I also spent too much of my tiny little paycheck on their products on Teachers Pay Teachers so my students didn't feel quite as left out and didn't leave my classroom knowing nothing. Sorry class of 2024...I hope I didn't scar you forever! But I mean...we had Grinch punch! We did Class Dojo! And we made ice cream in a bag! So, like, that's good enough, right? No one puked in my room. No broken bones. No potty pants. I did have a huge outbreak of strep throat. Four students are missing from my group photo in the yearbook...and I only had 17 students to begin with...so there's that.

Anyway, I also had a huge milestone. I sold my first product on TPT. Yes, it sold for $1.00 folks. I had a deposit of $.30 directly into my bank account. WHADDDDUPPPPP!!!! Royalty checks baby! 

On May 19 I also crossed over into the dark side of Grad School. I am working on becoming a Reading Specialist as we speak through Olivet Nazarene. It's all online and two of the loveliest kindergarten teachers Catlin Grade School has to offer are doing it alongside me. So far...it hasn't been too bad. I only had like four breakdowns the last week of school and cried at work twice on the last Friday. Perfectly normal....

And now...for the picture dump! Yay! 

This was what I walked into the first day I got my key to my classroom. I wish I would've aimed my phone a little higher and captured what was awaiting me on the shelves. I threw away a lot and breathed in a lot of dust. But it was my very own classroom and I have not loved a dusty room so much in my life.

Here's the same room after some TLC.

It's funny to look through these pictures now because so much changed from August to May. In your first year as a teacher you adjust so much from what looks cute on pinterest to what works in real life. Also, from what seemed to fit when you're setting up a classroom with no kids to what actually fits when your classroom is full of kids. But by June 3...the last day...I really knew how I wanted my room layout to work!

See this cute little bulletin I added to the back of the coat closet? You'll see how that worked out a little later...

This was the best thing I ever did in my first year of teaching. Mailboxes are a tough thing to figure out. If I wanted the typical set of mailboxes I was going to have to purchase my own...and I was already buying a ton of stuff for my classroom. I am lucky my birthday falls at the end of July...because all my birthday money was spent on all things polka dot. I found this awesome idea on this blog: http://youngteacherlove.blogspot.com/2012/08/classroom-pics-sneak-peak-2.html 

I tweaked it a little. In the mornings, my students turn in their homework here, and I immediately know who has and hasn't turned it in. But the rest of the day, these serve as their mailboxes! At the end of the day, they get cleaned out! These take up literally NO space, and they make my coat closets look better! AMAZING. These are called "filetastiks" and you can buy them from Mardel. I made my own numbers and used spray adhesive to glue them on. 

Thanks IKEA for my beautiful rugs!

I have my own set of filetastiks by my desk for files.

My super cute stool from TJ Maxx!

Polka dot drawers from Big Lots!

And here's what happened to my cute little bulletin board. We nailed it back up which held for most of the year. But even then, the cork was tearing under the weight. I couldn't stand it. So I tore it all down and bought another set of filetastiks in red. This solved another problem I came up against in my first year...unfinished work. How do I track it...? I didn't want to have to constantly stay on top of work that had been turned in. I didn't want to have to check folders in desks. I did not have a good system. Some of my kiddos were too sneaky for their own good. Pieces that they had cut out would get lost. It was something I could not get a good system for. Enter red filetastiks. If students did not finish a worksheet, a craft, their morning work, etc...it went into their "red pocket" as we called them. The pocket allowed for all loose pieces to not get lost. It also allowed me to INSTANTLY see which students had unfinished work that needed to get done during recess. The Hallelujah chorus was on full blast the day those were hung...

My mom and brother blessed my classroom big time when they donated their old notebook computers! They each have iPads now and were rarely using these! My kiddos were SO thankful! If any of the rest of you out there have any of these just laying around...I will GLADLY take them off your hands!!!!!

Ya know...this is why my profession...even with Common Core...even with lousy paychecks...even with the crap that comes out in the media...blah blah blah...is hands down the BEST JOB IN THE WORLD! Because I come in to my classroom and get handed a piece of paper inside another piece of paper that has been folded 100 times and it says this:

to Mrs Struga

you are the best teacher in the world

nothing can go rong with you because you're sweet and kind and have a sweet mom

you are the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Side note: I do have a sweet mom. She came into my room throughout the year and my kids absolutely fell in love with Mrs. Sanders. Who wouldn't?

Bolt made an appearance this year! He was mischievous and awesome. We loved him.

I'll leave you with this. There were days in teaching I wanted to pull my hair out. There were days I was the last to leave the building...lots of them. I worked a lot of Sundays. I was stressed. The first year is rough. But I'm guessing I'll overwork myself again next year...especially being in grad school. I logged on to facebook many times to wish I hadn't. Negative talk about teachers and our schools dominate social media from August-June. Parents wouldn't return my calls when I really needed them to. I sometimes felt like I failed my kids. I often felt like my kids failed me. But there are so many days when my kids made me smile so big. Kids can absolutely light up a room like no one else can. I laughed out loud so hard so many times. Just yesterday I looked at Mike and said...oh no...some of my favorite students are not going to be in my class next year. I was so focused on getting some of my tough kiddos on to third grade I forgot that I will really be missing some of those kids who day in and day out made my first year a great one. Grading tests is one of those things that you don't really love to do as a teacher but you need to do. Spelling in second grade is still a little iffy...even when words are right there on the page. I nearly missed this little gem but it will go down in history as one of my favorites! 

That's right...those farter penguins work hard!

Mrs. Strunga :)