Welcome to the 2013-2014 School Year!

Classroom Tour

This is my first official post to my new blog and I am super excited to start sharing all of my great teaching ideas with you!  I have started out this school year with a new group of 22 amazing kids, and I am really looking forward to learning more about them as I create and borrow innovative and creative lesson plans for my students.

First, I want to share with you one of my many passions....ALL THINGS DISNEY!!!  Ever since I was a child, I have had a love for Disney.  The movies, the princesses, the theme parks, you name it, I love it! So, this year I have decided that because I can't be at my favorite place in the world all day (Disney World), I wanted to bring it to one of my other favorite places in the world....my classroom! I have had a beachy theme for the last two years, which was very bright, colorful and relaxing, but my adoration for the beach does not compare to my addiction to DISNEY!  Here are some pictures from my classroom so far this year.  I did borrow some of the items from others, but to tell you the truth there is not a lot out there for Disney classrooms....so  I created a lot of the things on my own.  Feel free to steal what you want for your own classroom, because I love to share!

 

 

Here is my outside bulletin board above my door.  I enlarged some Mickey heads that I found online and added letters to them to make the welcome sign.  I found some cute polka dot sticker letters at Archiver's and put my favorite quote by Walt Disney below it, "If you can dream it, you can do it."

 

 

This is the rest of my outside bulletin board. I took pictures of each of my students in mouse ears, and posted them for everyone to see. I used my mouse ears from when I was kid, along with some stickers from Disney World to decorate around the pictures.

 

 

 

This is my sunbeam awards chart.  I used Mickey Heads and just put a text box on them with the names of the different awards.  I then cut some scrapbook paper into 2 inch strips and used that as the border around the chart. 

 

 

 

 

This is my "Classroom Jobs" board, that I converted into my "Handy Helpers" board this year.  I created all different jobs based off of different Disney movies and characters.  I got the hands from go.com and you can find it here: Mickey Mouse Printable Hand Template. Each of my students has a number, and every two weeks they are given a new job and they write their number on the hand for that job.  So far this year it has really worked out, and my students love that they each have a job in the classroom!

 

 

These are my mailboxes for my students and because the Tea Cups at Magic Kingdom are one of my family's favorite rides, I decided to pay tribute to the ride! I used one of our custom created maps from our Disney vacation as a backdrop for the area, along with some pictures of my family on the ride and with Alice and the Mad Hatter at the 1900 Park Fare restaurant from one of our character breakfasts.  Lastly, I cannot forget the Mad Hatter Mr. Potato Head that brings the area all together.

 

 

 

This is my birthday board for the year.  I found the months of the year on TPT for free! I used some Mickey Mouse scrapbooking paper as the background and some red and white polka dot border from Michael's around the outside.  I cut out some Mickey Heads (because my punch was not big enough), and put my student's names on them with the day of their birthday.  I added a button from our last trip to Disney and a luggage tag to add a little WDW flair!

 

 

 

 

This is my study hall pocket system.  I used a picture from one of my favorite Pixar movies, Monster's University!  (Side note: Monster's Inc. is my all-time favorite Pixar movie, so you may be seeing some more MI-related ideas and lessons to come!)

 

 

 

This is my new system that I use when kid's sign out.  I used to have bathroom and hall passes, but they always seemed to get torn up really quickly.  So, I came up with this idea to have my students sign out when they leave the room, and then just erase their name when they return.  I just took a dry-erase board that had a frame border around it, and added some Mickey tape around the edges, and then hung it using some Mickey head tape that I bought at Hancock Fabrics.  So far, this system has been great!

These are my student cubbies.  I printed off a Mickey head template online and just added a textbox on top of the front to put my student's names on them.  I then printed some free Disney clip art and literally climbed on top of the cabinets to put a little Disney flair above them!  The cabinets are pretty plain right now, but they will be full in no time with student work and anchor charts.

 

Our school is taking on the PBIS initiative this year, so I wanted to participate by changing my behavior system.  I found this idea from someone on TPT, and tweaked it a little to fit my classroom needs.  I use the phrase "Are you having a magical day?" a lot in my classroom.  This is a good reminder for them to assess their own behavior and to help them concentrate on what their goal is for the day.   My students are doing a great job with this, and I love the way it is working.

 

 

 

 

 

We do a weekly timed test to practice facts in my classroom.  This is the chart that keeps track of how the students are doing.  I used my Mickey Mouse punch that I bought at Michael's to punch out Mickey heads, and I taped them onto red boarder.  It turned out great and looks really cute! I also made a cover for the pillow underneath of the bulletin board (it's Princess and the Frog!)

 

My classroom theme is "You are responsible for you!", and my students were made aware of that from day one.  Underneath of that poster, are my classroom rules.  I found these on TPT here: Whole Brain Disney Classroom Rules.  I practice Whole Brain Teaching in my classroom, and these posters have the five rules of WBT.  I changed Rule #4 to fit my Disney theme, but these are great to post to remind your students daily of what the five rules are.

 

 

This is my listening center area.  I call it the 'Listening Center Luau", which has Lilo and Stich on the sign.  I used a red star rug that I bought from Delia's when I was in high school (I knew I saved it for a reason) to bring in the Disney feel. 

This is my reading area.  It is not super "Disneyfied" yet, but I did cover some pillows with Cars and Little Mermaid fabric.  I will explain my book organization system in another post.

This is the other part of my classroom reading area.  This is my chapter book bookcase, and I have some more Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads with some of my favorite Disney characters.  One of our favorite things to shop for at Disney World are new pieces for our Potato Head collection, so it is fun to display them for the kids.  I plan on switching them out throughout the year for different occasions!

My students love the MU poster in the room.  It gives it a great splash of color! They have also named our gathering area at the carpet Monster's University!

 

I found this idea on Pinterest here: Disney Name Banner and just changed it to fit my classroom!

 

 

 

Here is my classroom treasure chest.  Like I said, I had a beach theme last year so I just added some Finding Nemo stickers and voila!

I found this idea on Pinterest here: White Rabbit Clock because I love Alice In Wonderland....and because sometimes I lose track of time which makes me "late for a very important date!"

I made these for each of my students as privacy folders.  I put manila folders together and taped them.  Then, I used the Mickey Mouse tape that I got at Disney World and some more cut out Mickey heads to decorate them.  I sent them through the laminator, and they turned out great!

 

Here is my desk area.  I can't technically cover my filing cabinet, so I just taped some scrapbooking paper to the side and added some Disney bottle caps to make it a little more Disneyriffic! I also put up a picture of my little man in front of Cinderella's Castle to make me smile!

 

 

 

One more Mr. Potato Head by my desk, just because! Also, I found some cute frames at Target for $5.00 a piece and put some cute quotes in them that I found here: Just Keep Swimming

 

 

 

Finally, I made a fun Disney lesson plan cover for this year....and I decorated a planner that I got for free from my school with some cute scrapbooking paper and adorable Disney fonts.  Lastly, I cannot leave out my most favorite Disney item in my whole classroom....my Sulley notebook! I found it at the Disney Store and it was love at first sight!

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of my room and I can't wait to start sharing more things with you in the future!

 

Have a magical day! - Emma :)