It's Vacation Time!!!

The boy and I are heading off for a northern adventure to beat the heat here in Texas!  I will back in a month just in time for teachers to head back to school.  I promise to have some more blog posts when I get back.  Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Beads for Classroom Management?

I got these beads at a garage sale from a former first grade teacher.  She told me she used them as rewards for her students when they exhibited positive behavior.  She said they would have a big ceremony at the end of the week and the kiddos would string the beads on a necklace at that time.

I would love to use these, but I'm having a hard time thinking of how.  Someone online said that she used them as rewards in her classroom and when the students got so many beads, they got to take the necklace home. I just don't see that reward being exciting all year long.  

Does anyone else have any suggestions?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Classroom Library Organization

My classroom library is a source of constant agony.  My first and second year, I looped from Kindergarten to First Grade.  My first graders knew what I expected and respected my books and our library as much as I did.  Last year, however, my students could not seem to keep the library in order.  I was constantly re-organizing and putting books back in the bins where they belonged.  I don't know what I did differently, or if it was just my class, but I think I'm going to change my library organization....again.

I'm going to keep a large bookshelf for units of study, such as Spiders, Ocean, Christmas, Jobs, Inventors, etc.  These books will be featured on a special shelf during that unit for the kiddos to browse through.  I'm going to keep all other books (Arthur, Dr. Seuss, non-fiction, etc.) in these baskets.  I found them at Target for $3.99 and they come in 4 colors- teal, lime, black, and pink.  I bought 7 of them.

I also have a leveled library for Independent and Guided Reading at the front of the room that my kiddos have access to.  So my question is...how do you organize your library?  Themes?  Reading Levels? Browsing Boxes?  I want to know!  :)

First Time Blogger....Long Time Stalker

So summer vacation is only 4 weeks in, but I am starting to feel the itch that I want to be back in my classroom!  I have been stalking blogs to fill my craving, and now I want to share some of my own wisdom (all teachers have some...).  I can't wait to get started and I hope you all enjoy!