Fall back into noob-dom

Ms. Noob has been quite busy during the past few months and has neglected to photo blog.

With fall comes some fun and colorful projects. Fall also brings progress reports, ALPs, running records, reading assessments and parent/teacher conferences... but let's focus on the more colourful side of things, the things  that even noobs can accomplish. =3

A messy art project involving overlapping fall leaves with oil pastels. 

So pretty... they did a good job... their little hands were sore from blending the pastels lol

Our Halloween decorations based on a poem about making pumpkins to scare our friends. 

The pattern leaves were done back in September when we did patterning. I finally found a use for them. 

Almost 2 weeks of being a noob and I'm slowly putting stuff up on my walls... getting organized...but still finding no time to plan/prep long term lessons. I've rearranged my classroom so many times and I'm never really pleased... my students automatically check their desks every morning in case I've moved them. =3

Tried different groupings, this worked best. Separated grade 2s and 3s, sitting in pairs. 

Our first art project.. They really enjoyed it and always ask to do extras during "free time". 

Organized my front of class... I have so many books that don't belong to my class... We have nowhere to store anything.

Last ditch effort ...

It's Friday. The last day I can access my classroom before the first day of class. I had one day to plan, clean and set everything up. Did I get it all done? lawl. Well, it's a start... I'll be spending my weekend finishing my classroom stuff at home... oh yeah, and sometime, over the next few days, I should probably pick up both grade 2 and 3 curricula.

Still so much to clean and unpack

My classroom setup

Noise Control ...  The green light will be very rarely used me thinks ;)

My behavior management system... get to the sad frog and it's game over. 

A new new(b) beginning

5 days from the start of classes and I'm in for some big changes! I had a conversation with my principal this afternoon that led to a change in teaching position...A change that's a big step in a better direction. 

Principal:  "Oh me oh my, I have so many classes and no teachers to teach them!"

Ms. Noob: "Oh me, oh my, I'm so confused with this crazy afternoon of prep teaching gym and science and social studies and library to a bunch of random classes... Can't I just have my ONE and only class?"

Principal: "How good are you at adapting to last minute changes?"

Ms. Noob: "How good are you at providing support, resources and lessons for me to teach?"

And that's how I went from being a kindergarten teacher yesterday to a split grade 2/3 teacher today. 

I haven't seen my new classroom yet but it's much easier to prep and furnish grades above kindergarten. It's a shame though, all the work I put into my rundown basement nook. Oh well!! Let the frantic final days begin!

I made my tree! and fixed up my reading corner. I hope the new teacher will like it!

Bare Necessities ... or just plain bare.

Today was spent planning, cleaning, and praying swift death upon the spiders in my room... but mostly today was spent scavenging. I would like to recommend they add a picture/example of a teacher next to the definition of "scavenger" in the dictionary. Given not even the bare necessities of a classroom and no budget to spend, a teacher must scour their surrounding areas for discarded goods and scraps. I spent about 6 hours today just prepping my classroom...

The front of my classroom

  

The back of the classroom ... so bleh.

Kind donations from other classrooms :3

The reading center ... needs cushions... and books

The block building center... that has no blocks

The sand and water station... without the water 

Visual Arts center ... with nothing but paints

I moved my desk to make room for centers

The dramatic play area - highly gender specific

A new(b) year, a new(b) beginning

I never thought in a million years I'd become a teacher. But, here I am: a teaching noob in every sense of the word. This will be a photo-blog of my attempt to turn my bare classroom into a place where kids can actually have fun and learn. Because if they're not having fun and learning, they're going to be driving me crazy!