Getting my classroom ready

We start school next Monday.  The kids come on Wednesday.  I have been collecting some many great ideas from blogs, tweets, and Twitter math camp this year.  I am at the point where I am ready to put it all together.  Before I can do that, I need to get my room ready.  I think I might have it all together.  I actually started some lesson planning today and will head in again tomorrow.  I need quiet time to myself to get ready for school.

Here is some of my room:

Twelve years ago when I learned my students could not read an analog clock in order to sign in and sign out, I made this sign.  It also had lunch on it.  I can't believe this silly poster board stayed up for 12 years (with the blue gum stuff).  But, I figured it was time to take it down.  I replaced it with a simple LUNCH sign:
 

This picture has two important thing.  One, you might notice the missing ceiling tile.  Hopefully it will get replaced, but the reason it is there is because they finally removed a huge honking tv that used to be strapped and hang over my desk area.  I have wanted it gone for so long and it finally is!  When I started 12 years ago, we used to use the tv because the students would come on and give us "the news" like reading the announcements.  It was also hooked to a VCR if we wanted to show videos.  Time to go, bye, bye!  The other thing to notice is my fish!  Her name is Poppy.  If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know I love to fish and I just had to have this one.  My son had a golf tournament in Salem, MA (as in Witches) and I bought this in a cute little shop.  It is made from a 2 liter plastic soda bottles.  I love her! 



I made this banner a few years ago.  I love it too!  It is front and center in my classroom as a reminder.



Here are some more signs.  I made a sign that says "My Claim is...My Warrant Is..." The idea came from my morning session at Twitter Math Camp about Debate and Discussion in the classroom.  My goal is to have more discussions in class this year.



I made this Welcome sign I saw on Twitter.  It is on dry erase, graph grids from Target.  I saw them at the beginning of the summer and thought they were cute but didn't know what I would do with it.  Then, while I was on vacation in Maine (no Targets), I saw the idea on Twitter, so I asked a friend at home to go and buy it for me. Yippee!



Last year, I saw a Suduko board idea on Pinterest so I used 12x12 scrapbook papers to make a giant one. The kids liked playing it last year.  I changed the puzzle about once a month, so it is back this year:



And, here are three new signs from ideas on Twitter this year.  At Twitter Math Camp, Hannah Mesick said she pins up kids' birthdays and half birthdays each week.  Heather Kohn said she will have kids fill out an index card with the info, so I will try it that way.



I used to have a big table where my new vertical boards are and I used to put all my supplies on it, but I need to get rid of the table so kids can stand there, which means a new spot for my supplies.  So, I organized them on my heater.



And, finally, one more thing I am going to do is remember to close each lesson.  In my new, small Foundations of Algebra 1 class, I want to get them writing about math.  I bought them composition notebooks for journals.  Instead of calling them journals or writing prompts, I am going to call them GIFTTTS.  I was trying to come up with a words for the G, I, F, and T and all I came up with "Giving Informal Feedback To The Teacher. = a GIFTTT.  I bought a cute little bin for them because I don't teach that class in my room.



Now that my room is ready, the planning can start, phew!