Hi friends!! It's been too long and I've been tooooooo busy!!!!! My first baby boy, Brody, started Kindergarten yesterday!!!!!!!!
AND I decided that after having my friend draw a whole set of warrior clip art for me-that I was going to redocorate my classroom with a Warrior theme!!!!
First, I got my Schoolgirl Style ebook!!! Have you read it yet?!?! OBSESSED!!!!! Some SUPER simple tips to make your classroom look FABULOUS!!!!!!
Click on the picture below to check it out!!!
So, Here's how mine turned out.....
Do you see my new mats?!?!? I LOVE them!!!!! A friend of mine found them at 5 BELOW!!!!! If you haven't heard of 5 Below-it's a store that has all kinds of thing for $5 and under! I seriously CANNOT believe he found them in orange!!!!! After I decided to do this theme-I realized cute, orange stuff is kind of hard to come by!! ;) But, I think my mats really pull everything in the room together! I LOVE them!!!!!!
Here is a shot of my white board. I have a word wall on 1/2. I love my new Warrior Alphabet line that's hanging above it!!! I had my board all made up and called my Mom to come up to help me hang it....Houston, we had a problem!!!!! I had gotten a new Epson BriteLink installed this Summer and hadn't even thought about the fact that it would land smack in the middle of my alphabet!!!!! WHAAAAAAAT?!? We had to CUT MY ABC board IN HALF!!!!! But, we made it work! ;)
Close up of my star student and birthday board. I still have to take the kiddos pics and hang them on the little clothes pins under the correct month for their birthdays ;)
This is also one of my favorite parts of the room!!!! My growth chart!!!! Growth chart is vital in my room because I measure them each month and record it in our Kindergarten Portfolios <3 The actual growth chart is actually a wall decal that I ordered from Etsy and mounted it to poster board. Then, I put borders around it to cutesify :)
My calendar board! I ABSOLUETLY LOVE my new chair!!!!!!!! It was a roll back at WalMart with FREE site to store shipping!!!! They came in ALL different and my favorite part is the wheels!! ;)
Here is a close up of it. It can get tall like a stool or short like a computer chair. You can also get it without a back or without wheels (although-I wouldn't know why int the world you would want to ;)
click on the pic to check them out at Walmart!!!!
My little Helper board...
Colors and numbers....
I'm in love with my new locker tags!!!!!!!
I even shrunk them down to 1/2 the size for their first day of school nametags ;)
I painted my cabinets with chalkboard paint! LOVE how they turned out!
My file cabinet, I just covered with orange duct tape!
This was my attempt at a totem pole!!!! LOL!!!! He is a big tiki pinata from a party supply store:) I alrady had the bottom of him made-It was the bottom of my old palm tree. I'm not quite sure he actually looks like a totem pole-but he brings a little fun into the classroom :) Ha!
I have a dream catcher hanging above each table. I looked on Etsy to purchase some-but they were like 35-40 bucks each!!!!!! Ummmmm....no thanks!!!! So, I looked on Utube, watched a couple of tutorials and whipped some up ;) I used big craft quill feathers and cut them down and glued a paper clip on the back. At the beginning of the day-everyone starts out with ZERO feathers. As the day goes on-when the entire table is doing the right thing-their table gets a feather. When they reach 5 feathers-the table is rewarded ;)
Here are my tables. I decided to do community pencils and crayons this year. I got the cute little polka dot boxes at Dollar General!!! Can you see the polka dot shower curtain I used to cover up my shelves??? Yep, Dollar General too! ;)
I decided to do something a little different with my nametags this year. I used to use paint sticks velcroed to the tables....this year I made these little nametags and used a binder clip with the arms removed as holders. Then, I velcroed the binder clip to the table so that I can move them around easily ;) Works like a charm AND takes up VERY little space at my tables.
Here are some more of the cute polka dot plastic bins from Dollar General!!! They had them in all sizes!! I literally went to EVERY dollar General in the area (which is a lot!!!) collecting all of these that I could get my hands on!!! LOL! They said they were a seasonal item-so, they probably won't get them again :(
I labeled all of my bins and put all of the supplies in them! Now, everything is within reach!! My Kinders need something, they (or I) can just grab it and go!!
You can find these labels HERE.
Here is the other side of the room....
My listening center and word wall...
My new totem pole clipchart...
I decided to get rid of my desk last year and found this AWESOME little work station at a used furniture store in our town:) LOVE!!!!
I found these awesome black and orange magnetic containers in the dollar bins at Micheals!!!! Score!!!! They are PERFECT to store all of my little supplies and love the window to see what's inside! ;)
Ummmm....my AMAZINGLY talented Mother-in-Law made this AWESOME Teepee for me!!!!!! The kids are going to LOVE reading in there!!!!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new book bins from Big Lots!!!!!!!!!!!!
All of my books are sorted by theme.
You can find those labels HERE.
All of my books are sorted by theme.
You can find those labels HERE.
The bulletin board outside of my room.....
AND I found these PERFECT little treat bags in the dollar spot at Target!!!! I bought all they had!!!!! ;) And made these little treat bags to give them on orientation night....
So, that's it!!! Hope you enjoyed the tour of my newly decorated classroom!!!!! Thanks, Schoolgirl Style for your AMAZING tips!!!! I LOVE the new look!!!!!!!
Katie, your room in FABULOUS!!! I am in LOVE with your polka dot bins- wish we had that store out here.
ReplyDelete✿Tiffani Time 4 Kindergarten
So cute! I love the colors.
ReplyDeleteI love it and your cute clip art!!!!
ReplyDeleteJourney Of A Substitute Teacher
Wow! What an awesome place for your Kindergarteners to learn to love school! Very cozy...and fun! Impressive, Katie!
ReplyDeleteBarb Tally
I am seriously freaking out about your black and orange! The colors of my favorite baseball team! I might have to steal, er, um, borrow some of these ideas for next year. LOVE IT!
ReplyDelete-Andrea
alwayskindergarten@gmail.com
Everything looks so well thought and planned. I love the pop of orange from the mats. What a beautiful place to work and learn in. Have a great school year.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say the Native American characterchures and teepee is racially insensitive to a culture. Not all Native American lived in teepees (some lived in wigwams and/or even traditional houses of that time.) Please note, nor were all of them violent...which you clearly are trying to portray to impressionable Kindergartens by naming your class "Little Warriors." I'm appalled that as an educator you have not partaking in any cultural sensitivity training.
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous~
DeleteI believe there is nothing wrong with this room or the blog name of this author! Also, others feel the same was as myself as you can clearly see by reading the wonderful comments directed toward the author of this blog! Also, anonymous, please also take note that all the positive comments were written by educators!
I would also like to point out one more thing...when you wish to publish a comment, please don't hide behind your keyboard using the name "anonymous"....very sad!
Katie, I love your room! It is beautiful, and thank you for making the room so welcoming for the little ones!
Robyn
Unlike the person who wrote this "insensitive" comment. I think your room is adorable Katie! As a Native American, I do not think it is offensive at all, actually I think it encourages kiddos to think about the Indian culture! I wish my room looked half as cute as yours!
DeleteTeaching about Native Americans is actually part of the curriculum here in SD, particularly since we have nine reservations in our state. Your theme is respectful, cute, and welcoming to students! I think it's great that you chose to match your school mascot with your theme. It helps your young learners learn school pride at a young age! :)
Delete~HoJo~
I am not sure how a teepee is insensitive to a culture... if the room had a tent like an igloo (like I have in my classroom) or a tent like a house or circus would that be offensive? Would I ever expect someone from Alaska or an Eskimo to comment that my reading igloo was culturally insensitive - absolutely not. It is a dwelling that by no means indicates anything wrong or insensitive. Her classroom and blog are named Little Warriors because that is her school mascot. No where does it say that a warrior is a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I think the custom images that it appears she has had made are very friendly and welcoming. I don't see anything violent at all. Furthermore, as an educator myself I feel as if you Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous need the sensitivity training as if it appears that you are not looking at her room realistically and maybe looking at it with a little too much sensitivity which in itself is racially intensive. And if you really feel that schools need more sensitivity training... I hope you are a voter and I hope you walk the streets and knock on doors at election time as many of us educators do on our own time. Funding has been slashed so much to our programs and salaries that if we were to need additional training as you are suggesting who is going to pay for it? Frustrating that this teacher has put so much time and energy into making her classroom a warm welcoming environment to students and this is what she gets to read.
DeleteTo anonymous,
DeleteI'm so sorry that you find my classroom/blog offensive. The Warrior is our school mascot, that is the reason that I chose it as my blog name. I chose to decorate my classroom the same way because I think it promotes school pride and a sense of community. I don't believe that the word "Warrior" has a negative connotation at all. When I think of "Warrior" I think of someone who is brave, hard working, has great perseverance and determination. I definitely don't think that my blog portrays Native Americans as violent at all. I think that the graphics that I chose do quite the opposite. I think they actually portray happiness and joy. I appreciate your opinion, but if you have any questions or concerns about the topic, I would appreciate an email addressing those concerns instead of an anonymous post written in an attacking and accusatory manner. I am actually, in fact, from Native American descent. My Great, Great Grandfather was full blooded Cherokee and my Great, Great Grandmother was of Native American descent as well. I have not talked to one single Native American/First Nations Person that has taken any offense to anything in my classroom. They have all said that it doesn't offend them in any way. The only people that it seems to offend are people who think that EVERYTHING needs to be "politically correct". I think many people appreciate the fact that I have incorporated other parts of the Native American culture into my classroom other than the teepee that you pointed out. I have included dream catchers, totem poles and yes, my students do learn about what these things are, how they were used and what they meant to the Native American culture.
Thanks for stopping by my teaching blog. I hope, that if you're an educator, that you found some ideas/freebies that are useful to you. That is why I started my teaching blog....to help others. Have a great year! ;)
Dear Anonymous -
DeleteKatie's school mascot is the Warrior. When I designed her blog I learned that she had a lot of school spirit as she included not only the mascot but her school colors. In addition, all teachers take culture sensitivity courses as part of our licensing. And while not all cultures within the Native American culture share the same homes or believes, some of the items represented in her classroom do reflect the culture. It is not any more insensitive to have a warrior as a mascot than it is to have a Red Skins NFL team.
Katie --
All I can say about your classroom is WOW!!! Can you come and help me decorate next year?? I love it!!
HUGS!
Misty
I'm of Cherokee Nationality. My grandfather on my Dad's side was full blood. This classroom is FAR from insensitive. I love this classroom idea, because the mascot of our school is the Warrior. This theme also fits perfectly into what our school teaches about warriors. The term warrior also has many meanings. Here's a link in case anyone was unaware. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/warrior
ReplyDeleteHave a great School Year everyone!!
Well said, Kathy!
DeleteRobyn
Adorable!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your room theme! It is so original, and not insensitive to the Native American culture at all. I love your binder clip/Velcro idea for the name tags, I will definitely be using that idea this year!
ReplyDeleteYou can tell that you love what you do by putting so much work into your room to make such a child-friendly atmosphere. Keep doing what you're doing! I wish more teachers showed your kind of passion for getting a room ready for the littles!
ReplyDeleteYour room is very cute and I'm sure your kiddos are LOVING it!! Have a great school year!!
ReplyDeleteBerry Sweet Teaching Treats
I love your theme.... especially since it helps represent the school you teach in. Your classroom is beautiful and culture-embracing.
ReplyDeletejeannie
<a href="www.akindergartenlifestyle.com>A Kindergarten Lifestyle</a>
I absolutely LOVE your classroom theme! I would love to be one of your students since your classroom is very inviting, bright, and cheerful. In no way is it insensitive to the Native American culture. Keep up the great work and I hope you have a wonderful school year!
ReplyDeleteYour classroom is absolutely adorable!!! It is obvious you put tons of time and effort into it and I love how everything coordinates!! Your kiddos are so lucky to have such a fabulous classroom!!
ReplyDeleteMolly
Lessons with Laughter
What an incredible classroom, clearly ready to be filled with lovely learners who will be nurtured along by their AMAZING teacher!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHonestly I loved the blog design and I love the classroom even more. I think the image you portray here and in your classroom is positive. In fact, with every picture and description you can see just how much time and effort you have put in to supporting your school and your classroom. It looks like you have school pride. I can't even imagine what a child might think walking in on the first day. It is just adorable and it makes me want to go to school. Bless you this year.
ReplyDeleteDumb question. Did you take the metal part off the binder clips and still get the name tags in there?
ReplyDeleteNevermind. Haha! I reread it and think I figured it outš¤£. Great idea!
Delete