Friday, August 2, 2013

Guest Blogger: Sara from Miss V's Busy Bees

Hey y'all! I'm Sara from Miss V's Busy Bees.
Miss V's Busy Bees
What do I blog about? Well, a variety of things! A few things I blog about are my life, family, friends, and interests - just to name a few!

But, one of my big interests is Pinterest. Who DOESN'T love Pinterest? We've become such a social society and Pinterest honestly just fueled that for me!

I'll be honest, I have my wedding planned out, my house decor picked out, and my classroom already designed. BUT, none of those has happened yet!! Oh, Pinterest...

Since BTS is coming right around the corner (literally around the corner for a few people I know!), I want to delve into some of the pins I've got for classroom design and organization.

Who knows... maybe you'll find an idea or two to implement this fall!

**Warning: cute pictures and great ideas to follow! You may or may not want to make/create everything below... most likely you may. BUT, you have been warned!**

This chair is one of my FAVORITE chairs that I have seen on Pinterest. There are a ton of reading chair ideas floating around on the website (many cute ones, of course) but this is my favorite. The simplicity of the chair in the red, black, and white, along with the sayings that this teacher put along the seat of the chair and the backing of the chair just make me want to read! I think students would have that same feeling if THEY were the ones that got to sit in the chair and read to themselves, the class, or to you as the teacher during fluency passages or what not.

Although this link takes you to a duvet cover that one is able to draw on, the pin pointed out something TOTALLY different. Grab a shower curtain liner, draw on the "notebook paper" with permanent markers, and then give your kiddos some dry erase markers that you can just wash right off! What a fantastic indoor activity on those super monsoon-y (South) or snowy (North) days. Cheap entertainment is all I've got to say!

I went to a conference last year and one of the speakers was Donalyn Miller. Yup, the Donalyn Miller that wrote The Book Whisperer. She was HILARIOUS, very personable, and had such great ideas that I couldn't wait to get home, write down, and remember to implement in my future classroom. This idea is something similar to what she showed us - her "recommendation board" that she has in her classroom. Students read books and then write recommendations on those books with a short synopsis of each one so that other students know what the book is sort of about and that will help them decide whether or not they want to read it. SO, when I found this pin, I absolutely HAD to pin it. It's called a "graffiti board." The woman who owns this blog actually has this post as inspiration FROM Donalyn, too! Anyways, students write a quote from the book they've read on black paper with a silver sharpie. Not only does it give students the opportunity to write down their favorite part of the book for others to see, but it requires a deeper reading for students to find that "just right" quote.

The idea of an "Author of the Month" absolutely delights me. Instead of "of the month," I would almost do "of the week." My reasoning behind this is because it gives students exposure to a variety of authors who write for a variety of genres, some of which may be out of their "norm." Giving students the option to read a variety of books expands their minds, their ideas, and their thoughts, along with giving them exposure to different writing styles, too. Also, providing an author of the month/week board provides somewhat of a mini-biography for students to explore. This non-fiction reading is yet another exposure to ANOTHER genre, one that doesn't often get too much attention. What potential!

While the original pin and post state "a fact a week," this could be changed to a fact a day. Giving students these facts not only gives them the perfect way to become well-rounded individuals, but putting out literature that goes with the facts (for example, books that might go with the fact above could be weather or temperatures around the world or something along those lines) gives students the opportunity to read, wonder, and explore new things daily/weekly! 

THINK board. I think this is ULTRA important what with all the bullying, negativity, and hatefulness that has been happening around us. It's a GREAT lesson to remind students to think about what they are saying and why they are saying it. This acronym is great for students in younger grades just as much as older grades, which is why I made this board for my own future classroom. I simply found a wooden board at Michaels, cut out the letters using my Cricut, and mod podged it on. BAM - a THINK board to put on a wall, my door, or by my desk to remind students to THINK before they SPEAK! Really, it's a lesson that EVERYONE needs, including myself. Which is why I love it.

SO, do you have any MUST HAVE decor ideas that you'll be using in your classroom come this fall? Any sort of bulletin boards you want to put up? Show me, tell me, talk to me! I want to hear all about your ideas.

If you want to see more, check me out on Pinterest by clicking the button below :) I'd love to have ya!
Before I go, I just want to thank Daina for allowing me to write for you! I hope you're having a blast moving & settle in well!!

Have a good day, y'all!
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2 comments:

  1. Absolutely love all of these ideas. I use tons of shower curtain activities in my room and I can't wait to recreate the notebook paper. I especially love the THINK board!!

    Nicki
    Mrs. Thigpen's Kindergarten

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    1. I had NEVER heard of the shower curtain for activities before... wouldn't have even thought of it! I love my THINK board :)

      Sara
      Miss V's Busy Bees
      ventrellasara@gmail.com

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