Meet the Teacher Monday linky party

HI everyone. I am participating in "Meet the Teacher Monday" linky party hosted by blog hoppin .

So, here we go.

Yes, that would be me holding the alligator. We were on a field trip at Grand Bay Wildlife Management Center in our town.

Tell us a little something about you...

I started blogging in June.  I am still navigating my way around the blog world. My blog is very basic as I am trying to learn how to spiff it up. :-)  I have one child, a daughter who is almost 20. I never married and at this point, probably never will. I kind of like having sole possession of the remote control. ;-)  I have 3 cats. Two Persians and one Main-Coon. I really want a fourth one, but refrain because I do NOT want to be known as "the crazy cat lady".  But in my defense, one of the cats actually belongs to my daughter.

How long have you been teaching?

This is my 18th year in the classroom. I absolutely LOVE teaching. I have never wanted to do anything else. It is definitely something I am passionate about. I teach at a Christian school in Georgia. I currently teach 4th grade.

You might not know...

I have been two short-term mission trips. One to Peru and the other to Venezuela. My dream is to return to Peru to work with the street children.  Seeing those precious 'babies' begging for food nearly broke my heart. 

                                  What are you looking most forward to this school year?

Oh, I don't know....Fall break, Thanksgiving break, Christmas break............ hahahaha so totally kidding!!! :-)

Seriously though,  Mostly, I love having a fresh start. I look forward to watching my students grow and learn this year. There is nothing better than seeing that light of understanding cross their faces. A beautiful site.

                                                       What do you need to improve?

This year, I wanted to improve the way I teach math. This summer I spent time researching and making math games.  Right now I am teaching them a few games a week.  They are really enjoying the change. And I think they are grasping the concepts a bit faster.

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

I heart sharpie markers and colorful pens. I don't like using just red ink to grade papers. I use all different colors.  Another thing I LOVE are pocket charts. I have an obsession with pocket charts. Every time I pass the Target dollar spot and they have pocket charts,  I  always have to get "just one more".  I think I need an intervention. :)      

Well, now it is your time. Head on over to blog hoppin and join the party!                                                        

Taking a breath

Whew! It has been a whirlwind this month.  Teachers went back (officially) on August 1, and students returned on August 8.  What a crazy, busy two weeks it has been. I finally have some finished pictures.  There are still some rough spots to smooth out. The tricky part is finding the time now that school is in full swing.   I have a sweet, little group this year.
I always hesitate showing my room because I don't do a theme and I do not do a lot of the stuff that seems normal now a days, like the daily five and all the anchor charts. Although, this year, I have started doing some anchor charts for reading.  I have always done "posters" and or cards for a pocket chart. So maybe in a way, I have "always" done anchor charts.

Anyway, here is my tiny 4th grade classroom. :-)
DISCLAIMER:  Most of the stuff you will see are NOT my original ideas. I have gleaned them from other teachers on pinterest or right here on blogger.  And I cannot remember where I found the ideas. SO please know that I am NOT trying to take credit!

View from the door.

Our class computer. The white board has their weekly memory verse. Our class rules are above it.

Our book bins.  They are labeled by genre.

I use the round table for small group work. I LOVE the boggle board.  My students are enjoying finding all the words.  I use the other part of the white board for math group instruction.

The yellow board is my math board. (still haven't gotten around to labeling it)

The 16 pocket chart you see "straight" ahead is our student mailbox system. I purchased it last May when Really Good Stuff had their teacher appreciation sale. I LOVE it. Makes passing out papers so much easier.

Our behavior clip system. I know you all have seen these ALL over pinterest! :-)

Daily schedule, helper chart and our "give me 5" reminder.

The green board is my Language Arts board. In the process of putting something up.

A partial view of the front of the room. Above the calendar are our hand signal reminders. Index finger: I need help.  Full hand: I want to speak/ask question.  Two fingers:  I need to leave my seat. 3 fingers: bathroom please.  I love this system. It helps eliminate work time interruptions.

This bookshelf (which you can't see) holds our Literature books, dictionaries and Thesauruses.  The black tray on top is where they turn in their homework.

Daily assignments are listed on the left of the chalkboard and the homework is listed on the right.  The reason I post the daily assignments for each subject is so I am NOT constantly hearing, "What page did you say? What was our language exercise? etc"

This is located behind my desk. It is where I show off their work.

Another view of the back of the room. Oh, the small bookshelf on the right holds our class sets of chapter books.

Our Social Studies board.  We are currently studying early explorers.  On the right, we are tracking my truck driving brother as he crisscrosses the United States. The kids are really have fun with it.

The yellow folders are labeled with our subjects and are in alphabetical order.  They put their papers in the proper folder when they are finished.

View of the front. The pocket chart to the left holds our daily objectives.

Our journals. The ribbon was another idea I got from pinterest.  I hot glued a ribbon to the back cover. The one opened doesn't belong to a student. Didn't want you to think we haven't used them yet. :-)

So there ya go. Our classroom. :-)  For those back in the classroom, I hope you all are having a great year so far.