FILLIN' THOSE WALLS - A PEEK AT OUR ROOM

My poor walls have been SO bare since Christmas and the kids have been working like crazy to help get 'em packed with quality work.  It's finally startin' to look like were in business again . . . and I couldn't be more proud of their work :)  Yup.  It's one of "those" years!  

BIG BOARD
Parts of speech snowmen have taken over the our biggest bulletin board.  They did such a good job on these and I wanted to showcase their creativity for sure! The best part is that this winter-flavored art ditty has a standard attached . . . it's a win-win!

To learn more about Parts of Speech Snowmen, click here!

WRITING WALL
My good buddy Susan Moran over at Thank God It's First Grade (TGIF) has kept our writing rolling with her Writing Through The Seasons (Winter) Packet.  This ditty about building a snowman makes me smile and it looks great up on the wall.  Thanks for making me look good again, Suz!

LITTLE BOARD
We completed a little Cause and Effect creative ditty to help us take the concept a step further.  The kids definitely giggled their way through this one and I loved the stuff that they came up with . . . so cute!  

To learn more about this cause and effect lesson, click here!

SKY WIRE
My teaching bestie came across this amazing Snowmen @ Night Idea over at First Grade Parade last year, and I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to run with it again.  Our big 7th Grade Buddies came up the hill last Friday and they helped us make these.  The kiddies were more than happy to complete a follow up write later that afternoon!  Thank you Ms. Carroll :)

WINDOW
During that final day before Christmas Break I had the kiddlets make these sweet antonym mittens so that they would have something new to greet them as they walked up to class that very first day back!  I always delight in watching my babes' eyes light up as they point out their "masterpieces!"

To learn more about this Antonym Mitten project, click here.

SUPER STAR BOARD
If you have made it this far through my silly little post, you probably can tell I am ALL about spotlighting student work.  Our classroom Super Star Board is already packed with papers this week that are extra special (and I am a day behind in getting another pile of these layered on here).  Interested in how this board works in our room??  A child who "go the extra mile" on a paper (i.e. colors, uses their best handwriting, does more than is asked, or meets/rises above their "personal best") gets three or more stars on their paper.  These papers are then hung on the Super Star Board for the remainder of the week.  The kids get a kick out of watching it get thicker and thicker as the days go by.  

This board in an out of the way corner in our room as it gets a little messy.
However, this board is a GEM and I wouldn't ever start a year without one!

MATH BOARD
Okay, SO I am really slacking in the math craftivity department!  This poor little yellow board looks so lonely compared to the others.  If you have any brilliant ideas, please let me know.  I have a winter subtraction story problem write in the works, but it keeps getting bumped.  

Alright I am off to try and get the creative juices flowing.  I have a bunch of ideas runnin' though my head, but I can't seem to get them out!  I'll see you soon . . . here's to a great rest of your week!