Back to school

It's been a bit since my last post but it's been a very hectic week. We had back to school night last night and I was able to meet some awesome kiddos and great families. I'm so excited for this upcoming year!

To prepare for last night I've been working in my room the last two weeks trying to get everything set up and organized. I planned out where the big things would go so that on back to school night the parents and students could see where the math manipulatives are, where they sit for small group, where the books are, etc. so they get a good feel for the room and hopefully feel comfortable :) I also wanted to leave room on the walls to add student work and anchor charts, but at the same time you don't want it totally blank and depressing. For this I put up some really cute banners to tie in the colors of our room and some inspirational quotes and posters to set the tone. 

On back to school night the students found little treats on their desks and of course a packet stuffed with info for mom and dad. I had the names put on their desks alphabetically so they could find it quick and to help me learn their names the first week. After that though we'll be moving around as I get a feel for their personalities and who works well together. I tried something new this year, putting their name tags on Velcro to move desks easily without rearranging the room. We'll see how they hold up! 

I also can't forget our main entertainment for the night- Stubs! Stubs is a bearded dragon who's missing a foot. He is probably the coolest class pet in existence. He munched on crickets and mealworms last night for the students enjoyment.

I can't wait for our first day back this coming Monday! Today's workday will be dedicated to planning :) 

Wishing everyone a great first day back!!

Show Us What You Bought Linky Party

I just had a field day during the Back To School TPT Sale!! I'm linking up with Bloghoppin to share some things that I bought this weekend and how I plan to use it.

One item that's been sitting in my cart for a while now is Equation Station by Amy Griffith. It's Boggle for math and the bundle includes 5 puzzles for addition and subtraction, and 5 puzzles for all operations. I set up a pocket chart right next to a comfy couch with pillows so that early finishers could plop down and try to find some math equations! I can't wait to set it up. Check it out here.

I also picked up some items from Ashleighs store over at Ashleighs Education Journey. I've blogged about some products I've gotten from her before- I just love all of the 3rd grade math items she has! I still have quite a few items in my wishlist that I plan on getting from her store soon :)

I love the anchor charts she's made and I have a space set aside on my wall to put up a chart when we're on that topic. In your download you get two copies of each chart- one you can print on a regular size of paper and one that's made to be 18 x 24 if you'd like it nice and big. I plan on sending mine to the website she suggested to have them printed this size for $3 per poster.. not bad! Grab them here.

From her store I also picked up Restaurant Math. This fun activity includes 32 task cards that can be used with almost any restaurant menu. What an awesome way to show students how math is used in the real world! I plan on asking students to bring in a menu from their favorite place to eat if they can, and then have them work in groups to solve the task cards. You can check out the product here.

Last but not least, I went clip art crazy over at Scrappin Doodles and Graphics from the pond! I picked up these fun sets and can't wait to incorporate them into my lessons and worksheets.

What did you buy for the big BTS Sale this past weekend? Comment to share, or join the Linky Party on the Bloghoppin site here!