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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

It's Quickly Approaching - Meet the Teacher Night!


As I prepare for my classroom and my first year of teaching, I have been reading on teaching forums and blogs and noticed a lot of talk about how different teachers do supplies.  Most of my students will bring their supplies to meet the teacher night in just over a week, so I wanted to get my supply plan taken care of quickly! I thought I'd share with you what I'm planning!  My school uses community supplies.  Everything the kids bring in is meant to be shared.  On Meet the Teacher night, I will have labeled bins set around the classroom for students to sort their supplies into.  I will take enough out of these bins on the first day of school to have one of THESE for each table:


I have six students seated at each table and they will share these supplies while they are seated.  Each bin will have six pairs of scissors (which I clearly don't have yet!), six glue sticks, three crayon boxes, and one box of markers.

When students are in centers and not at their tables, they will have all the supplies they need right there in their center.  I organize them using the same carriers as above.  Everything they need for their center... from instructions, to task cards, to markers, and scissors will be right there in their carrier! Now being a first year teacher, I don't know how well this will go over, but it's how my school runs.  I also really like the idea of teaching students to share as I think it will strengthen their community.  It will be important to stress how if ONE person doesn't take care of the supplies then it really does spoil it for the whole group! 

I have a couple items to share with you in case you're in the middle of planning your Meet the Teacher Night as well! The first is a document to make your own magnets to send home with parents.  It is a powerpoint file so you can edit to include your own information.  I personalized these, printed them on cardstock, laminated, and placed a strip of magnetic tape to the back so parents can always have them handy on the refrigerator! Click the picture to download for free from my TPT Store. 


The red font is titled Elephants in Cherry Trees and can be downloaded for free at:

I get the cutest scrapbooking fonts at Free Scrapbook Fonts! kevinandamanda.com/fonts

The next thing I have to share is a form I will have parents fill out on Meet the Teacher Night (or take home and return with student).  I adapted this volunteer form to meet my needs from one Cara Carroll posted last year.  Hopefully you will be able to use it in your classroom.  I tried to keep my volunteer options pretty vague so there would be many opportunities within each choice! Click the picture to download!


Last but not least I have been working on creating some literacy centers for the beginning of the year.  I decided I didn't want to have to worry about creating a million centers every week, so I have one word work center that will stay consistent throughout the whole year. This could be used two ways -- students can choose which activity to do each time they visit the center, or you could choose for them and set out only the materials you will need for that particular choice.  The best thing?  All you need for these centers is a copy of your words for the week, the instructions, the included recording sheets, and letter tiles! :) This unit can be purchased at my TPT Store for only $3.00!!!




Alright... whew.  That was my most exhausting entry yet! I'm so excited to be able to share some items with you that will hopefully make your back to school process a little easier! :) Now I'm off to snuggle with my puppies and eat some LUNCH! 

By the way... I'm curious... How do you organize your classroom supplies?  Do you use individual or community?  What has worked or not worked for you in the past?









10 comments:

  1. Hi Kelly,

    I found your blog through TPT forum. It looks great and I love the freebie from Google Doc for helping hands.

    I just started my blog official at the beginning of July. If you get a chance pop over to see it. I have some freebies that you might like too.

    http://cathedralkindergarten.blogspot.com
    Creatively yours,

    Charlotte

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  2. Oh yes, I forgot to say that I am following you now. I hope you have a great year!

    Charlotte

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  3. We do community supplies as well, I like it because it promotes sharing and theres no, That's MY pencil.

    The one thing I might warn against is keeping the crayons in the boxes. They will be DESTROYED by mid year. You might want to keep them in a cup, it'll be easier for the kids to put them away properly too.
    Adventures in Room 5

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    1. Great idea!! Yeah I'm sure those cardboard boxes don't hold up very well. I might get find some small plastic containers to keep them in! or a couple of small plastic cups. Thanks for the pointer :)

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  4. Just became a follower of your blog! I checked out your freebie on Google Docs and it looks great! I saw your posting at the forum so I came over here to check it out. I would love for you to stop by my blog when you get a chance! I just created a new page for my freebies.
    Happy Blogging!
    Patti :)
    A Series of 3rd Grade Events

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  5. I just became a follower of your blog! I make magnets for my parents too. FYI! I run mine on printable magnet sheets. You can buy them at Wal-Mart and run them through your printer just like any card stock or paper. I just thought you might like to know.

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    1. Neat idea! I will have to look into that! Thanks.

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  6. Hi Kelly! Thanks so much for checking us out at Simply SWEET TEAching! You're doing great on your new blog. I love your Word Work Packet. I would definitely like to have that. :) I just celebrated a year with my husband, so I know how crazy balancing a strong marriage and a successful school year can be! Good luck to you! We are now followers of you as well. PS.. one of my best friends is from Winchester, Indiana and loves the Colts too!

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  7. So happy you stopped by my blog this week! I'm a new follower! CONGRATS on your wedding! Sounds like you're having a great summer! Michelle nomonkeybusinessmichelle.blogspot.com

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  8. Thanks for coming to my blog! I am excited that you are a 2nd grade teacher, too! Another thing we have in common is I will be a new wife soon, too! Our wedding is April 2013..backed up to Spring Break of course! My finace has accepted the fact that all vacations and major events will be backed up to holidays or summer vacation now that he has a teacher in his life :) I am looking forward to following you!

    I have been complimenting doing shared supplies this year...I dont know if I am brave enough! But I love your idea of placing labeled bins around your room for supplies to be dropped off in! Good luck next week! I dont meet my students until the end of the month. We start September 5th.

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