Elf on the Shelf

This year I made a new little friend named Snowflake.  This was one of the most fun and magical things that I have done in my classroom so far.  I first read the book to the students explaining all of the "stipulations" of having an elf in our classroom (no touching being the main rule).  We also had to think of a name for our elf.  Each student wrote a name on our white board and then we took a vote.  It came down to Snowflake and Billy Bob Joe (they were very creative).  Then, I told the students that he should be coming any day!  They were so excited walking into school each morning looking for where Snowflake had moved to!

Snowflake climbed onto the document camera.

Snowflake hanging from the flagpole.  

Snowflake hanging on the white board.  I noticed that the day went much smoother if the he was up high and the students weren't tempted to touch him.

Spying on the kiddos in their favorite place- the ticket jar!

Snowflake playing computer games.

Snowflake reading a Christmas book in the book nook.

Snowflake hanging out on the book rack.

Playing Uno with the owl with mini cards.

Snowflake hanging from our "blue lantern".  

Snowflake getting into our indoor recess games. 

                                                  Peeking through the Math Enrichment tub.

Setting a good example of following the rules.

After a long few weeks, Snowflake was taking it easy on the tissue box.

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My Classroom

Here is a peek into my classroom!  A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into making this room what it is and did I mention it all happened in less than one week! That's right!! I was hired less than a week before school started!  It's a good thing that I had a rather large stock pile of things and pins saved!  I must give credit to my amazing co-workers, family, and boyfriend who all pitched in when I needed it the most!


On the bulletin board, I have hung all of my math vocabulary for each unit.  I laminated construction paper and stapled that to the board so I can easily tape and remove the vocabulary words! Below the board is a section of m leveled library.  I assess the kiddos quarterly and they can then choose books that are just right for them!

This is the Book Nook where my students love to relax and open up a good book.  They loved it so much that I had to limit the area to six at one time!

This is the back corner of the room which contains the Science bulletin board, my behavior management clip chart, and the rest of my leveled library.

 I needed specific class jobs so I thought I better make my own!!  I got the top label from  Ladybug Teacher Files and then created the jobs in Power Point.

Here is a zoomed out view of the whole room!

I love doing Bucket Fillers!  It teaches so many good values and helps the students gain self-confidence.

On the back of my desk I have my lunch count.  I use post-it note tape to section off our MANY lunch choices and then each morning the students move their number to their choice.

As a part of my behavior management system, I have Refocus Forms and a ticket jar.  If a student clips down twice, they have to take a refocus form to fill out and return back to me.  If a student clips up, they can take a ticket.  I draw tickets for prizes each Friday.

I have quite a few students who are working at a higher math level this year so I created a math enrichment tub filled with task cards that students can take back to their seats and work on when they have extra time.  The system is working really well so far!