Oh the "Wonder"ful things in this Classroom!

:sigh: I am so behind! My last classroom photos are from 4-5 years ago. You didn't still think I was doing the whole circus thing, did you? As much as I loved the circus theme, my mom and I decided to do something a bit more "wonderful." Have you guessed it yet? Here's a clue.....

Do you know where he is from? If you said, Alice in Wonderland, then you win! Ha, ha! Well, not technically, but I'm proud of you! It's kind of sill to have two door handles, but one is really a doorknob. Either way, the kiddos really enjoyed trying to open the door with the sillier one!

We thought that Wonderland would be a great classroom theme since it leads itself to so many fun and imaginative characters and settings. Come with me on a tour of my Alice in Wonderland themed classroom.

Here we are at the entrance of the classroom. The sign is handmade by my very talented mother. This area is supposed to represent the hole that Alice falls down into. There is a grandfather clock to the right, a silhouette of the White Rabbit and of course he is on the table too!

Here are some wide pictures of the classroom just to kind of see what is going on in there. I'll share some close up of fun items coming up. Did you notice the teacups hanging from the ceiling?

Here is a close up of my seat sacks. I had six characters available (Alice, Mad Hatter, Twiddles, Cheshire, Queen of Hearts, and White Rabbit (not shown here). Of course, everything the children had matched their seat sack, including their name plates. You can find my Alice in Wonderland nameplate set here.

This brings us to my computer area. At this school, I had a really long wall that was always a bit challenging to do something with. During this time, our district was really big with Marzano and we need to track student progress. Hence, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party of Success wall came to life. Each cup stack was for a different skill (letter naming, counting to 100, fluency, etc). Their name would go in the cup that matched where they were in terms of that skill. The golden cup was at the top. You know everyone wanted to be up there!

Above you will see my Daily 5/Math BUILD board. My clock and teaching area too! The BEST part of my room is up next.....

Here is my reading area. It's hard to see, but my class library is pretty extensive and sits to the left of that AMAZING Cheshire Cat tree. The kiddos would pull up a mushroom, a reading buddy, and just READ! The singing flowers always kept a quiet eye on them!

During my Meet the Teacher event, we used that familiar scene when Alice can't just seem to be the right size to offer the kiddos some Wonderland water and petit four cakes. Oh, I also forgot to show you my display for work out in the hallway. WOW! I think I covered almost all of that room. Thanks for stopping by and visiting. What do you think the best part of this classroom was?

Are you interested in turning your classroom into a "wonder"ful learning environment? Check out my Wonderland products. Interested in something I don't have, let me know and I will add it to the collection!

Wonderland Number Posters 0-20 

Wonderland Alphabet

Wonderland Word Wall with Sight Words

Wonderland Binder Covers

Wonderland Rules

Feels so good to be back!

After a very long time gone, I have decided to come back to blogging with a new name and a soon to be new look. So much has happened since I was last on here and I can't wait to blog all about it. To celebrate my return to blogging, I have created some welcome back to school signs! They are editable and are available from Pre-K through 5th grade! Grab your copy here! This would be just perfect to greet your students at the door or to take some back to school pictures with.

I've had some fun adding some new widgets to the blog, so take a second to look around and leave a comment if you get a chance. I would love to know where you are from!

Newest Seller on Teachers Pay Teachers!

I opened up a TPT seller account today. I can't believe it! I figured I would go ahead and make some circus themed items since it seems like there is quite a bit of interest for it out there. My first item is up and running and guess what....it is FREE! It's a really cute small class rules poster with clowns on the title of course. Check it out! Will you become my first follower?

 I already printed mine out. I'm going to attach them with colorful ribbon and make a really cute bow for the top. I will add some pics when I'm done.

I will be adding a desk nameplate, nametag and cubby tags tonight. I love the way they came out. I might change my others ones from last year and use these.

Responses to Inquiries

Hello Everyone....WOW! It has been such a long time since I have found the time to come on here and write a post. Summer has quickly come and soon will be gone as we set sail into another school year.

Amazingly, I will not be doing a new theme this year. I loved the circus one so much, I have decided to stick with it for one more year. (Already planning my theme for 2013-2014)

I wanted to post regarding the many questions I have received about my circus classroom and where I purchased the items you see in the pictures.

Question #1: Where did you get the cute tablecloth?

Both the tablecloth on the small table outside and the kidney table skirt were both made by my very talented mother. The blue fabric with colored stars is from Jo-Ann Fabrics, but the circus material she ordered from online because she could not find any circus materials in stores.

Question #2: Where did you find the circus performer clip art?

There is wonderful circus clip art online. The circus performers in the hallway are from Thistle Girl Designs. I also used a lot of clip art from Lettering Delights to make the desktop nameplates and nametags.

Question #3: Where did I get the banners that hang from the ceiling?

My very talented mother made them by hand with various colorful material. The flag banners are 3 feet long.

Question #5: Where did you get the little clips to hang student work outside?

My mother and I made those. Pretty simple to make. All the materials are from Jo-Ann Fabrics. They sell little wooden rectangles in a package. We took those and painted them. Bought some cute 3-D circus clip art and added it. Then used E6000 (awesome glue) to attach the little silver clips (these are in the jewelry section). We had to use a staple gun to get them into the wall because they are a bit thick, but they held on all year and pulled right out of the wall at the end of the year.

Question #6: Where did you get the red and white circus tent?

The circus tent is actually a child's gazaboo tent. We ordered it and then my father had to cut down all of the poles because it was way too large for the classroom. My mother then removed the overlay that it came with and made the custom red and white circus overlay, including the flag and little sign. The overlay easily comes off the metal bars and brackets and we can use the mold of the gazaboo for other future themes. The fabric for the red and white tent is from Jo-Ann Fabrics.

***I hope I was able to answer everyone's questions about my circus room. If you are thinking about doing a circus room this year, please do not hesistate to ask me. I would be more than willing to help. E-mail me at QtJenny19@aol.com.***

Big News......

I just finished opening my Etsy shop. I only have a stock of handmade teacher aprons right now. You have to go and check them out. I will post my favorite collection here for a sneak peek. This is my 100th day of school collection. I know that many of us are approaching our 100th day of school soon.

This apron is adorned with 100 different types of rhinestones. I have worn my 100th day of school apron for 5 years now (mine has buttons) and my kids go wild for it every year! I have several different colors and collections online. I have many that I haven't posted yet. 

Go over to my shop and take a peek.....http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheTeachersToolbox

The Best News....

Help me reach 100 followers and I will do my first giveaway. I will let the winner pick an apron of their choice from my Etsy shop. 

Help spread the word!

I am thankful....

for these great learning videos from Have Fun Teaching. Does anyone else use these songs or videos in their classroom? My kiddos just LOVE them! If you have never heard of this company before, please click on the link and see what all the hype is about! They are currently having a 50% off sale on all items. The coupon code is SUPERSALE. Have Fun Teaching Shop

What's popping? Circus Theme Class Photos

One of my favorite things about teaching is deciding what theme I want to decorate my room in. My mom came up with the idea of using a circus theme this year. I loved it as soon as I heard it! My mom has been busy all summer sewing things for my room and I have been busy creating things on my computer. We have been in the classroom since Monday and we are dead tired! Here are pictures of my new Big Top Kindergarten Class!

This is my little alcove. The table is used as a sign in table for my little Kinder Klowns!

This is my work display out in the hallway. Each student has a circus performer with their name on it. Under their picture, they have a little clip that I can hang their work/projects on.

I love this bulletin board! My mom made the 3-D box of popcorn.

This little monkey displays work inside our classroom. I used him last year in my jungle room. This year, we dressed him up as a clown!

My new and improved rocking chair. I never really liked it because it is so big, but now it is very comfortable! The lion is a bath mat that my Aunt found.

My favorite part of my classroom! This is my reading library.

This area is used to display the children's writing. Each author has their own display area.

My new job board that I made on the Cricut!