Another Bag of Loot

I started out the day with a nice run through a local park with Jill and then we enjoyed some coffee and a trip to Lakeshore.

I heart Lakeshore.

I could spend my entire teacher salary there in a heartbeat and I definitely found some great things today! I am officially over my allotted spending money from my district, but I am okay with that. I appreciate every penny that doesn't come from my personal funds, but I recognize that teachers do end up spending a lot of their money on materials for the kids and the classroom.

These will be great for literacy stations!

I printed a smaller version of these, but purchased the big ones for name tags on the tables. Since I printed on regular paper, even after laminating, the small ones were too thin. I don't think the kiddos will be able to grasp them to move for the attendance daily check in. I want to try reprinting on card stock if my printer will take it.

SO excited about this Letter of the Day chart and accessories. We will do a letter of the week, so this is a great way to get extra exposure to words that start with the letter, how to write the letter etc. I think this will be prominently displayed on my huge blue wall.

I'm not sure where I want to hang these number cards yet, but I love how they go with the beachy theme and include the numeral, written word, picture, and tally marks for each number!

I adore all of the "Kid Drawn" items and I was excited to come across these nursery rhyme posters. I definitely want to incorporate rhymes into our day and these will be great!

I already have alphabet cards that go along with the Fast Track Phonics program that I will be teaching, but these were too cute to pass on and it's always good to have the alphabet posted in more than one location.

I wasn't planning to go work at school today, but I was so excited about my purchases that Jill and I decided to head over and get some stuff done. Unfortunately, I set off the school's alarm! How awful! I was told when the principal and secretary left on Friday afternoon that the alarm was not on and that I could swipe my badge to gain access. Unfortunately, the badge was not linked correctly to my new school and when I tried my key, it worked, but that set the alarm off. Luckily, the number for the alarm company is printed right on the badge, but they were not too helpful. They told me they could not shut the alarm off and I would have to call my administrator or someone in maintenance, yet I did not have any of those contact numbers. The guy told me would try to call the head of maintenance and would call me right back. After waiting 30 minutes without anyone coming or anyone calling, we decided to just leave, but by that time the alarm had gone off.  So, I didn't get to do any work and I am so embarrassed! When I got home I emailed the principal and she was understanding, but that is not exactly the impression I wanted to make! We were always allowed into my other building on the weekends and our ID badge gave us access. We only had to swipe once to turn the alarm off and then swipe once again upon leaving to turn it on again. I guess each school is different!

So, Jill and I are going back in tomorrow to put in a full day and hopefully we can finish the rest of the projects on my list. I've got some laminating to do, some letters to hang, a train to make, a number line to find a home for and lots more! Hopefully the alarm incident will not be the running joke of the school because I really don't want to be "that person." I realized that because of all the budget issues, I will be the only new teacher at my school this year. Both last year when I joined the international school and my first year of teaching I had other new teachers to bond with. Hopefully it will be okay!

So excited to continue arranging, organizing, and creating in my home away from home tomorrow!! Stay tuned for more pictures :0)