Door Design: Gumballs

My classroom doesn't have any bulletin boards outside, so I use my doors. I found this idea here and decided to replicate it with a little tweaking. My assistant is way more artistically gifted than I am, so I recruited him to help me out (he is also less prone to detail which is why the words on the left aren't centered with the gumball machine ... drives the perfectionist in me a little crazy.)

I love the way it turned out, and the kids always love to walk by and find their names. Cute decor and learning reinforcement, perfect!

School's Back in Session

Today was my first day back to school. Our school runs on the Guatemalan school year, which is January to October. I was so busy with meetings and teacher training that I didn't even step foot into my classroom though! I am hoping to go in tomorrow and get a fresh look at the place before I start setting up and decorating. I have also been reading and writing down my teaching goals for this year. Here are a few: 1. Be more intentional about differentiated instruction. 2. Begin using literacy and math work stations. 3. Use guided discovery to introduce new materials. I have a few cute projects to share and classroom pictures once it all takes shape (which better be soon because I only have 8 days!)