Classroom Library Facelift... or Full On Surgery!

Alright. All teachers have pet peeves. I have a couple, or a few, or maybe a lot! Haha. But each year I pick and choose one or two things to tweak to see if my peeves can become more of a perk.

One of those pet peeves was my library area.  Problems included how to organize (leveled?, genre?, none at all?), and (the big one) how kids put my organization back in order! Throughout the years, I've tried a variety of methods, but here is a picture of the latest method before the major library facelift (combo of baskets with major themes and then other books on shelves by genre/theme).

BEFORE picture

Last year, I even made a sign letting kids know how to use the book markers in the library and how I've pulled out my hair every year. It doesn't work.  

Let's start the FACELIFT!!!

I felt after this last year, I needed to change up my environment to feel fresh & new again. So what better time than now to just fix this library up. I knew it would be a tedious process, but I guess that's what summers are partially for! Teachers on a break completely??? Pishh!

Basically, I researched different organizational styles and decided to follow these directions: 

• Daily 5/CAFE article on Classroom Library Makeover - 7 Steps  
• or video explaining the process

End-of-Year Portfolio

When creative/proud student art or writing gets sent home during the year, the chances of it being kept are slim because what can you really do with awesome pieces here and there throughout the year, every year the child is in school???  Unless the parents/students have some organizational tool, those memories fade faster. What to do?

Well, when I taught kindergarten, we saved at least 1-2 items each month (it was much more season/holiday themed in kindergarten) and bound them all together into a book the students can take home at the end of the year. So, I decided to do this in 5th.

I decided I would keep all those poems, get to know you activities, random photos, and work that would probably be trashed or misplaced if simply sent home. Anything that was two pages or on larger paper was folded so it was more of an interactive feel. Here's how it turned out (just cock your head sideways to the left... I didn't want to resave them all the proper way!):

Spring Break - A MUST for Every Pregnant Teacher

Yup, right about three weeks before a due date & after a LONG stretch from winter break until spring, a week off is definitely nice.  Not that I didn't work, of course!  I had some last minute logistics in the baby department as well as long-term planning to take care of.  It was nice to have the time to do all that not after being on my feet all day.

Anyway, here's who's been keeping me busy & from posting so much...stinkin' karate kid!

I'm about 38 weeks now.  This belly is HUGE! He wants OUT! But, hopefully he'll be like his dad and be a little late; or wait at LEAST one more week so I can transition back from break with my long-term sub.  Here we are figuring out our FIRST diaper change and infant car seat belt adjustments:

              

So other than some last minute house clean up and baby purchases, I really wanted to go over my long-term sub plans to ensure I was ready for anything!  My original post about how I got started long-term planning can be found here.

Finalizing Long-Term Substitute Planning

Daily CAFE for Long Term Sub

Our first snow day of the year!  I totally needed this!  We (teachers and students) have been working hard and are ready for this unanticipated break!  What to do?  Catch up on some school work, long term planning, play with the pups, and blogging.

Ok, this is my first year implementing Daily 5 and CAFE.  Now that I will be out on maternity leave for a about a month and a half after spring break, I want to make sure students don't have to learn a whole new routine.

You can read about how I originally set up Daily CAFE in my room here.  I had some reservations about doing ALL 5 rounds each day, but got some much better ideas after attending the 3-day conference.  Then I tweaked some things to make it fit for me AND be able to incorporate our district's reading curriculum so I wasn't tossing everything out the window and starting from scratch.  My post Daily CAFE conference reflection and changes I made can be found on this post.

So this is what I have been doing pretty consistently and it's been working out well.

My BIGGEST concern with Daily CAFE was the lack of direct writing instruction & practice with what is specifically taught.  However, I was able to fit it in for 45 minutes after lunch for at least 3 days/week.

Planning for a Long-Term Sub

This is my first time planning for a long-term substitute.  I like to plan ahead, so I've been thinking about it a TON!  I'm due mid-April, which is perfect timing (if I do say so myself), which means I've had the whole year to think about it.  No, I am not a freak and did not plan for this since September.  However, thinking about what I'd like to do helps so I can complete bits and pieces along the way and now I'm ready to get down and dirty rather than "think" about what to do.

Even if you have a requested sub in your classroom for all the meetings you have to attend, it takes time to get to know someone's style and preferences while adding your own touch as well.  I was a long term sub for kindergarten and know how certain things are important to keep the same for when the teacher returns (even if I'm not returning), and things that I can change based on me and my style.

Here are some questions I asked myself and answers I came up with:

Q: How will I communicate what I do on a daily, weekly, and/or monthly basis that's NOT part of a what I would normally put on sub plans (such as book orders or how I communicate with families)? 
I already have a sub binder with school schedules, seating charts, emergency plans, basic classroom procedures, etc.  My major concern?  I did NOT want to completely overwhelm my sub with a classroom "manual" because to be honest, 1) I wouldn't read through a GIANT pack of papers and 2) I also know that as long as there is a general outline, a sub will still need to get into a groove and teach his/her own way.  

A: General Procedures & Routines Table of Contents
So I did come up with this.  It looks like a lot, but there's only a small little blurb about each thing, organized alphabetically with tabs, & it includes some specific events already planned for when I'm out.

Ok, so there are a lot of things on here, but I figure she can reference it as needed.
Remember, each item only has a small blurb about it, not some essay-long explanation.
 See below for a sample of what I wrote for the P and W sections:

Long Term Planning

The ability to long term plan for things is a LIFE skill I feel is extremely important for students to learn. Students need to balance school, chores, play, and family... just like the adults in their lives do daily.  This is the main reason most of the homework I assign is due weekly or monthly. If paced well, it won't feel like a ton of work at all.  The pacing of the weekly assignments are not always so difficult.  It's usually the month long projects, like book reports, that really get kids procrastinating.  Look, I've done it too!  Been there, done that.  Students do learn from their consequences when they wait until the last minute, but then need guidance on how to plan long term assignments.  It's not a skill that comes easily or one that's easy to teach (since I am not reinforcing this with them at home).  As we teachers know, no matter how much you communicate with students' families, there are some who can't help certain home situations.

When any major assignment has been given, we take time out of our day to long term plan.  We basically work backwards looking at the end result, figuring out what to do each week, and then each day: