Wednesday, July 9, 2014

How To Fund Your Classroom and I GOT A JOB

Great news: I got a teaching job!!!! I will be teaching 4th grade in the same district that I was a building sub and a 1st grade long term sub. I am very excited to really "start" my career.

My dreams of decorating my own classroom will finally start to happen in the next few weeks. I am a nanny for two girls over the summer and they are also looking forward to help me set up my classroom. Luckily, I wont be starting from scratch. The teacher that was previously in my room is leaving me most of her classroom materials. That being said, a lot of new teachers may have to start from scratch. I compiled a list of websites that allows teachers to ask for donations and funding for their classroom supplies. These are great to set up a classroom supply registry and share with  your friends, family, and eventually the parents of your students!

1. Brighten Hall 
http://www.brightenhall.com/

2. Teacher Supply Registry
http://www.teachersupplyregistry.com/

3. Adopt A Classroom
http://www.adoptaclassroom.org/

4. Supply Your Schools
http://www.supplyourschools.org/

5. Digital Wish
http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/home

6. Donors Choose
The last website is probably the most familiar classroom registry website, Donors Choose.

Since I am fortunate to have a lot of major supplies I will need from the previous teacher I wanted to feature a teacher from Donors Choose, Ms. Armentrout. She is a first year teacher starting at a low income, Title I school in North Carolina. She is in need of some of the basics, supply caddies, chart paper, and a Time for Kids subscription.

Click the link to visit her page: Ms. Armentrout's Donors Choose Page

I think it is awesome that these resources are out there to help teachers and students and are often funded by complete strangers inspired to help.



Saturday, July 5, 2014

Classroom (P)inspiration

Designing their classroom has got to be a future teacher's dream. I have been collecting pinning classroom decor inspiration and have finally narrowed it down to what I think I would really like in my classroom.

I started by searching for a color scheme. I wanted to stray away from typical classroom primary color schemes. Personally, I find them too harsh especially combined with the harsh lightening found in most classrooms. I chose shades of yellow, grey, and teal. They are soft, calming colors that I wouldn't mind staring at for 8+ hours a day.