Spring Fever

Is anyone else getting the itch for spring break? February is usually when I go through my annual mid-year crisis and start changing things up in my classroom. I'm just dying for a teacher duty day so I can clean and throw things away and do something different in my room. But alas, we don't get one of those for another 3 weeks.

So while I'm waiting for that day to arrive, I've been compiling ideas for things I want to change or add to my room. Here are a few that I particularly like...

I've been finding lots of fun ways to use paint samples in the classroom. I particularly like this one. It makes a great choice board for getting rid of those worn-out words!

Or how about this one? Student-made contraction cards. I love how the white center line serves as a visual prompt to add the apostrophe. I think my class will love making these during centers!

Now this is a brilliant idea! Dry erase markers are my personal nemesis. The kids leave caps laying all around and will use anything, including their own clothing or body parts, as erasers. I think this idea might just solve both problems!

The no-name papers...is there anything worse?!! I mean, you'd think two and a half years of writing their names on their papers would eventually stick, right? And if this poem doesn't work, I'm going to this...