#2getherwearebetter: Bulletin Boards!

Happy Sunday!

I'm linking up with the dynamo-duo Angie & Ashley for:

I really need to thank them...not only for sharing their wealth of information (Periscopes!) and this linky, but also for giving me the kick I needed to get this bulletin board up!

This month is all about bulletin boards...

which are somewhat the bane of my existence.

I can explain! 

As a special educator, there have been years where I didn't have a bulletin board or a classroom with walls. I kept a growing wishlist with ideas if I DID have a board and last school year, my wish came true!

I inherited one perfect board that is perfectly centered to dazzle my small reading groups. 

I'm so fortunate to have this bulletin board, yet with only one...I put a bit of pressure on myself to make it ALL-encompassing. I want to display my students' masterpieces, our Grit Trackers, motivational posters, Whole Brain Teaching visuals (freebie!), focus wall, and more!

I also adore Schoolgirl Style - I have her ebook (LOVE!) and tried to incorporate some of her brilliant ideas.

The result...

It started off well:

I gathered my supplies...

I turned up my music and then I tried...I really tried!

Aaaack!

Okay, here's what happened...

I'm working with the black background and chevron border. These are from last year and I can never go through what I went through to hang that paper again. It has to stay :)  The paper is "fadeless" and I hope that holds true!

I wanted to add "pops" of primary this year to my black & white decor. I also wanted to add a 3D touch with the arrows, small plates, clips (I know it's hard to see!).

All of the white papers are for my students' work. The 6 outside are for "WOW" work and the 3 inside are for our colorful Grit Trackers (i.e.: tracking reading stamina, fact fluency, sight words, etc.). The small plates were supposed to have letters inside, but the letters I used just didn't look right. 

I asked two colleagues to diagnosis what else was wrong with my board because I just couldn't figure it out. One friend said the black/white patterned papers made it too busy (I agree!). 

Another colleague pointed out the red and yellow arrows 

and said they were...

AGGRESSIVE! 

Hahahah, I was laughing so hard, plus I agree!

I went straight to Michaels (on a Friday happy hour afternoon) and purchased what I needed to make it "less aggressive." I fought all the urges to go in on Saturday to fix it and snap a new photo. Instead, I will go in early Monday morning.

Please visit to see the update!

I'm REALLY excited about it!

And if you are a bulletin board guru, please offer suggestions. Thanks :)

I'm also sharing a fun blogpost all about phonics, 

including a free sample!

You can check it out here!

Be sure to also enter this fabulous giveaway!!

And you may have heard a little about this...

Love Gabby's Classrooms & love the button she created!

My entire store will be 20% off, then TPT throws in the promo code: BTS15. That adds up to 28% off!

I also have a special announcement...

stop back next Sunday for my new blog series:

I incorporated weekly sensory bins last school year and ready to share what I learned with you! All of the bins are based on children's literature and are student-tested and approved :)

Please visit every Sunday to see a new theme and pick up some freebies! Here's a sneak peek at next week's theme:

I can't wait!

Thanks for reading! Jen

UPDATE: this post is never-ending! ;)

Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade throws the best parties!

Listening - I ♥ ♥ ♥ my mixes from Rock My Run!

Loving - Every year I worry that my love of teaching won't return! This past week was very touch & go with a few ugly cries thrown in. Luckily, my mojo returned in a BIG WAY on Wednesday 

(our 1st day)! Thank goodness!

Thinking - I'm really excited about ESGI, but haven't decided all the amazing ways I'm going to incorporate into my planning. I'm definitely focused on my first graders' IEP goals, which I try to align with CCSS when appropriate. Stay tuned!

Wanting & Thinking - my model portfolio is due (in 130 days, but who's counting). I truly don't mind documenting every teaching decision from my career and the hundreds of pages that capture this. Honestly, it's pretty awesome - it's great to reflect and really makes me want to do even better with my students. BUT, the clarity of the portfolio rubric is seriously lacking. I've read each artifact description no less than 100 times, debated with at least 6-8 other teachers, and we still can't figure out what exactly is being asked of us. So, in typical fashion, I'm writing an epic novel for all 40 artifacts! Because at least somewhere I will hit the rubric point. That's how I aced the writing portion my Praxis...they were probably thinking "there's no way I'm going to read all of this, I'll just give you a 100%). 

130 more days. 

B2S RAK - this year I'm not in any type of leadership position, yet I still enjoy mentoring. I'm going to try to find a way to support where I see a need, even if it's just offering a piece of chocolate!

Thanks again for reading!!