Setting the Stage for 2nd Grade

Hey, everyone!

Have you ever heard of Ron Clark? I just discovered him these past few months and I am so inspired by his school and his teachers. If you don't know about Ron Clark, you need to stop what you're doing and go check him out RIGHT NOW.  Thank me later. 

His school is amazing and his classrooms are amazing. I was thinking that I wanted to bring that same whimsy and fun to my own classroom, but where would I start? Then I saw it. You will find a stage in all of the classrooms at Ron Clark Academy. Teaching, after all, is a performance. I love the idea and that was the start of my plan to put a stage in my classroom. 

I started asking teachers at my school what they thought of the idea. Let me tell you, I got a lot of crazy looks! Then I talked to our wonderful reading interventionist and she got so excited. She told about her daughter and when she was a fifth grader. Her teacher had a stage in her classroom. She said that a stage just does something for kids and definitely helped to bring her daughter out of her shell. I also asked my fellow Teach Happy Members what they thought and they all said to go for it. The next day, I found myself in my principal's office and I explained to her about RCA and how I wanted a stage for my classroom and she gave me the green light.

Fast forward a week and I have a stage in my classroom! I LOVE it! Every teacher should have one! It cost me about $130 to have it made, but you can definitely make it cheaper. The materials were about $60. The paint was another $20 and then add in labor costs and delivery. The painting really added to labor because it needed two coats. The stage also opens up for extra storage and is reinforced. I love the storage for my bulletin board borders and posters that I need to lay flat! The stage is 80 inches long and it comes out three feet from the wall. It's one foot tall. I have 20 kiddos in my class and they are able to easily gather around it for story time and still have room for a few more. 

We have done lots of things on the stage already. The first thing was, of course, a play. The kids LOVE to share their work because they get to do it on the stage. My students who couldn't reach much on the SmartBoard can now easily reach things and that makes their day! I use it for reading time and for whole-group instruction. I'll jump up on the stage to make a point and giggles immediately ring out in the room. I know they're thinking about what I'm going to do next! I like to keep them on their toes! (; Next year, I plan to use it as a reward. If they are working hard, I may let them do their work on the stage for a day. I also want my students to use it for buddy reading during centers. The possibilities are endless. I'll keep you updated on any new ideas I come up with!

Oh, did I mention that I'm over 6 feet tall when I stand on the stage? I kind of like that part.

Would you put a stage in your classroom? Let me know in the comments!

-Miss Tucker

Rainforest Classroom Transformation

Late one night, I was watching the fabulous Sheila Jane on Periscope and she was talking about how to be a wacky teacher. I've always strived to be a wacky teacher. I want to approach teaching in a fun way so my students are excited to come to school every day. Lately, I felt like I wasn't pushing the envelope enough. I was tired. My students were tired. We needed a wake up call. One of Sheila Jane's wacky teacher tips was to transform you classroom. Then, it hit me- I was going to turn my classroom into a rainforest.

First of all, I couldn't have done it without my amazing parents and my sister-in-law. Let me tell you, they are one crafty bunch! We flipped my room upside down! It was unrecognizable. I chose the rainforest because we have been using Amy Lemon's Rooted in Reading units and Me...Jane was up next. We would be studying Jane Goodall and writing a shared research project on chimpanzees. This was the perfect opportunity to bring the African rainforest to Small Town, Arkansas.

This transformation took us about two, 4 hour days and it cost about $40. It took us awhile because we were finding ideas on Pinterest, but not exactly what we needed so we were improvising. I don't think it will take as long next time because I know what I'm doing now. I can also reuse a lot of the decorations like the vines, snakes and canopies next year.

This is what the children saw as they entered the second grade hallway. We used butcher paper to make the branches, snakes and the top of the waterfall. On the branches, we used some green mesh that one of my parents donated to make the leaves. Behind the vines, we used brown butcher paper for tree trunks. The vines are just green table cloths that you can find at Wal-Mart. You can get a pack of 3 for $2.50! We just cut it into strips and then cut the strips to make them look like vines. The actual door was everyone's favorite part! It was covered in a light blue table cloth and then we put up a fringe curtain from the party section at Wal-Mart. Everyone wanted to walk through the waterfall!

This is the view from my doorway! 

We used more of the green table cloths to make the canopy. We twisted butcher paper to make more vines and hot glued some leaves to the branches.

My sister-in-law made this awesome corner! she made the waterfall using a pretty turquoise table cloth. The kids loved this corner!

One of the first grade teachers let me borrow her white tiger. It took her class a a few days to figure out it was gone and even longer to figure out who had it! The kids also brought their own decorations from home after they saw the room! 

 

Our desks were turned into safari jeeps! We cut pool noodles to make the windshield frame. If you look closely, you can see that there is actually a windshield! It's saran wrap!

Here is one last panoramic shot of my room!

The kids were so excited to see my room! I had most of second grade and some of third grade in my room that Monday morning and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was playing on my SmartBoard! It was so much fun! The best part was that one of my parents brought her little boy dressed as a monkey to surprise the kids! It was the perfect start to a fun few weeks of researching and learning about Jane Goodall and chimpanzees!

Have you ever done a classroom transformation? Let me know in the comments!

-Miss Tucker