Classroom Library

Books. {Insert sigh.} For as long as I can remember, I have loved to read. The worst punishment growing up was not being able to read and having extra chores. I wanted my students to have the same love for books that I did when I was their age. So during the summer I worked on organizing my books and leveling them. I had no idea how huge of a project that was going to be!

After leveling the books using these apps on my iPhone:
Level It Books

and Scholastic Book Wizard


and then getting them organized into bright colorful book tubs with labels, I was ready to head to school.

This is what it looked like after the first hour of organizing (I bribed my daughters with lunch out to help me get everything sorted ... and it worked like magic!)

I loved the clean look from this, but knew I wanted the area to be opening and welcoming, as well as a place that my kiddos could just hang out as they read. So I headed to Big Lots (I usually stay away from there because I can spend a lot of $ in very little time!) and found cushions and seats. I grabbed bath rugs at Target. I have 2 additional rugs that my children can grab and go somewhere else in the room. The rug helps them stay still for a longer period of time.

I am in my second year of a combination first/second grade class. With working on my books over the summer, I realized I needed more nonfiction and chapter books for this year. I had a Donor's Choose project which was funded last month. The books have been a wonderful addition to our library.  I love it that when my daughter is waiting for me to finish up after school, she grabs a book and gets comfortable for awhile!

Until next time,