Clark the Shark and Back to School

Hi All!

  School is in FULL swing this week and I must say it's been an absolute joy to return to

a "normal" routine,

 first grade kiddos,

and early morning coffee.

Life can be so sweet.

Since my body hasn't completely adjusted to the early morning alarm and standing for the better part of the day, 

I'll be very brief this evening.

In fact, I just wanted to share two 

"back to school" 

kinds of things with you. 

First, I wanted to share with you my "Open House" classroom door.

I'm not required to decorate my door however, 

I like to just the same.

This year's door, though...

 did not materialize 

into the vision in my head.  

I was aiming for a soft, dream-like sequence. 

You know... kid friendly.

Instead, what I got was a flashback from Lemony Snicket's 

A Series of Unfortunate Events.

(Did you see the movie?)

It's quite dark.

Too dark for first grade.

But given that Open House was fast approaching,

I had to go with it.

Secondly...

we've been busy this week getting acquainted with one another.

While I was searching for activities to develop classroom culture,

I found THIS post by Wendy from

in which she described a back to school activity 

she did with Clark the Shark.

(For the freebie she offered, you can visit her TPT store HERE.)

Using her idea as a springboard, I ordered this book 

in which Clark learns what it means to share.

After reading, we discussed what it means to be a friend and we created this chart.

Then, we completed the writing prompt from Wendy's TPT store and finished it off with a shark craft I found at Almost Unschoolers.

If you'd like the Good Friend labels 

to make a chart of your own, 

you can access them HERE.

My own kiddos loved this project and 

I believe yours will, too!

When do you return to school?

Leave a comment if you have the time.

I'd love to hear from you!

Five for Friday and Open House Stuff

Happy Friday!

I've just completed a week of 

inservice days with a tiny bit

of time allocated to my classroom.

Even though my kiddos 

will arrive Monday morning, 

bright and early,

 I have just enough time to

participate in Doodle Bug's

Five for Friday.

After that,

I'll be operating in

crazy mode

until the final details are complete.

Here we go...

Outside of Red Ribbon Week 

 or a Dr. Seuss decorating contest, 

I seldom decorate 

my classroom door.

However, I transferred to a new school this year and I'm making every attempt to try new things.

To correlate with the chip theme,

I prepared these prizes for my kiddos.

If you like the chip bag toppers,

you can get a copy HERE.

This week, I also created 

a photo booth

for Open House.

Here are a few props I prepared on my kitchen island while I waited on the noodles to boil.

I'm such a beast 

when it comes to multi-tasking...

Here's another bulletin board 
in which I used a clip art image 
as the focal point. 
It makes me deliriously happy to get extra mileage from my stash.
  The scissors were a 
free download from 
Dots of Fun.
It's available HERE.

and finally...

This cartoon is a perfect fit for me.
My picture hangs proudly in the 
Natural Museum of Laminators.  

In addition, 
I am the only card-carrying, 
completely certified
 laminator for the entire southeast region. 

When your librarian has a problem, she calls the laminator people.  
When the laminator people 
need additional support... 
they call me.  
I'm just that good.

Enjoy your weekend, folks!