Creative Teaching Press Inspired Classroom Reveal - Decor and More!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Yes, we may be already missing the carefree days of summer, but the the lure of seeing those happy faces in our classrooms is pulling us back.

One of my favorite things about back to school is prepping my classroom to entice my new learners.

And luckily Creative Teaching Press provides many colorful, inviting products for doing just that.

To welcome my students to my classroom, I send them letters before school starts. 

I love the computer paper I found for the letters!

I include letters that students from last year had written to my future students.

I love the chevron accents in this paper!  Find the paper here.

We have hooks and shelves in the hallway for students to store their belongings and hang up their gear.

I like to assign hooks because I believe you are inviting "horseplay" if you let students pick their own spots.  

There are times you send kids out in the hallway to get something, and they are gone for 15 minutes.

Anyway, here are the cute nameplates I made for assigning hooks in the hallway.

Find these cards here.

Here are the pennant pieces I put above the hook areas.

I used a banner and letters from CTP!  The banner pieces reversible, and have patterns on one side, black on the other.

And now for some of my bulletin boards.

Last year we were able to Skype with scientists from ExxonMobil, do a valentine exchange with classes around the country, and do Skypes with two other classrooms.

I love the idea of global classrooms.

We are already matched up to be pen pals with a class from the Bronx, NY!

The border and letters are from Creative Teaching Press!

Here is my math focus wall.  We use Math Expressions, and start the year with multiplication and division.
I cover the facts chart with the sticky notes so its not so overwhelming.
I love the 5 star mathematician chart from CTP.

I am a huge supporter of STEM activities and inquiry learning.

Our first science unit is on Earth Materials.

Thanks to Educlips for that fun arrow!

The letters are from Creative Teaching Press.

I've been seeing boards like this on other teachers' Instagram accounts.

I like to model my love of books for my third graders.

I am part of an adult book club, and in the past my readers have been eager to hear about our book choices and discussions.

The border and letters are from CTP!

The small letters on my signs are stickers from CTP, too!

Now, go and check out the amazing ideas from Angie at Lucky Little Learners!

Angie is also hosting the 2Gether We Are Better Linky this month on Classroom Reveals!

Together We Are Better - Literacy Bulletin Boards

Hi!

I am happily joining Lucky Little Learners and Schroeder's Shenanigans in 2nd for their fun linky - 

Together We Are Better!

This month's topic is bulletin boards!

I am loving looking at all the ideas that have been posted as part of this linky.

I enjoy decorating my classroom, and currently have a lime green, black, and gray chevron color scheme going on in my third grade classroom.

My plan this year is to update with some aqua blue accents.  I may swap out the lime green for the 

aqua blues.

I still have to time to ponder my decor, as we have 3 weeks before school starts!  Hurray!

First off, I want to share a book that has provided lots of ideas and inspiration.

If you are familiar with Debbie Diller, you know that she has written many books on literacy and math centers. This book is so great because she provides tips and tricks, as well as photos from actual classrooms.  And....she also lists where the items in her photos can be purchased.

The items are from stores we all shop at - can you say TARGET??

Find out more about the book called Spaces and Places here.

Next, I want to show you two bulletin boards from my classroom.

The first is a board that I have up all year long.

I am a big fan of the Green Bay Packers, and
I love to build discourse among my students during literature circles.

So I came up with a way to combine the two.

You can find the speech bubbles and chart in my TpT store here.

The second bulletin board is one that I make some changes to as the year goes on.

I added the sections with black washi tape.

I keep the stars in the sections throughout the year.

But, at the beginning of the year, I talk about what 4-star behavior looks like.

As a class we talk about what the different levels of stars would look like in terms of completing homework, listening, getting along with others, etc.

The ideas we come up with are listed in each section.

My caption for those ideas is: Be a 4-Star Student!

When we started to work on synonyms, I changed the behavior ideas to these words.

My third graders referenced the board often when doing writing projects.

Thanks for stopping by, and come back tomorrow to see what I have cooked up for Monday Made-It!

I'm an Exclusive Blogger with Creative Teaching Press and I've Got a Giveaway for YOU!!

I am honored to be one of an amazing group of bloggers who are ready to share with you some of 

Creative Teaching Press's latest and greatest products for decorating your classroom (and more)!

Creative Teaching Press is proud to be celebrating 50 years of teachers helping teachers. It was 50 years ago that a veteran school teacher named Luella Connelly got the idea to make her creative ideas for fun and effective teaching available to other teachers. And with the success of her “Recipes for Creative Writing,” CTP was born! Since then, generations of teachers have looked to our family-owned, teacher-managed company for the supplementary materials they need to help their students learn and make their classrooms a positive learning environment.

I have loved using products from Creative Teaching Press for years.

This set of Inspire U Posters happens to be one of my absolute favorite items.

I used them this past year as part of my PBIS lessons, and my students have eagerly watched for the messages that promote positive behaviors and relationships.

Most of the time I place the posters in a prominent area of my classroom near our weekly poem.

This poster was paired with our class picture early in the year.

I decided to share these posters all over our school building.  This one was perfect for greeting 

students and staff each day.

Teachers need some inspiration too!  This one can be found in our supply/work room area 

in plain view over the copier.

The message on this poster was perfect for right outside the gym.

Of course a quote from Albert Einstein needed to be placed near the science supplies.

Common areas are a good spot for helpful hints to students.

Some of the posters in the pictures are from this set of Inspire U Chalk Posters.

And now, how about sprucing up your current classroom decor with some bright new eye-catching colors??

My current color scheme includes a mix of black, gray, and lime green accents.

This picture shows the side of one of my bulletin boards where I used the BW Chevron border from Creative Teaching Press.

I hope to update the look of my classroom by layering new borders from the Painted Palette Collection with  the BW Collection from CTP.

Yes - I am a chevron addict.  It looks fantastic with the.....

Painted Palette Ombre Lime green Scallops Border!

And how cute is this border called BW Collection Posies paired with the...

Painted Palette Ombre Yellow Scallops Border ??

I also love this BW Doodles and Dots border layered with the very pretty...

Painted Palette Poppy Red Herringbone Border

You can win $50 worth of products from Creative Teaching Press by entering my giveaway below.  

Entries will be accepted until June 7, and winners will get their pick of $50 worth of amazing products from CTP.  What a great way to get your classroom decor gears turning for the coming school year.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And guess what???

You can earn even more chances to win Creative Teaching Press cash by visiting the sites of other exclusive bloggers!

Visit my friend Jessica's blog at Tales of a First Grade Teacher to see more inviting products from Creative Teaching Press.