TEACHER WEEK: Where?! {My Classroom Digs}

WAHOO!  Today is day 2 of the Teacher Week Back-to-School Link Up with Blog Hoppin'!  The topic for today... WHERE WE TEACH!

Well, let me say... I'M OBSESSED WITH MY SCHOOL!  IT IS THE BEST!  We are the Vikings and I BLEED PURPLE!  We ALL do!  Here is our staff on PURPLE PALOOZA SPIRIT DAY in our commons area, which we call the "VIKING SHIP":

I've done a few blog posts with pics of my room, so if you are interested in what some parts of my room are used for, you may want to check out these posts:  CLASSROOM DECOR & SETUP

Well here is my cozy little room.  

First I'll show you an overview of my classroom from different views:

Here is MY teacher area:

Next, is my CLASSROOM LIBRARY:

(Really, my classroom library surrounds my whole room... so here are pics of the various areas in my room with books... I honestly have books exploding out of every area.  I'm working on organizing it... any tips welcome!)

(PICTURED:  Biography & Historical Fiction Section, Leveled Libraries, Genre Libraries, New Books, Picture Books, etc.)

Leveled Library (Chapter Books)

Genre Library (Chapter Books)

I have so many more book areas in my room that I still need to take pics of... but they are a hot mess right now!

SUPPLIES & STUDENT STORAGE

(Drawers for Each Table)

 (Community & Table Supplies)

EXPECTATIONS, VALUES, & CULTURE BUILDING

(Cozy Bean Bags & Reading Areas)

(Student Birthdays)

(Welcome Banner & Student Names Posted Outside the Room)

(School-Wide PBIS Expectations)

(Class Code of Cooperation)

(Branke Bunch VALUES Plaque)

(Student Jerseys)

(Student Jersey & Goal Pennants)

(VIP of the Week Chart)

(Twitter Wall)

(PBIS Ticket Folder)

LEARNING GOALS & ACADEMIC DECOR

(Learning Goal Wall)

(Homework Hotspot)

I got this amazing idea from Kristine Nannini over at Young Teacher Love!  THANK YOU!

 (Daily CAFE Menu)

 (Math Workshop Areas)

Math Workshop Rotation Bulletin Board

8 Mathematical Practices Wall

Problem Solving Chart

 (SCIENCE - Environments Unit Area)

 (Student Work Space)

We have the PARTY room!  

(Colleague's Baby Shower in Our Room)

Well anyhow... I think that is enough about my room!  :-)  Hope you enjoyed the grand tour.  Can't wait to look at everyone else's rooms!!!!!

Make sure to check them out, too, over at Blog Hoppin'!

~Keep Calm & Branke Bunch On~

TEACHER WEEK: WHO?!

HELLO!!!  IT'S ELYSE JAHNKE HERE FROM THE BRANKE BUNCH BLOG!!!  I am so excited to participate in my first BACK TO SCHOOL link party!! :-)  Here is the agenda for the week:

So today is...

My name is Elyse.  I always tell people to remember it by thinking "A LEASE" as in "A LEASE ON A CAR".  Then... just picture me on a car! :-D

(MAN... I love PicMonkey!)

This is my 7th year teaching (HOLY COW), and my 5th year in 5th!!  

FAMILY:

I have the best husband in the world!  Although we have just been married for four years, we just celebrated our 12 (I think?!) year anniversary of when we started dating!  (We are high school sweethearts!)

Here is us at our wedding:

...and here is us a little less fancy!

I also have the most amazing parents!  They just celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary!  They taught me everything I know about true love!! :-)  Both of them are still always there from me.  They are why I could never move away from Michigan... I need having them 10 minutes away at any given moment!

I grew up with two siblings -- a brother, Eric, and a sister, Jamie.  I am the oldest.  My brother is 25 and my sister is 21.  My bro is living in New York now... MISS YOU!  My sis is going into her senior year at the University of Michigan.  I love them both beyond words!!!

Here is my whole fam together including my brother's gf and sister's bf:

I also L-O-V-E, LOVE my inlaws!  Like I said before, my hubby and I are high school sweethearts... so I have known my inlaws since I was a kid!!!  THEY ARE AMAZING!

Here is me with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law:

Here I am with my hubby and little brothers-in-law:

Here I am with my father-in-law, step-mother-in-law, and brother-in-laws:

Friends

I love that I have a group of friends who I have known since I was a little girl!  Most of my best friends are people I went to grade school with!  Although we live all over the country now, we still have a blast every time we are together!

Here are my bridesmaids.  I know these girls from various parts of my life.  I love them all so much!

Then I have my teacher friends.  These are my friends who I see more than anyone else.  These are the friends who understand my day-to-day problems.  These are the people who are there for me every single day--in and out of work!  I am so lucky to have the best work friends in the world!!!  VIKING LOVE!!!

Things I LOVE

DANCE

I grew up as a dancer.  I L-O-V-E, LOVE to dance!  I now lead our school dance group and the staff dance group for talent show. I also DANCE MY TAIL OFF at weddings! :-D

SHOES

I LOVE SHOES!  I'm known at my school for my shoes.  The higher, the better!  :-D  Here are some of my favorite shoes that I have:

BOOKS

I LOVE BOOKS!  More specifically... I love buying books.  Even more specifically... I love buying books for my classroom.  It's kind of an obsession.  I love having the best classroom library in the school.  I love having the hottest books on the market.  I love that my obsession rubs off on my kiddies!!!  Here's a small peek into my classroom library:

COOKING

I LOVE to cook!  I love to EAT, too!  Food channel is my favorite channel!  I love making plates look pretty and hosting parties!  :-)  Here is a collage of some of the meals or dishes I have cooked:

TEACHING

I love lots of things... but of course, I LOVE TEACHING!  I love being with the kids, I love creating, I love education!  I LOVE IT ALL!  I wrote this poem to express why I love teaching so much:

Well that's enough about me for now!  I'll be back tomorrow to tell you more about WHERE I teach!!! :-D

CHECK OUT MORE BACK TO SCHOOL POSTS AT BLOG HOPPIN'!!

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WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ME?!?!?  Check out my "MEET THE BLOGGER TEACHER" post!