Back to School Linky & Class Decorations

U My classroom is finally ready!  In my guided reading and small group math area, I created a fun beach theme using a palm tree that was created from an old carpet roll (Home Depot give away), brown lunch bags and an old umbrella covered with green fleece.  MeaningfulMama has a nice blog post with step by step pictures showing how to make your own tree here.  I also added a small kid sized beach umbrella and a paper lantern sun to my beach area! 

Tip -  In order to stand the umbrella and palm tree I used 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot that I filled with water bottles to weigh it down.  I bought PVC pipes from HD and they cut a hole in the top of the bucket lid so the PVC pipe would fit perfectly.  

Here is my new writing center!  I am really excited for this area and I am trying something new by having my writing center menu fully displayed this year.   I love having my writing center activities already set for each day of the week - it gives my student a schedule and they look forward to different days of the week and once they get into the routine they always know what to do at the writing center.  Check it out here for more details.

In my county, school starts on Monday and all across Maryland kids and teachers will all finally be back to school!  As a way to celebrate Techie Turtle Teacher, OC Beach Teacher and I have set up a Back to School linky party to gather some fantastic resources for everyone!  Please feel free to link up your back to school post, resource or freebie and make sure to visit each other's sites and leave some BTS love!!