I don't know about any of you, but I was busier over summer break than I was when school was in session. Not only was I busier, but my time was pretty evenly spent in my classroom and out of the classroom. Why would I spend so much time in my room over the summer you ask? Let me give you a little background information first...
Last year I was blessed enough to be offered my teaching position before school started; however, I was offered it on a Wednesday, received my keys to my room on Thursday, and school started the following Tuesday! In other words, I had very little time to create the learning environment that I really wanted and felt was ideal for Kindergarteners. Our school principal graciously allowed me to paint my room, and thank goodness for that fact because the walls needed something, but with my lack of time to really do some planning on what colors are best for a classroom, I just went with colors I thought would go with a pretty easy classroom theme. I chose to paint two of my walls navy blue and two yellow to coordinate with my camping classroom theme. I loooooooved this theme because there was so much that I was able to do with it in such a short amount of time, but as the year wore on, I realized how dark my room was. The brown, camping related decor and the navy walls just really sucked the life out of my room. The yellow walls did very little for brightening it up, and I felt lethargic just walking into it. Not exactly ideal for trying to keep a class full of already tired five and six year olds, and a very tired teacher, awake and engaged, right? Not only that, but I am slightly OCD, which I am sure all of us teachers are to a certain degree, and I was so rushed to get my room ready to go that I was never able to really get organized. Drove me insane ALL YEAR! So anyways, this year I decided I was going to get a head start on my room to ensure it was exactly what I wanted and made sure that I was well organized before a student walked through my door.
Before revealing my labor-of-love classroom, I want to give you a little glimpse of what my room looked like before. (I will say, these pictures were taken two weeks into the school year, so throughout the year, I was able to do a little bit more by way of getting things arranged differently based on what I saw was working for our class, and what wasn't working. You'll get the gist of what it was like though.)
TEACHER DESK AREA:
WORD WALL/ SMALL GROUP TABLE
BACK OF ROOM:
CUBBIES AREA:
Alright, now on to sharing with you what I have been working so hard on all summer. There are a few things that I still need to do before kiddos walk through my door, but they are very minor (hanging a pocket chart, organizing books into tubs...). So here it goes...
ENTRYWAY:
This is my entryway into my classroom. I ordered the banner from Vistaprint with a QR code that will take anyone to our classroom's Facebook page. I keep our Facebook page updated weekly with newsletters, and (almost) daily with things going on in our classroom, as well as within our school.
The silhouette details are from
Schoolgirl Style. I added a touch of my classroom with the colorful balloons, bows, and bow ties. The same scrapbook paper used for the colorful accents can be seen throughout my room and really ties it all together.
Class Rules. I have had so many people ask about these when checking out my room. I also used her
rainbow number charts on my calendar board, and they look great! I owe a huge thanks to Maria Manore from
Kindercraze for creating such great products.
Our Class Goals. This year our school principal is challenging us to making goals as a class and as individuals. We will keep track of our goals on this board.
Feathers. This is something new to my classroom. I decided to throw the clip chart out the window this year. The clip chart just didn't work for me last year, and after stumbling upon some great blog posts regarding the negatives to using one, I decided that I was going to step outside of the box and go with a different approach. Each pocket will be assigned to a student, and they will earn feathers for positive behavior. Click the picture below if you're interested in trying it out in your room.
Chevron Numbers 1-20. These numbers supplement my alphabet banner and calendar board so well with the bright chevron colors. I love how each poster shows three different ways of showing that number, accompanied by the numeral and word.
CUBBIES AREA:
Math Manipulatives Tubs.
Play/Learning Centers.
Grab the labels from above
here. (And they're editable!!!!)
CLASSROOM JOBS:
HOW WE GO HOME CHART:
Thanks to Pinterest, I painted this tree when I was doing my student teaching. I have each student that I have teach put a paint fingerprint on the tree. Between student teaching, being a Kindergarten Aide for a semester, and my first year as a Certified Teacher, I am gaining some very special "leaves" on the tree.
THINKING AREA/ LITERACY/ READING NOOK AREA (A.K.A. MY FAVORITE SPOT):
My Teacher BFF Jena and I painted this tree to supplement this silhouette kiddo in the corner of my room. This corner will be used for "thinking" time when a student needs to cool off, for literacy activities during centers, and as a reading nook for students to go and read to self.
CLASSROOM LIBRARY:
I love, love, love all of my
motivational posters in my room. I have fourteen posters altogether, but have some of my favorites displayed in the windows of the library.
IPAD STORAGE AREA:
Believe it or not, I almost got rid of this when clearing my room of things I didn't use much last year. If you refer back to my former room, I had this filled with math manipulatives. After learning that our school is blessed to be going 1:1 (one tech device per student), and each of my students will have an iPad mini, I decided this was a perfect way to store them. Each compartment will be assigned to a student, and they will store their iPad there at the end of each day. The best part is that there are holes in the back of this where I can put the charger cord through and each student can hook their device up directly. So perfect! I love these adorable
iPad Rules my fellow VFES teacher, Liz Wimp, created. (Psst...they're a freebie in her store!)
TEACHER TOOLBOX:
I ditched my big teacher desk this year to have more space. After getting rid of it I seriously had a panic attack wondering where I was going to put all of my little items. Then, my teacher friend Jena and I decided we would make these teacher toolboxes that we saw on Pinterest. We spray painted them, Jena created the
labels, and we put them together. I love it!
TEACHER AREA:
Although I got rid of the big, bulky desk, I still needed an area to connect my MacBook, use my document camera, and plan.
I still just absolutely love my refurbished filing cabinet. Want to do this to your own? Check out my tutorial blog post
here.
WRITING CENTER/WORD WALL BOARDS:
WRITING CENTER:
WORD WALL:
SMALL GROUP AREA:
CHEVRON NAME PLATES:
These
B.I.R.D. Binders (Being Independent and Ready Daily) are a perfect way for me to communicate with parents throughout the week. It is stuffed full of information parents may need to refer to throughout the year, it contains the Feather's behavior management chart to inform parents of their child's day, and is an easy way for notes, money, etc. to make its way from home to school or visa versa.
Before heading out into the hallway to view my bulletin boards, lets take a look at my room all put together.
Now, back out into the hallway...
"TWEET" WORK BOARD:
I hope everyone enjoyed getting a look into my classroom! It has been a work in progress, beginning with repainting the entire room, but I could not be happier with the way it turned out. I hope everyone has a smooth transition back into the classroom, and good luck on a great school year!
P.S. Like what you see, and want in your room? Click any of the hyperlinked, underlined words and it'll take you to where you can get it for yourself!
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