Classroom Tour 2012-2013

I wanted to edit this post to link up with Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week

**Disclaimer- this post is heavy on PHOTOS!!**

Here is my classroom for the upcoming school year.  I am sure that things will change as I get to know my students and we begin working and learning together, but for now- I am really excited about how it has all developed.  I am thinking that this room will be a wonderful place for my second grades to blossom into little learners!

This is the view from the doorway.  I have 25 desks arranged in a modified U-shape.  You can see my windows that look out onto a courtyard

This is what I will see standing at my technology cart.  Up in the top right corner you can see a pennant banner hanging above the cabinets.  My very first class made that for me as wedding decorations and I have kept it hanging up ever since!

This is another view of the whole room.  Along that wall is my second white-board.

Here is a picture from the back corner- I am standing in front of my word wall.

This is my reading area.  My CAFE board is here along with an easel to make anchor charts.  I like to host my mini-lessons here with the students sitting on the carpet.  The bookshelf has magazines and books in other languages and other "special" books to share.

The owl CAFE posters can be found here!

Above my white board I will post my Daily 5 t-charts. I currently have Daily 5 task cards up there to designate a spot for those charts.  

You can find those task cards here!

Another view of the library.  The leaning tower on the floor are pillows that I ordered with Scholastic book order points!

UGH! This cart is sent to annoy me!  The boxes have different consumable materials (think workbooks) from our curriculum that I need to distribute throughout the grade level...I will get to it eventually!

My lovely rain gutter bookshelf!  This one is in the front of the room- away from the library.  The books in here are my special books that I will use to teach different lessons.  Once I have used the book for my lesson then I will put it in the library!  For those of you interested in gutter bookshelves- these were super easy and super cheap to make.  I called around to different gutter companies and found someone to donate the gutters to me.  I am not allowed to actually mount anything to the wall so I got some scrap plywood at Home Depot, used a staple-gun to attach oil-cloth to the board and then screwed the gutters into the boards.  The gutters were free, the scrap plywood was $4 and the oil-cloth was a Dollar Tree tablecloth so I paid $5 and have used these shelves for 5 years!

I will be using some of the concepts from Whole-Brain Teaching in my classroom this year.  My rules are posted above my front whiteboard.  You can get a copy of the rules posters here.

This is my writing area.  Authors sit in that chair to read their work and I often hold writing mini-lessons in this area as well.  I have dictionaries, clipboards, and editing tools on the shelves.

This board will be added to as the year progresses.  I am hoping to spotlight authors-both famous and emerging in the center area.

This is what students will find on their desks when they stop in for Back to School Night.  I have a questionaire for parents to fill out and a copy of our school schedule.  I try not to overwhelm parents with too much information to begin.  I have already mailed home a newsletter that included information about our rules, homework and school supplies.  I like to just keep it simple and give myself time to get to know my students and their families!

A little treat for the new kiddos!  I've seen a ton of adorable printables for this on pinterest but my teammate had these fish name tags and wanted to use them up- so of course we obliged!

A summer project- I used contact paper to cover up my old and shabby supply containers.  It has given them a whole new look and I am loving them all over again!

Another pic- the students don't keep ANYTHING in their desks.  I can't stand desks! Instead they have pencils, colored pencils, crayons, glue, erasers, scissors and a book in their supply containers.  One container is shared by four students.  I keep markers in a separate area and bring them out when we need them.

My listening center- an old ikea coffee table, an old ipod and some lakeshore headphones!  I downloaded some audio books and a coworker graciously gave her picture books/cd to my team to share (they're in the basket below the ipod)!

UGH-another problem area for me! This technology cart is HUGE.  I posted a while ago asking what I should do to make it look cuter and some people suggested contact paper. I tried using my leftover paper on the sides and a small area on the front doors to see if I would like it and I love the look but it wont stay on! Any suggestions??

A project waiting to be finished- I picked up four crates to make seat crates for my reading area.  I have the measurements and most of the materials, just have the cut the board and staple it all together!

My mail boxes- nothing fancy!

My computers.  You might notice the seat cushions on all the chairs.  One of the perks of moving is that we start to rethink our decorating at home which means that I get to bring all of the cast-offs to school!  The cushions are super cute and I am happy to have them in school where I will see them more often!

Another new thing for me! I sectioned my white-board and I will use this area to post what targets we are working on for the day.  My team and I are trying to use the same language to talk with our students about the standards.  I am going to purchase these from TpT and put magnets on the back of them so they can be quickly posted in this area!

My hall passes.  I found the cute felt owl at Michaels in the clearance section for 50 cents!

A view towards the hallway.  I have loved the look of all the trees I've seen on pinterest so I had to create my own.  I  am not done with it yet, my student teacher is going to add a couple more owls! Cute!

My new "Where Are We?" display for the door.  We'll move the magnet to show where we are!

A picture of my door.  I need to add my name but I am not sure how I am going to do it yet to make it look cute!

Well, there you have it, my room for the year!!

Classroom re-do

I can see the finish line!  Two and a half more days with the kiddos and then I am attending a Daily 5/ Cafe training Thursday and Friday and then the following week I am attending a week long training with Anita Archer!

Even though I have been swamped with report cards, field trips, field days, etc.  I haven't stopped thinking about how to decorate my classroom for next year.  Some people might think I spend TOO MUCH time thinking about it, but I want to try something fresh and I had a few kinks in the layout that I want to fix for next year.

So the first thing I wanted to try out was a new desk arrangement.  The first photo is from standing in the doorway and the second photo is from front and center!  So far I have enjoyed this U-shape.  It is easy for me to walk around and assist and it seems to add more floor space and open up the room.

I moved my listening center right behind my tech cart.  I actually had no idea what to do with it and I struggled all year to find the perfect spot.  I waited all year to ask my class what they thought about it and I don't know what took me so long!  Right away I had one little cutie who told me exactly what I should do with it.  I let her set it up and she even cleaned it off before moving it!  We have used it a couple times since setting it up and she was so right about this spot, I love it!

Looking at the front of the room.  I am not sure what I am going to do with the big green board up in front.  I will probably post our language arts anchor charts up there so kiddos can view them while doing their seatwork.  I moved a gutter bookshelf up to the front of the room.  I have all the read-alouds that I use throughout the year.

I opened up my library by pushing all the bookshelves against the wall.  I like that it has increased my visibility but it doesn't feel as intimate anymore.  I am not sure if I will keep it like this for second grade, I will probably end up changing it!

My new curtains! I love these!  The pattern is adorable and has all kinds of forest animals/flowers but it isn't so busy that you get dizzy looking at it!

Alright, those are all my new pictures for now.  I have a couple of projects that I plan to work on this summer and I will keep you posted with the updates to the room!

Clutter Free Classroom Linky!

So I love the blog Clutter Free Classroom- seriously, I LOVE it!  I am a huge fan of organizing.  Wow, when I read that last sentence back- it sounded so trite- but REALLY.  I like putting things in order, I like looking at containers and dreaming about how I can improve my organization at home and at school.  Anywhoo, I have been following the steps to a clutter free classroom on there and I am proud that I have some areas already under control and other areas that I could use more help.  The site is hosting a linky party to show your teacher desk/ table and I thought I would join up!

I don't have a teacher desk- I have a a table where I work with small groups, I have a cart (for lack of a better term) where my ELMO and projector are and where I keep my teacher manuals etc. and then I have an area where I keep my computer.  It sounds like a lot- but it works for me.  Here are the pics!

Okay so:

What I like about it:

I like that I have all of my materials in the cart.  I have easy access to anything that I might need. I also like that I have a station in the front and the back of the room. No matter where I am what I need is at my fingertips.  I like the size of my small group table.  It has our class fish bowl on it, which can be a distraction at times, but it looks cute and when I am not meeting with groups kids like to sit there and watch the fish swim.  I also like that it is in the back of the room, out of the way so that it is in a quiet area of the room and the cupboards behind it can hold any reading or math group materials that I might need for the day.

How would you like to change it:

The cart- UGH.  It is big and boxy and sticks out like a sore thumb.  I can't do anything permanent to it, like paint, but I would love to find some way to make it cuter!  The shelves aren't great either- they are very short and it's difficult to put anything on them/ take anything off.  I put the projector on a shelf because I thought it was too cluttered on top to have the ELMO, projector and occasionally my laptop on there at one time.  If I lived in a perfect world, I would exchange for a smaller table/cart, mount the projector to the ceiling, and have taller shelves so I could use containers (my favorite).

What changes did you make to it as part of the Clutter- Free Project Challenge:

I cleaned out the area under the cart.  Since I don't like the cart that much it had become a bit of a dumping ground.  I purged and gave away/ threw away the things that I didn't need, use or want.  That cleared out a lot of space.  I used a book end to keep my manuals tidy and put some extra tape rolls, teacher scissors in a green container.  It's much easier to get at the things I need now.

What tips can you share to help others have a clutter free classroom:

First, I would say- don't let things pile up.  When you get papers- file them away or recycle them.  Next I would say- find a time once a week/month to go through a certain area and clean, tidy, declutter.  It helps it to not be overwhelming later.

Well, hope that helps! If you haven't done it yet, don't forget to stop over at Clutter Free Classroom and join up in the party!