I am so excited to be joining in with Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week and the fabulous Ashley Schroeder and Angie Olson for their second #2getherwearebetter link up! Today we are all sharing our classroom reveals! I have to start out by telling you that in the past, when I have set up my classroom, I never really thought about everything matching and complimenting each other. I just bought stuff that I liked, put it in my room, and that was that! It didn't always go together, and seemed a bit like a hodge-podge, but it was OK. So, this year, thanks to Instagram and Pinterest, I was inspired by all of the amazing pictures of everyone else's classrooms, and made an effort to try to coordinate colors. I have to tell you that I am LOVING the finished product, and finally feel like my room is complete! So, without further ado, let's get this tour started!
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Before coming into my room, you will find my hallway display. This has become one of my favorite parts of Back to School! I love coming up with a new display to welcome my first graders each year. I had been talking about ideas with Greg earlier this summer, when Jurassic Park was in theaters, and he suggested the Jurassic Park/dinosaur theme. I made a quick sketch, and instantly knew this would be it! I love the way it turned out, and think it's my favorite hallway display to date!
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After the hallway, you see my little pal on the door welcoming my kiddos and anyone else entering my room. The super talented Lauren from Polka Dots and Pals designed my pal to look like me, right down to my favorite winter outfit! Some of my first graders have noticed that it looks like me! I'm sure the rest will once it gets cooler and I wear said outfit!
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This is probably my favorite view from my classroom! I took away curtains that kept a lot of light out at the top of my windows, and made this fabric garland curtain that I absolutely LOVE! It lets in so much more light, and it really highlights the colors in the fabric. It really makes our reading area bright and inviting. My kids have commented about it a lot too! WARNING! If you plan on making one, and have a 10 foot window, be ready to tie LOTS of knots! It was well worth it though! TIP: Tear your fabric instead of cutting it. It will save your back!
I made this ribbon chandelier last year, and it was one of the few things that I kept. I'd say it was the beginning of my tied ribbon/fabric obsession!
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This cute little cart is from IKEA! I knew I needed some way to organize my materials and keep my table from becoming a train wreck after a day full of reading and math groups. I'm hoping this will do the trick!
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I also covered my bookshelves with drawer liner and washi tape! I covered the "Caption This" shelf last year, and we printed out some of the pictures I took of my kids, and they wrote captions to go along with them. I just scored the other bookshelf I covered in the gray chevron a week ago, so I'm not quite sure what the plan is for this one...yet!
This is our calendar/word wall/whole group learning area. We spend a lot of time together in this area, and the students know that they can come to this area to look up words, look at books, and to sit together to work in small groups. The top bulletin board goes along with my classroom management plan that you can read about here, and hear about here!
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I do appreciate all of the shelving and cabinets in my classroom. In an effort to keep my shelves organized, and help me remember where I put things, I labeled my shelves so I can easily find the papers I need. It is also helpful for substitutes when I forget to pull things out and need to tell them where they can find the materials!
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Take a good look at this clean desk! I will be honest and tell you that now that school has started, it definitely does not look this nice now! Last year I got rid of my big teacher desk to make room for more learning areas for my kids. I still needed a desk to hold all of my stuff, so I found this one on Craigslist for an amazing price! I never sit at it, but it's just nice to have a place to put the random things I get from my kids or in my mailbox throughout the day when I don't really have the time to put them where they need to go.
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My second big purchase for my classroom this year was the IKEA Trofast Storage shelves. I'm really excited to use these to keep all of my centers in one spot, and have them easily accessible for my kiddos!
I will leave you with a shot of the room the day before school started and the fun began! If you are still reading this, thanks for checking out my room! It was a labor of love, as it is for all teachers, but it is worth it to create a welcoming, safe environment where my students will learn and grow! Be sure to check out all of the hard work my fellow teacher bloggers have put into creating some amazing learning spaces for their students!
