First, let me begin by thanking all of my dear friends and family who listened to me whine and cry about moving classrooms at the end of last year, who helped me haul boxes, and who prayed for my frazzled nerves!!! Truly, my hallway had become at school family, so moving seemed like such a daunting challenge at the end of last year. :-(
BUT, let me also quote my younger sister who often says, "Sometimes God does things for us that we can't do for ourselves." I know this must be true, because although I have grieved leaving behind some of my dear friends on the 100 hallway, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my bigger classroom on the 200 hallway. My closets are more organized than they have ever been in 17 years of teaching, and can I just say that sometimes purging can be a good thing?! Just a note to encourage you that no matter what you are facing, God has a plan and it is working for your good if you are called according to His purposes!!!
Now, on to the pictures...Welcome to my new classroom! Just a few of the advantages--more space, lower coat hooks, and more room for EVERYTHING! :-) 'cause I am a bit of a teacher hoarder! ;-)
As you can tell, I have a train theme in my classroom, and I found the CUTEST color coordinated table baskets at Target this year--perfect for crayons, pencils, etc.
My curtain cornice board was made by wrapping fabric around thick cardboard and then hot gluing on bows and ribbon. This is a shot of my Enrichment Engine.
My idea for organizing copies for each day...these mop buckets from the dollar store, labeled with cute Monday-Friday labels. They are also big enough to hold books, folders, notebooks, etc. Just $1 each!
This is the front of my room. I LOVE my new and improved SMARTboard, complete with speakers in the ceiling! AWESOME! Another blessing of the move!
I hung inspirational "Seussisms" on the wall up front, and I don't know if you can tell, but added painted polkadots to my standard metal file cabinets. I love the way they turned out!
I also was able to add 2 reading nooks to my classroom. I found these plates at Michael's for mere cents and added a mirror hung horizontally to bounce light around. I only have 1 window, so I have to make the most of the natural light! I added a rug and a bookshelf full of chapter books.
This is my 2nd book book. I added a lamp I rescued from the trashcan.
My newly organized reference library...perfect for research and discovery!
In this picture you can see my standards board, as well as my Creativity Caboose. Lots of my manipulatives are stored here, as are strategy games.
Please take special note of this picture of my organized teacher desk! I am sure it will not look this clean again! I decided that if these baskets work for organizing kid-things, I should use them for my stuff as well!!! They fit perfectly across the front of my desk!
Next, this is my door and behind the door area. I use this area mainly for organization.
Lastly, some of you may have seen these paintings I did a few weeks ago on pieces of cardboard. Hung with a little ribbon, I think they look great and inspirational above my book crates! I organize my personal picture books by unit, so they are easy to pull for student use as we move from topic to topic. I am NOT a painter, but took a class in the Spring from Truth Be Told Art. Check out her page on Facebook for more info on her class and ministry! She encouraged us to be bold and fearless. I took her up on this challenge, and figured what do I have to lose? by trying to add a bit of me into my classroom. I was happy and relieved at how they turned out.
My art supplies are found in the back of the room by the sink in an area I call the Bright Ideas Box Car!
If you are interested in applying any of these ideas to your own classroom, I would invite you to check out some of my classroom management resources on both TpT and Teachers Notebook. There are several different themes there, including my train-themed pack.
Hope you have a wonderful school year, and just a reminder that TpT and Teachers Notebook are hosting huge sales this weekend/week in honor of back to school time. Have an absolutely wonderful school year!!! Shannon :-)
Love your classroom especially all of the polka dots. You should come link up to my giveaway/linky.
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