Classroom Tour

Welcome to my classroom!  I am super excited to show it off to the world this year.  I have been working and planning all summer and when it all came together the way I wanted it, I was just overjoyed.  There are a lot of Pinterest ideas at work here and I am so thankful to everyone who shares on blogs and Pinterest.  I have been so inspired!  Here are just a few pictures of my room.

This is looking at my classroom from the door.  My classroom is small compared to most of the classrooms that I see in blogs, but it is my little corner of the world and it works just fine.  My curtains are world maps in bright primary colors, so that is the inspiration for the color pallet in my classroom.  The bowls are trash bowls that go on each table when we are making things.  One person from each table will empty it into the trash when we are finished.  There are also sturdy plastic plates that I found 4 for $1 at the dollar store that will work great for dry erase boards.  The drawers hold small group role cards, "stoplight" cards to do self evaluations, calculators, rags to erase dry erase boards, post it notes, and anything else I decide to add to them.  I found great little frames at IKEA after seeing them on Pinterest to be my table numbers.

I do have a goal to write down the objectives each day for students.  Another Pinterest inspired project lead me to buy wood frames at the dollar store.  I bought the wood frames thinking that they would work with the woodwork that I had in my classroom.  After deciding I didn't like the wood frames, I bought a can of spray paint and  made the frames black.  Not a horrible mistake, just could have saved time painting.

The plaid strip on the right is my calendar.  I found it at an estate sale years ago.  The black box slides down the row and highlights the date.  I really like that it takes up hardly any space in my classroom.  The students like changing the date.   

Here are my supply boxes for each table group.  Each box contains markers, colored pencils, scissors, glue sticks, tape, and a mini hole puncher.  In years past, I just used the three drawer box on top for markers, crayons, and colored pencils.  I am keeping that box around for the days we need crayons or a brown colored pencil is suddenly missing from the supply box.

I am keeping scrap paper, graph paper, and loose leaf paper in the stackable trays.

The table to the left hold my absent work folders, no homework binder, rulers, three hole punch, stapler, and my extra copy files.

The cabinet on the left has art supplies.  The magnetic body parts are to make silly faces. 

This is my favorite new thing in my classroom.  I read in a blog, and I didn't pin the picture, about how a teacher organized her units into plastic, modular, stackable drawers.  I liked the idea, but I just didn't quite know if the modular drawers would work for me.  Thanks to some awesome deals this summer, I was able to afford three of these rainbow drawers.  I have been organizing games and activities into them.  They work so well.  Everything is organized by topic and my file cabinet has room again! :)

The crates to the right will hold corrected work and anything that the kids will leave overnight to work on the next day.

This picture just shows some of the things that I have blogged about this summer.  My homework question board and small group role assignment boards are hanging.  Also, my NOISE sign is there too.

I teach Social Studies too and the world map is going to be for my Geography class.  We are going to play "Where in the world is (insert student name here)".  The students will write clues to where they are and others will guess.

The last picture is of the front of my room as you look from my desk.  I realized that I took this picture before I put the books in the bookcase.  Opps!

Well, there it is!  My pride and joy right now.  I am ready for Tuesday and the kiddos coming back.  I am excited for them to spend time in the space and for me to see if all the planning created the environment that I wanted!