This is it! I've been frantically preparing for my first graders. It didn't feel like I even had a summer this year. It was very busy with our daughters' AAU Volleyball Nationals in Florida and our oldest daughter's high school graduation and party.
Normally, I like to start coming back into my classroom mid-July to start setting up and planning at a nice easy pace. Unfortunately, this summer, our building was undergoing MANY projects. The classrooms and hallways were all painted, and all of our carpeting was removed and replaced with tile. We also had some exterior drainage and landscaping work done. Oh, and did I mention that I had to move classrooms this year? So, not only did I have to pack (and unpack) everything, I had to figure out how to make it all work in a new space! I had about two weeks to get it all done.
Today, was the teachers' first day back, and tonight is our Supply Drop Off. Students get to come see their classroom, meet their teacher, and drop off their supplies. My room is looking pretty good considering the quick turn around. The above picture is looking in from my door. I apologize for the darkness of the picture. I forgot to turn all of the lights on! Oops! My classroom is in the basement, so there's not much natural light anyway. I have 27 students this year which is the most I've had in a long time! I have their desks arranged in five groups of five or six students.
One of the adjustments I had to make was going from having lockers to having hooks. I prefer lockers, because it keeps things looking tidy and it hides all of the clutter. So, I needed a place for students to keep their gym shoes. I have numbered the baskets, and the students have been assigned a basket. The clipboard on top of the shelf lets them know which one they've been assigned to. There's room for two students per basket. I got the baskets from The Dollar Tree. I had to go to a couple different stores to find enough red ones, because they had to match my theme, of course!
I am lucky in that I have A LOT of cabinet space in this room! But, I wasn't happy with the entire back of my room filled with boring cabinet doors, so I made the doors into my word wall. I'm really happy with how it came out! Ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.
This is my calendar, Reading Focus Wall, and carpet area. The cabinet that the whiteboard is sitting on has my iPads in it!! (Post on that coming soon!)
My job board. I prefer to have only a few classroom jobs with two students per job.
Yep! More cabinets! I told you I was lucky! The posters on the front are my I Can statements for all of the subject areas.
The storage drawers on the counter hold my math manipulatives and my listening center books/cds are hanging on the rack next to them.
Well, that's it for the tour of my room! I'll save my desk area for another time (once I've cleaned it up a little!)
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