August 4, 2011

Classroom Update

Hooray! I'm so excited to be posting pictures of my classroom (finally)! Although I have moved rooms every year I have taught, I am still no faster at putting it all together.  Last year was my biggest change of all because I moved from Washington state to Texas.  Things are bit different down here; it was a huge learning experience.  This year, being the 2nd at my school, I feel more comfortable and I have really made my room my own. I'm very excited and have been HARD at work the past two weeks.

Here is what it looked like when I walked in.  Ugh!
Did you notice the ugly brown accordion walls? Yes, that's right.  I don't have 4 walls or a door.  (This is something that I am still not used to.) I have 2 walls and 2 brown accordion walls.  There is also no storage cabinets or built-ins, which means I have to great creative. :)

But... first things first... I had to paint! Goodbye faded yellow paint and icky blue! You'll see my new wall colors in the pictures below. 

My word wall is up!  I know, I know, I am not supposed to put all the words up to start, but I know they have had all these words in 3rd grade, because I taught 3rd grade last year.  I'm thinking that if I expected them to spell it correctly in May, they should probably spell it correctly in August. 

My classroom library is organized and ready to go.  Although, I am just now noticing that I need a label for my Harry Potter basket and another label is trying to escape.  Hmm... I'll have to take care of that tomorrow.



  Here is part of the front of the room, still working on the other half.  :)

I got the idea for both of these interactive bulletin boards from Beth Newingham.  If you haven't been to her website, go check it out and just click around! She's amazing and so inspiring!!

This is my teacher bookshelf behind my desk.  
 
My new calendar and classroom bingo board
Well, that's it for now.  More pictures to follow soon.  I'd love to hear any suggestions or ideas, especially for dealing with those pesky accordion walls.  :)

6 comments:

  1. Looks like you have done a lot with your room! I'm envious of your nicely organized library. Hopefully mine will get there one of these days! :)

    I also love the Beth Newingham site. I linked to it on my blog today too! How funny!!

    Marisa
    iDream.iPlan.iTeach

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  2. I love how you model good organizational skills for your students. They need good role models for this because once they hit middle school they better be organized or they will quickly get lost. My classroom will be organized to. I will use some of your ideas for organizing the huge amount of books you have. Now, if I can just get that classroom....someday. :)

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  3. Wow you were productive! It is great you get to paint. I have been at the same sterile white for years. Also the bookshelves look great. Enjoy the newly organized room!

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  4. Marisa... yes, my library took me some time. I organized and leveled them this year. (Leveling was new to me.) After teaching 3rd grade last year, I had a TON of books in storage. I dug those out and brought them into my classroom. I'm so excited to have most of my books back. I missed them. :)

    Emily... the paint job helped so much! The room is so much brighter and happier. Thanks for your comment.

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  5. maybe you can help me sometime to create a button :)

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  6. Where did you get the words on your word wall?

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Thank you for taking a moment to share your thoughts!