I survived Hot Yoga and am nice and relaxed and ready to tackle another week at school. I love going to Hot Yoga on Sundays. It’s a great way to mentally and physically prepare for another week at work. Let’s you leave all of your stress behind and focus on what is ahead. And it always puts me in a better mood which is a huge plus! Now that I am mentally ready to tackle next week, maybe not prepared but my mind is in a good place, let’s take a tour of my newly redecorated classroom!
At the end of last school year, I won an amazing giveaway from Kindergarten Smiles and Schoolgirl Style! I was beyond excited to use the Pink Paisley theme in my classroom. It was the exact colors that I was already trying to incorporate into my room and it complimented what I already had perfectly! I think this is my favorite room design so far.
Here is a view from my back door that leads out to the playground. To the right of this picture (which you cannot see) is my teacher desk. All the way in the back is lockers for the students to store their backpack and coats. There are two kids to each locker. The kids love having lockers, they feel so grown up. Also in the back is my small group table. The on the left is our group area and our pocket chart for our weekly poems.
This is the word wall on the back wall. It is empty in this picture because we had not learned any words yet. We now have 10 words on our wall! The letters are straight now. I was in the process of measuring how high they should be. Everything on the board is magnetic so the students can take the words off and use them in their writing and then put them back. The alphabet is from the amazing Cara Carroll. I wish I thought to get a close up of them but they are anchor chart letters. You can look at them here. The numbers at the top and the Word Wall letters both came from Erica Bohrer and you can see them here and here. The blue pocket chart will hold our monthly words for the writing station. Which is the table right under the chart and the shelf beside it.
Here is a better view of my Small Group table. To the left of the table is my classroom library. The yellow board will hold our token necklaces which our school uses as an incentive program. The students love earning tokens for their necklaces and wearing them around. Also on the wall are my Reading Strategy posters that we refer to all the time. These come from Cara Carroll and you can find them here.
Here is a view of my classroom library. This is my favorite part of my entire room. I spent all summer organizing my books into themes and into levels. The long two shelves have books in baskets that are sorted my theme. I had a few amazing kids help me put stickers on the back of every book so my students could easily return the books to their proper basket. These are the books for the first quarter. I will switch them out every quarter. The tall book bins on the shelf on the right are books sorted by level. Students will pick books from these buckets that are on their level. Students can choose 5 theme books and 3 leveled books for their book bins. I do not have enough leveled books for them to choose more right now. The baskets came from Big Lots. I went on a “Road Trip” to four different states to get enough baskets. I’m still short a few but we are making it work. The pink baskets on top came from Dollar General. The chairs and folding table came from Walmart. There is also a basket of Reading Buddies for the students to use. Then on the wall I have the gorgeous pom poms from School Girl Style! Love them!
Here’s a close up view of the library. One of my amazing Co-Workers made me the pillows for my library. Love her!
I love my line up dots! They have been a lifesaver! Every summer our custodians have to strip and wax the floors so they peel up my dots, but I bought a new set because these are a must have. There is no fighting over spots in line or “cutting” problems. Every student has an assigned number and they know where to stand. They get so good with this, that they can even get in their line order outside and when we are in other classrooms. They are so smart! I could not live without these. They are from Jamie Mayas and you can see them here.
This is the back of the classroom and our wall of windows looking out to the playground. I love getting so much natural light into the classroom. This is my first classroom with windows and I am loving them! The table in the back is my aide’s table where she works with a small group also. There are a few lanterns from Hobby Lobby above her table for that extra pop of color to match. We are not supposed to hang anything from the ceilings but the Fire Marshall hasn’t yelled at us yet so shhhh! I wanted to hang a lot more but I did not want to risk it. Maybe I’ll slowly add a few throughout the school year. Above the windows is a patterned print banner also from Schoolgirl Supply. Love how it fit perfectly in that space that I had no clue what to do with. Behind my rocking chair and easel is our computer center. And all the way to the left is my teacher desk.
Here is a close up view of my whole group area with my Smart Board. I love it! I don’t know how I ever taught without one, lol! I do not have anything up on the boards yet because this is where I will hang all of my charts. On the right side will be my Focus Wall. The banner is from Schoolgirl Supply and it says Focus Wall. On the left side is where our Daily 5 charts will go once we create them. On the shelf is where we keep our calendar notebooks, clipboards, and other supplies we need during whole group. Along the top of the board is our birthday posters. On the floor between the shelf and Smart Board is our Reading Mats. Students can take a Reading Mat (Bath Rug) and place it anywhere in the room to sit on during Read to Self or Read to Someone.
I still have a few things that I need to add but it is coming along so nicely. I am loving all of my new colors and decorations! Thanks for stopping by to see the room! I cannot wait to put a few finishing touches on it. It just makes me so happy seeing this everyday when I walk into my room. I am in love!
~*Julie*~
