Okay, so I feel as though I have not had much of a life the past week. I have been working and working on my classroom and still feel as though I have a ton to do! Now, the majority of it is finished (there are still a few small things to do, but they can be done after the first day of school)...so I thought I would share. For those of you who don't work for my school system, we have a very strict fire marshall (so not a lot on the walls and NO hanging things from the ceiling, including kids) also the county decided that teachers could not have lamps in their classrooms; as part of the budget cuts...I really really miss my lamps! First the BIG picture, and then I will take you through some of my favorite parts. Drum roll please......
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| Most of the classroom |
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| Other side of the room view, classroom library and storage |
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| Small group meeting area, other than the floor |
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| My desk area, still a work in progress though |
Now for some close ups!
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| Some of my buckets in use! LOVE these! |
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| My listening center. I hot glued the top of the ribbon to the wall, attached name tag clips to the headphones (they snap on), and then clipped them to the ribbon |
My behavior management system, and work folders. Click here to read all about it.
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| The sign I made (sayings from Pinterest). Tutorial soon to come! |
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| My bulletin boards. On the left are my prefix, suffix, root word trees (we add leaves to each "root" tree). Next are my famous Americans with their character traits, for Social Studies. Then my calendar and homework board, and finally schedules (will change as school year progresses) |
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| Close up of Calendar and Homework. Homework white boards from Walmart, Calendar from Target |
Made these magnets and LOVE them, tutorial soon to come...easy and fun!
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| Where my students hang their hats from AR |
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| More of my buckets in use, on my white board |
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| Student organization center. Book boxes (IKEA), notebooks, and pencil boxes. |
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| another one of my products, they came out so cute! |
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My new candy jars, they came out so cute! My outside wall display (remember the fire marshal), clothespin tutorial soon to come. |
I hope you enjoyed!!
128 comments:
Wow! Looks great!
I already miss teaching at this time of year, but seeing all your fun, cute, creative ideas makes me miss it even MORE! :> I love, love the idea of the small bookcases at each group for the kids...that was always a challenge, keeping their supplies close, but orderly! Anyway, it looks amazing! Hope it's a great year!
Lisa Pulsipher
WOW! Your room is truly inspiring! Absolutely beautiful!
Very nice and good to see it looking great with in those fire marshall guidelines!!! You MUST be in a Gwinnett Co. GA classroom!!!
WOW, your room looks GREAT! I'd love to learn how to make those magnets!
I love your student seating set up! Are the desks focused on a particular white board or projector?
I only ask because I'm having difficulty in settling on a set up.
Thank you!
-LaRae
Your room looks awesome!
Great tour :) Thanks! I just found your blog through pintrest and now a follower! I love the target shelving unit.
I do work in Gwinnett Co., so with all the restrictions it gets harder and harder to make a classroom look "cute". As for the seating arrangement, yes I do have a Mimo therefore a projector. By using this seating arrangement I only have two students that have to turn to face to board. It is probably one of the best arrangements that I have used when it comes to being able to see the board. Stay tuned, I took pics around my school of other seating arrangements and classroom ideas...thanks for following!
wilYour classroom is special! I'll bet you teach just the way the room looks.....Special
Gram
Wow, your room looks FANTASTIC. I love how organized it is! You've definitely inspired me to do even more organizing in my room. :)
Your room looks awesome! Love the colors and how everything coordinates!
Your classroom is amazing!! It is so beautiful and inviting. Just love it!! :)
Your room looks wonderful! It's so neat and organized. :)
WILD About First Grade!
darling!
mrsmaysplace.blogspot.com
Oh my! I am in heaven. Your classroom is gorgeous and so immaculate! I also feel your pain with the fire marshall. Ours has said the same thing so we can't use walls that aren't corkboard to put anything up, nor can we use the ceilings.
Your room is stunning. It has to be one of the cleanest, most organized rooms I have seen. I LOVE IT. Amazing.
Love your room!! Would you be willing to share some of your classroom signs/decor?
Miss J
smilescrayonsandendlessstories
I totally have things to share, unfortunately I have not had time...first week of school is draining me! That and trying to make some of my things compatible to share on on blogger is a little more challenging that I expected. But please keep an eye out because I also have two tutorials in the works for the sign and magnets!
Super cute! Love your blog design. I'm a new follower; found you on Pinterest!
Mandy
Your rooms looks great. I know how many hours have gone into making it look this way. I really like the simplistic look and the red and black look fab.
Enjoy your first day of school.
Ms. Brown's Grade 2 Class
Your room looks great. It's so clutter-free and organized. I am so jealous :)
Carmela
http://diaryofateachaholic.blogspot.com/
beautiful...i found your blog through pinterest and am now a follower, too...
Your classroom looks amazing! There are 2 days before school starts here. Is that enough time to tear down my room and start all over with the amazingly cute ladybug theme? J/k .. maybe next year. Love all your ideas and tutorials!
Totally love your colors and organization! Looks super!!
Allison
www.room-mom101.blogspot.com
Just came across your blog on Pinterest! I love your red/black theme-- I also use the same colors in my classroom! I love the way you have bookshelves for each desk group-- so organized! Thanks for the inspiration!
-Elizabeth
http://mrsfarmers2ndgrade.blogspot.com
How did you get your student displays to stick to the cinderblock walls?
HOT GLUE! I also can usually us command strips, what I did for the saying canvas.
Where did you find your clear gems? None @ Walmart :( I am dying to try that out for my calendar! Your classroom is GORGEOUS!
Katie
Queen of the First Grade Jungle
I am pretty sure I found mine at Hobby Lobby and if you keep an eye out they go on sale fifty percent off about every other week. Good Luck!
I have my room decorated with a ladybug theme too but yours is FABULOUS. I am totally going to beg, borrow, and steal bookshelves to do EXACTLY what you did in the future. That is such an awesome look! Way to go!
So. Completely. Jealous. :)
Your room is so cute and sooo clean. I teach first and I feel like I struggle to keep it together. Love the personal group storage.
-Lauren
www.weeklyhive.blogspot.com
Come and share with me!
From a future teacher, this blog & your classroom were very inspiring & helpful. Thanks!
Where did you get the trash cans? LOVE them.
I bought the trash cans at the $1 store. Then used my Cricut for the circles and letters.
Just came across your site through pinterest. LOVE your classroom! I'm a new follower!
I agree with everyone about your room being beautiful and inspiring. Just wondering how much of all those wonderful organization tools you had to personally buy.
AMAZING! I have a black and red classroom & this gave me lots of ideas. I love the student centers-my classroom is much too small for that though.
Love the look of your classroom. I love the shelves at each group of desks. If my classroom were only half this size I would be happy. I barely have room to move in my tiny little room crammed wall to wall with kids.
Very cute room! Where do you teach? This looks like a Gwinnett County room! Love it and posted it on my FB!
♥Jenaya
Lesson Plan Diva
I am so jealous of your classroom =( If I didn't spend thousands already I would put a personal bookshelf at each group.. amazing idea!! I am sharing with every teacher I know! Thank you!
I just found your spot through pinterest. I love the room. I have never thought of the bookshelves--I'd like to try it, maybe next year! Thanks for the post:)
The first thing I thought when I saw your room (after noticing how cute and organized it is): wow, that must be Gwinnett! I feel your pain about fire marshal rules...but it's great to see a classroom that looks great even with all of the guidelines to follow! My class is lucky because special ed gets to have lamps! Thanks for sharing pictures of your classroom. It's great to finally see another blogger from Gwinnett.
-Abby
Abby...welcome to my blog! And yes I have taught in Gwinnett Co. for 8yrs now, jealous of your lamps!!!! If you see anything you like let me know, I am a "sharer".
Your room is gorgeous. I enjoyed looking at the pictures.
Your room is adorable!! What are you letters cut from on the trash can? Is it self-adhesive?
Leslie: I used my Cricut to cut the letters (Feelin' Groovy cartridge) and used black vinyl self adhesive paper.
Love all your large custom font signs. Do you buy the letters? Or print them off your computer?
Your room is darling!
Found your classroom through Pinterest...and re-pinned it too!! Love all of your organization...I teach K-2 Autism support so my set-up is way different than yours, BUT I definitely want to use some of your ideas! Great job! :)
Christina @ christinasadventures.com
All I can say is amazing! Your classroom looks fabulous! I found your blog through Pinterest and love your ideas.I will keep watching for those magnets. Thanks for sharing.
I love your creativity! The bookshelves mut be a lifesaver for each group. I so want to do something like that. Thanks for sharing.
So gorgeous! I love your classroom. How long does it take you to teach the class to stay picked up, neat and organized?
@Liz...it usually takes about a week. I have so many policies and procedures, but I know if you have them established and they know your expectations, they CAN do it! I even give "awards" out to the neatest groups and neatest desks...that helps!
You said you got your bookshelves at Ikea. Do you remember what they are called, and how much they are? I love your classroom!!!
Picked them up at Wally World! They usually run about $15...they have white, brown, and black.
Could you give the dimensions of your bookshelves for the teams? I was so excited I ran off to walmart and bought 6 shelves. I built one and it seems way too huge. It may be that my room is just way too small. I will probably have only about 1-2 feet of extra space between the bookshelf of one group and the next group. I can't stop thinking about doing this. I love the idea.
I am pretty sure these are the ones that I use:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ameriwood-3-Shelf-Bookcase-Multiple-Finishes/17480009
I did write the dimensions down but of course left the sticky note at school...I'll double check when I get to school tomorrow.
yes, these are the ones I bought. I decided to go for it and it worked out ok. The kids love it and so do I. They feel so grown up. Thanks for all you do and share!
Wow! Your room looks like a scrapbook page come to life. Very artistic.
Color theorists steer institutions/learning environments away from using the color red as the main component in a decorating theme, as it has been shown to increase activity levels and even aggression.
I would be curious to see how you feel about that theory at the end of the year. We specifically did not incorporate red into our school furniture or paint colors for just these reasons.
Red is usually recommended for gyms and sport arenas, as it "supposedly" facilitates physical strength, energy and activity. Blues, greens, and calm yellows are usually recommended for focus and calm.
I am not knocking your scheme, I am just curious to see what you think after living in it for a while!
Your room is beyond amazing. The organization, clean lines, arrangement- two thumbs waaaay up! You've given me some great ideas. :) Thanks!
Your room is amazing. I love so many of your ideas. What grade do you teach?
Thank you Amanda M and ambermoore...I teach third grade.
okay, i may be changing my theme!! This is adorable.
Your room looks amazing! I have a favor to ask: would you take and post pictures of these same shots now that the year is getting close to ending? What would you change? I'm a GA teacher, too!
@Anonymous...I would love to take some "newer" pictures to update you all...it has changed, but because if you didn't get to it yet...I moved schools in September. If you keep reading you can see newer pictures. Thanks for following.
Your classroom is sooooo inspiring! I love the desk setup, especially the bookshelves. I am switching from desks to tables and I think that bookcases are the answer to a lot of my concerns :)
I am your newest follower & a fellow 3rd grade teacher!
~Stephanie
3rd Grade Thoughts
Oh my goodness I love your room!!! I love the color pattern you are using and how organized everything is. I must ask did you purchase the bookcases yourself or were they supplied? If you did purchase them where oh where did you get them?!?! Also, I'm not sure if you answered yet, but where in the world do you find those great buckets?
@Amanda Ray...I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier! The bookcases are mine, and believe it or not they all came from WalMart. As for the buckets, well I make them. It's my "side" business. We have a FB page: Quite A Pear: https://www.facebook.com/QuiteaPear, feel free to check us out and if you are interested in placing an order just let me know.
How do you handle students reaching for the top shelves of your bookcases? Do you have older students? What do you use on your bulletin board? Fabric or paper? Where did you find the cute borders??
Love the colors! I do red and black in my classroom too! Black makes things "disappear" and red makes things "pop".
Can you tell me where you got the black bookshelves that you have next to each student group? I think that is such a terrific idea, and I'd like to find some reasonably priced shelves. Thanks!
My gosh- I come and look at your room whenever I need inspiration! Talk to me about your display of student work "Spotting Good Work - can't remember what you called it...anyway, did you laminate construction paper and then hot glue wooden clothespins? How did you adhere the laminated construction paper to the wall?!? I need a better way to display student work, we have NO bulletin boards in the hallway!
Holly
Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade
I feel inspired!!! Thanks for sharing your ideas, I teach 4th grade and I already feel like planning for next school year.
What a great room! It looks like a fun place to be a student!
Hi! I know this is an old post, but I saw it on Pinterest,and I love how you set up your students desks with a bookshelf next to each group! That's how I'm wanting mine to look when I start teaching. I just graduated,and am looking for great ideas like this for when I get my first classroom! Thanks for sharing! I'm a new follower :)
Allie
the-gypsy-teacher.blogspot.com
LOVE it. How did you get your STUFF to stick on the brick walls outside your classroom?
Coolest classroom I have ever seen!
I have been teaching for 27 years and have lots of new ideas. Thanks!
Love the room. I understand about the fire marshal. I just had to take down my curtains. My room looks bare. :( ... How did your students handle the bookshelves?
The kids do well with the bookshelves...it really helps to cut down on the movement around the room because everything is right there for them to get.
I am IN LOVE with your room!! I am impressed beyond words, and I am totally inspired! I love that even your dictionaries match your color scheme :) Thanks for sharing your room.
I noticed some of your groups had more students than others. How did you decide to group the students? Was it random, by ability, reading levels?
I LOVE the idea of grouping students with a bookshelf!
Love what you have done in this classroom, many ideas suit the home as well! I will be sharing some of your ideas in my facebook communities and on pinterest.
MaryAnne Bennie author Paper Flow and From Stuffed to Sorted
Love what you have done in this classroom, many ideas suit the home as well! I will be sharing some of your ideas in my facebook communities and on pinterest.
MaryAnne Bennie author Paper Flow and From Stuffed to Sorted
small shelves - besides tissues, soap, trashcan and dictionaries (great idea) - what do the students keep on the shelf in the notebooks and boxes?
I love the shelves for each cooperative seating area. What a great idea. Your classroom looks HUGE! I'm tempted to see if I can make the shelves work in my classroom to help with desk space and such. Thanks for the great inspiration.
Do teachers in your district receive a budget for classroom decorating because all I could think when I saw your room was...how much did she spend?!? I get $100 per year which would get me one shelf and a bucket. :)
This is amazing! I absolutely love the bookshelves for each group! That has been one of my challenges this year...only have one big bookshelf for things. It also seems to add more space by pushing the groups flush with the wall. In my county, we have extremely small classrooms and space is always an issue! Thanks so much for this idea! Can't wait to start arranging my room!
we do have a budget for supplies...around $100. So yes, I have put A LOT of my own money into my classroom. The bookshelves are "cheap", I got them at WalMart, the Mainstay brand $15 each. Hope that helps a little
The magazine boxes have their reading workshop items in them: Reading Response Journal, sticky notes, library books and a book or two we might be working through/on in small group, as well as a book or two from my own personal library (at least one on their reading level that I have assigned them).
Love your classroom!! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and pictures.
Jenny
I love your room! I have been decorating my classroom the red/black/white/ladybug theme for 4 years now and really like it!
I was curious what is inside your 9 cube storage with the labels? I have one that I use for my library, but they are not very well organized and the students tend to shove the books back in and they get ruined. I want to start using baskets with labels like on your shelves. So are there more books inside the cubes, or something else? Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas!
I use the cubes for supply storage. Extra glue sticks, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, rulers, expo markers, etc. It frees up other places in my classroom for other storage.
Your room is BEAUTIFUL! And, I'm stealing your ideas for ogranization for my classroom next year:) I love how neat and orderly everything looks. Thank you very much for sharing:)
I love your desk arrangement!! I teach 3rd grade and I have struggled with ways to keep supplies within student reach. So far, my best solution is in cubbies but students sill have to get up and walk across the room to get them...which takes up a TON of instructional time!! I have one of your black shelves in front of my desk. I might move that around and see if I can do your same arrangement. I have a very small room though so I hope I can pull it off! I also use the same red and black spot theme. Mine was "Find your spot in Ms. Thomas' class" I think it is too cute!!
I love your desk areas with individual bookcases and desks! I understand you missing your lamps. Here's a suggestion you might want to look into. I did it in my classroom last year and it was like walking into pure sunlight and only cost abotu $60. Replace the fluorescent tube lights with full-spectrum fluorescent tubes. They have a blue color tint instead of the typical yellow which is a pure sunilight color. The difference is amazing. I am moving to a new district this year and will be doing the same thing there with the bulbs once I can get in and set up the room. Both districts have been ok with me doing it because I am not changing the wattage or power requirements, only the color of the lights, as well as my husband and I did the work. You might also want to wash the lenses, makes a huge difference. Just a suggestion to try to get over the loss of lamps!
I'm SO sorry I had to delete my comment TWICE!!! My link to my blog isn't working and my tired eyes can't seem to find the problem in the code....SORRY!!!!
Your room is fantastic!!! I love the shelves along side the desks. I definitely want to do something like this except I'm thinking shelves are going to be a litttttle too expensive. So I was thinking of getting the stackable crates at Walmart and using them as shelves. I never thought about shelving before this is so clever!!! Did you have any management issues/tips??
Thanks so much!!
Brittany
Closing the Gap... in a Cute Outfit
I love the class room, I'm not a teacher or a professor but I do want to recommend to you something. The desk setup may work well with te room how it is. How ever I think you'll need to change the desks that are next to the book shelves. The way it's setup now looks like a student be looking at the side of a student for them to easily cause other student discomfort from them getting a feeling of them being stared at. I'd face the desk at each other the ones towards the wall where the 6 desks are faces at each other and place the book shelves at the ends maybe making a 5 desk setup with a book shelf at the place of a desk.
I like your discipline plan with the folders but I see where u posted there are 10 folders going down vertically. How do you do this with 24 students? Do you put two rows?
Your room looks fantastic! I'm going with a black, white, and lime green theme this year and would love to know where you got the bulletin board letters that spell 'homework.' I love the font style of the letters and I haven't found any like those. If you've got a style or brand and the size I would love to know what it is. Thanks!
Jennifer C.
How did you make the red and black poster that is posted in your room? I would like to make one for my room.
I also would like to know about the gems on your calander? Cannot make out which ones they are. You posted that you purchased them at hobby lobby,are they the gems that one uses for bowls, aquariums, etc..? And how are the lady bugs posted on the gems, and how do they stick on? Are magnets behind them?
I absolutely love your blog, you have some really great ideas that don't over clutter! Thanks so much for sharing, I will be incorporating some of your ideas and try to post pictures!
Your classroom is the bomb.com! Are you in Palm Beach County by any chance? Your classroom look familiar. I LOVE it! Hope you don't mind if I 'borrow" a few ideas, especially that desk set up. : D
Where did you get the taller book cases that it appears to hold your notebooks? Love your ideas
Hello ! I am jalous : my classroom is so small !! thank you for showing us how to improve a classroom look ! (sorry for my english, i am from France !!)
florence
If it is okay to answer anonymous - I too use a lot of shelves in my classroom - I get mine at Walmart for a very very reasonable price. the smaller ones are about $16 and I am not sure how much the taller ones but they are very reasonable - they come in white and black. You just have to put them together. Target also sells a lot of shelving units but just a little more costly.
Thanks for sharing your room decorations. That is sad that they won't let you decorate the way you would like. We have not been told that yet. Also thanks for the idea about shelf space for each set of desks. I wish my rooms was bigger. I would definitely do that.
Mrs. Flickinger's Butterfly Oasis
I bought the 9 cubby shelf today at Walmart, but where did you find the bins that fit so nicely?
Thanks for sharing!
you can get them at Wal-Mart as well as Target, I think I have gotten them at both places before.
Just love your room! So cute! I would love to have this much room! I love the bookshelf idea with the desks! I went to IKEA and found the book boxes, definitely using those for when we start Daily 5. They will house their books perfectly!
I was wondering if you could tell me what name tag clips you are referring to when you hung your listening center headphones? I think that is a great idea and can't wait to try the ribbon on the wall. :)
Thanks again for the great ideas! Love your blog!
Your room is by far the most organized that I have seen!! I love the color choice and the bookcases for each table group are genius! I got online to Walmart today to see about ordering those! I may have to wait for a couple of paychecks!!
I love the ideas posted here. I would like to see some hints on incorporating these ideas into a classroom with 30-35 kids in it. My organization just falls apart by mid-year!
Wow! Your room looks amazing. I love the headphone idea, the calendar magnets, and your adorable matching candy jars! I am your newest follower!
- Michele
MULTIAGE MOMENTS
I can't wait until I graduate and get a classroom! I love your red, black and white colors. Red is my favorite color! I also love the shelves by the desks. I have observed in classrooms that didn't have any extra storage for students. This seems perfect to me!
Such a beautiful room! Love the red, black and white!
Wow, your classroom looks lovely. I'd love to know if you have a trip for getting those black papers to stick to the painted cinder block walls in your hallway. I need more bulletin board space in my new room, and would love to do this as well. But it is in a high traffic area of the school. I want to make sure they stick! Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Kind of jealous. Very beautiful! I was rehired last year after layoffs a couple of years ago and I have lot of mismatched odds and ends. I'm at a new school with huge, heavy trapezoid desks and we had 43 students for the first five weeks and 39 for the rest of the year. No extra furniture for us. I subbed 6 years and saw a room with a plastic 3 drawer unit about 3' tall for each table group for tools and supplies. It didn't hold all you had but did have some supplies and tools. I think I will still have a very full room this year so, sadly, I don't think I can even do that. What I DO plan to do is be more color-coordinated and get rid of some of the junk I collected during my years of travelling around the district when I was new! Thanks for a beautiful example.
I have been searching for the pocket charts you use for behavior management....where did you get it??
Hats off to you Christina. I am a teacher, of the homeschool variety. My daughter has ASD, and struggled In her mainstream class. So, I skilled up, did the EYFS ( UK ) and a homeschool course and now teach both my kids from home. I always wanted to teach, just never guessed it would be my kids in my home :) loved seeing this classroom display, gave me ideas too!
I love your room! What size black paper are you using in your hallway display?
LOVE your classroom!! I also have a ladybug themed classroom, but not nearly as cute as yours! Where did you get the flowers you used for your candy jars?? Super cute!! :-). So glad I found you on Pinterest!
What a cute classroom! I bet the kids love it as much as you do! Just curious, do you have only 18 students?! If you do I'm insanely jealous of you! I'm overflowing with my 37 fourth graders this year!
I want my room to look just like yours.. but using turtles or frogs... Lots of green. I love this. You are so so talented.. I hope you don't mind if other teachers steal your awesome ideas. You are so awesome and creative!! :0) Great job and thank you so much for posting this!!
WOW!!! It looks GREAT!! I am so jealous of how BIG your classroom is. I would love to incorporate some of these ideas in my room. My favorites are the buckets and the fact that each group has their own supply/bookshelf. Good job!
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