Well it’s a few weeks into school and I am still loving my classroom set-up and decorations. I thought I would give everyone a little tour into my home away from home.
First I have my meeting area. For the first time, we have a new smart board and so I no longer need an annoying projector blocking the middle of my room that needs to reach a plug outlet! I had to rearrange the stuff I used to keep on my board, like my schedule, because you can’t leave stuff on the smart board. I had put it to the left, like, in this picture, but have since moved it to the right so that it is easier for the children to see during our morning meeting and throughout our day. Also seen in this picture is my calendar. I love my new watercolor calendar that I created. It fits my space and goes perfectly with my color theme! You can get the calendar and other decorations in my teachers pay teachers store here.
Next I have our library area. I like to have it near the rug so I can easily get books for read alouds. I also have our control spot here. The control spot is a quiet spot where children can go to calm down. Some people might call it the take a break spot or rest and return. I have some helpful reminders here for students, as seen above. I like this area to be near to the rug so that children can go there for blurting or reminders for following rug expectations. It’s private to the other students, but I can still see it from the rug and anywhere in the classroom set-up.
Next we can see my 4 rectangle tables that the children sit at and my round table for small groups. I keep unfinished work in the mailboxes and supplies on the shelves. I try to have all of my shelves and bins labeled with clear pictures and labels so that students know where things go and can be independent. I try to leave the windowsill as clean as possible, because I think it looks nicer.
In the back corner, I have my dramatic play area. I like it to be opposite the library, because it can get a little louder over here and the library is a quiet space. I change up the dramatic play center over the course of the year. In the other back corner, I have the sand table. I like it to be near the sink because throughout the year I change it to different sensory materials, like water, and need easy access to the sink.
Here you can see my small group area (In the picture it is set up to receive supplies from Meet the Teacher day). I keep all of my small group teaching supplies over here. I group materials by reading, writing, phonics, and math. Then I have a bin for small groups and interventions where I keep the materials I am currently using for my small groups. I also have colored magazine boxes where I put my books for my reading small groups. These are based by reading level or strategies I am trying to teach.
I like having my small group table right next to my desk because I go back and forth for planning out my lessons and small groups. To the side of my desk I keep paper trays with all the stuff I need for my upcoming reading, writing, math, science, social studies units, and a pile for “to do” stuff. I also keep my sub tub where I keep lots of easy to grab materials for a substitute, as well as my substitute binder and guest teacher book.
I hope you liked seeing my classroom set-up! Are there areas you want to see more of? Let me know in the comments!
