My Classroom

Well, I finally got around to taking some photos (albeit horrible phone ones) of my classroom.  I really wish I had taken "before" shots so you could see the transformation, but you will just have to take my word for it when I say that I did NOT have much to work with.  I seem to have been blessed in my career so far with exceptionally hideous, oddly shaped, and outdated teaching/office spaces.   Alas, I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds myself in this predicament year after year; so, maybe someone out there will draw some inspiration at my humble attempt to "make the best" of a terrible space. 

Anyway, welcome to my home away from home/little shoe-box of a classroom. Come on in and I'll show you around!



One of my classroom dreams has always been to have matching desks, and this is the year, folks.  It's the little things, you know?  Anyway... This is the view from one side of my classroom.  You probably recognize that cutie little banner from Sam's birthday party - multi-tasking at its finest - and the colored "word wall" from my old room that I spent way too much money having laminated to not hang up. Eventually, I'd like to have student work and "Current Events" to post, but for now this will do. (Note: The empty bookshelf in the back is patiently waiting all the crisp new novels I ordered this summer.  Dream #2 come true!)

Hideous cabinet = Excellent for storing EVERYTHING.  Hideous filing cabinet = Perfect for adding a little chevron to the room! I'm not opposed to a little vandalism of school property when necessary ;)  (Chevron contact paper/drawer liner from TJ Maxx.)

My desk area and more brown desks.  (There are 25 total desks in this teeny little room!) The bulletin board is covered in fabric (pay no attention to the wrinkles) and the poster is from the movie The Ides of March - an allusion to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar/ a good excuse for Ryan Gosling and George Clooney to make a classroom appearance. 

My little work station in the front of the room with Yellow Sheets, attendance records, weekly plans, and my make-up work binder.  (See details here.)  Also, how cute are those flower pens I found for 50 cents each at Walgreens?  I haven't had a single student ask to borrow one yet! Haha!

The little fabric covered boxes are from my laundry room and hold things like paper clips, scissors, glue, etc.  Below, there is a labeled crate for each class to store their journals.

Martha Stewart stick-on calendar for keeping up with block schedule etc. and little bucket with dry-erase markers et al.

My desk with my beautiful new MacBook Air and Shakespeare bobble-head.

And, finally, a little *bonus* sneak peak into my "Classroom Organization Binder" which was inspired by this post from Stephanie at Eat.Write.Teach. The "To Do" List on the front page is color-coordinated by day (but, of course) and is my LIFE LINE right now.  (It is available as a free printable here.) The other tabs in the binder are: calendars & checklists, class rosters, lesson plans, parent communication, syllabi, standards, emergency, team-teacher, meeting notes, and other.  This is the first year I've ever made one of these and, so far, I'm loving it.  I don't know how I ever survived without it. :)

So, what do you think? I hope the end result of my extreme-makeover classroom edition is a happy, bright (it needs to be for a class that starts at 7:30AM), comforting, and inviting space for my students. Mission accomplished?

*See this post for photos of my old classroom. Different space, same style (+ or - some red and teal).