Classroom "Before" Pictures and Summer Progress



 

When school ended in May, I took everything down off of my walls and bulletin boards.  I knew I was going to completely re-decorate in the fall, so when I returned to put some things into my room, it looked pretty sad and empty.

 

However, it was kind of nice to have a clean slate to start with (minus having to move all the heavy tables).  This is the view of my classroom from the front of the room.  The panoramic view distorts it a bit, but it is the only way to get everything in one picture.  Excuse the mess! I promise, it did not look this bad when I left, but they moved everything to clean carpets and tile.

 



 
I have 15 student tables, a big rectangle table, and a 5-sided table that I work at with small groups of students.  You can see my filing cabinet at the right of the top photo--I tried to move it when I was there, but the giant thing just won't fit anywhere else in the room because I have sinks, lockers, doors, etc. in the way, and I don't want to block even more of the window.  The door on the right leads into the hall, and the door on the back left leads into one of my teammate's classrooms.  My bookshelf is hidden behind the door leading into his room.

This is the view from the back of the classroom where the movable wall is.  Again, I don't have lots of wall space here because of my whiteboard/projector screen, plus the lockers and the door into another classroom on our team.  You can see my one tiny bulletin board behind my desk on the right!  It doesn't get much attention because it is back in the corner, but it holds my calendar and usually pictures/cards that the students have made for me.

Those are the dreaded before shots.  Now, here is what I accomplished in the one afternoon that I was at the school:

I accidentally forgot one set of borders for the back wall before I took this photo, but you get the gist.  I used all black fabric and solid color polka-dot borders in rainbow colors.   I keep my tables in groups for most of the year, except when we are testing.  It is easier to do labs that way, and honestly, it is too cramped when I have long rows.  My odd-shaped table for small group work goes right where I am standing in the photo at the front of the middle table.

You can also see my calendar board and my little area over near the window.  Here is a close-up!

 
I also forgot the velcro dots for my calendar, so I couldn't hang the numbers up just yet. I need to find something else to put around my calendar so that this board doesn't look so empty. The calendar set I used is from SchoolBox--it is called "Dots on Turquoise" and is available here! The border matches the calendar set and is called the "Dots on Turqoise Pennant Banner"--it also came from SchoolBox and can be purchased on their website here. 

 

Here is the area that keeps me from going crazy!  All of my office supplies stay in the cart on the right.  The fridge is a new addition to my room this year, and my microwave sits right on top.  My area is cramped, I know..but my room is small, and because I have three doors, lockers, and the big row of sinks, I don't really have a good place to put things.  I only sit at my desk during planning anyway, so it doesn't bother me.

 

Here is a close-up of the back wall after I hung up the last set of borders:

 

 

I love the way it turned out.  I haven't been back to hang up posters or anything yet, but it's a start!  I also got the inside of my filing cabinet organized, all of the new supplies from my previous post put away, and the bookshelf organized.  Next time I will show you how I got all of my supplies organized with a little inspiration from Pinterest!