Prior to maintenance coming to move the Kindergarten classroom to its new home in June, the storage was supposed to be moved.
It wasn't. And so, when I got into the classroom in mid-August when summer camp was over, not only did I have to set up the Kindergarten, but I had to weed through 10+ years of storage. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that I cried when I walked into the room and saw this...
But, I started hauling furniture into the lobby, sorting through boxes and getting my boss to bug maintenance to paint my room..and despite the weeks of work, I could not be happier with the results.
In my classroom, I like to change out the materials often, especially when it comes to Discovery and Building. However, things still need to be labeled. Rather then constantly change the labels out, I used dry-erase tape and a wet erase marker. When the materials get changed, I can just quickly erase the label and rewrite it.
The second box is empty because I needed to get the student's notebooks finished. I had to take them to Staples to get cut, but they are ready to go for Monday!
The poster on the board I made about 4 years ago, and it's one of my favorites. Sometimes A simple poster works best!
Our little meeting area is missing its calendar currently - the one from the old classroom seems to have grown legs and walked away. I ordered another one, but it has yet to arrive. The rocking chair will be out during Writer's Workshop, where my little authors will sit and share their work. When I told one of my students this during open house, she got so excited she asked her mom to go get her a journal! 
My writing station from Mrs. Will's Kindergarten is by far one of the best investments I've made for my classroom! The table was rescued from the storage pile. The top is is actually a white board, so my students can write directly on it! Underneath I have several picture dictionaries for words my students may want to write about but don't have. On the other side of the writing station is our art corner. I love how bright it is! 
Right on the other side of our writing station is a math word wall and it will also be home to our challenge table. (The challenge table was in another building, getting a much needed makeover.) The challenge table is an activity that I change out weekly which is meant to get my students thinking outside of the box and sometimes to work together. Some challenges I've used before are mazes, 100 piece puzzles and word problems. When students successfully complete 5 challenges, they get to pick a prize from the prize drawer. This is always a hit with my students and I love that it encourages them to work hard and persevere. 
I just love how my Black and White Numbers look printed on Astrobrights Primary colors! On the table right now is our overhead station where students will be building and tracing their names this week.
The lower shelves are perfect for my students to hold their supplies - writing and math folders, supply bags and their math notebooks. All of my students were excited to find their shelves at Thursday's open house!
I can't wait for my students to get into the building area! On the bulletin board are pictures of famous buildings from around the world. There are 2 sets, laminated and placed together on a binder ring. I made them a few years ago and my students always LOVE it. There is also a camera for them to take pictures of their buildings to hang on the board. 
When I was setting up the classroom, one of my biggest challenges was where to put my Work with the Teacher table. The classroom is L-shaped, and finding a place where I could see the children in every corner was a challenge. The only area I can't see clearly from that table is the computer, but I find that is an area I typically don't have any management issues with. The pillows on the crates are attached by velcro. We'll see how they hold up once my students are using them!
I cannot wait for my students to get into our learning environment on Tuesday!
No comments