I decided to head into school this week to get my classroom ready for September. We’re back to school next Wednesday for meetings/planning etc. and back fully with the children on Thursday. As many of you know, I’m moving from resource back to the classroom so there was a lot of organising and sorting to do. I found myself getting a bit stressed about all the things I had to do to get the classroom ready for September so I’m glad now that it’s done!
Here is a quick before video of the room!
Table Layout
I’ll have 28 children in my class this year so I’ve opted for 3 groups; 2 groups of 10 and one group of 8. At the back of the room, I have two additional tables (covered with the red polka dot oil cloth) which will be used as a focus area – this will be where I will work with groups of children for literacy/maths stations. (This area may also be used for Art during the year).
I’m hoping the 3 groups will work well – I might do a group system for classroom management but I haven’t decided on that yet.
Books and Copies
We are lucky to have built in ‘cubby holes’ in our classrooms. I decided to use mine to store the rental books and copies. I added some bunting (from Tiger) to brighten up this area.
I also made these labels – for the copies and for some of the books; I made these for 3rd class a few years ago so I need to make more up to date ones for 5th class.
Whiteboard
I added a polka dot border to brighten up the whiteboard. (Polka dot tape from Aldi, Magnets from Ikea, Basket for markers is from Tiger) I bought the calendar in Cahills, Tramore 3/4 years ago. But you can buy a similar one from Michael Doherty’s here.
Library
I wanted to try to separate the reading/library area from the rest of the classroom so I put the bookshelves facing away. I added the READ sign (I just wrote on paper plates) and the owl border to the back of each bookshelf. I’ll use this space for book reviews or a reading display during the year. One of the bookshelves has fiction books and the other non fiction (with fiction on the top shelf too).
I covered two chairs with a throw and added a cushion. The cushions on the ground are from Penneys. I like the illustrations on the wall – I got these at the Children’s Books Ireland Conference a few years ago.
Coats
All the children have a number so they will hang their coat on their number every day. This ensures that things don’t get mixed up (most of the time!)
Teacher Area
This is my desk area. I put an oil cloth on it as I’m hoping this will force me to keep it tidy – I don’t know if it will work. I have a bookshelf behind my desk with all the books for each subject. The magazine files on top are for the most used books in each subject area. (White magazine files are from Ikea and the coloured ones are from Dealz.
I have this large bookcase which I will use to store all the equipment for Maths and Literacy stations. The shelves are really deep so it’s great for storing everything I need.
I picked this desk organiser up from Homestore and More (It was half price) – I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it but decided to use it for small stationery items. I often find that I have 5/6 boxes of things but can never find them so have to buy more – I’m hoping by using this box, I can quickly see what I need to replace and quickly find what I’m looking for.
Displays
I’m not putting up any displays before we go back to school but I did do my backing paper and borders so they are fresh for the new year.
And here is the after video!
