Classroom Pics – Under Construction

I finally crossed the threshold.  I’m not sure many families know just how much time it takes to set up a classroom each  year.  Even after doing this for more than a decade it never seems to get any easier for me.  Here is the state of the classroom I walked into:

All my furniture was pushed up against two walls. 

The natural light flooding in from the window will soon disappear into a Pacific Northwest haze (Oct-Apr).

In this one you can see my perfectly ordinary, but extraordinarily boring alphabet line running across the wooden bulletin board at the top of the picture.

View from the outside classroom door: 

Oh, how I wish the floor space remained this wide and open, but for some reason I need to pack 25 or so second grade bodies into desks in that space.  A girl can dream, right?

Yes, that is definitely a hazard TV/VCR combo at the top of this picture.  It was one of my requests to be removed.  It was on a very shaky platform and we’re probably one earthquake away from watching it crash into a million little pieces.

I have spent a few hours here and there in the classroom tackling different projects.  I cleared out some space in my file cabinet (which I then filled up with other items).  I reorganized my supply cupboards, and shuffled some items around in my supply drawers.  I moved most of the furniture back to where it will most likely stay for the year.  My wonderful mom came to watch my little one, but I was able to snag her for a couple of hours.  She put together some folders for me and cut out 90% of my lamination (and it was A LOT).  Love that lady and am so lucky!  So, here are some pictures of my room after putting in a few hours of grunt work today:

Here you can see the new set of number posters I made.

And here is my bright new alphabet set.  I just wish the lamination didn’t give off such a glare for the photo.  I’m really happy with how they turned out!

I have one set of desks that surround my computer table.  Then I have 3 pods of four desks.  In the back are 2 rows of four desks.

Another view of the desks.

This wall contains bookshelf after bookshelf of my classroom library.  The tables stacked near the back will be used for my reading table and a small group work space.

My reading table will slide just a little to the right and fill the space behind that last group.

Now, do you remember that big, ugly monstrosity they called a TV/VCR combo?  Do you notice anything?  It’s gone!!  The custodians are even helping to patch the ginormous holes in the wall and touching up the paint.  It’s not an easy task.  Years ago, two teachers painted their classrooms and this wall was sponge painted.  The custodian said he’s going to try his best.  I’m planning to cover most of it with hanging chart paper just in case, but we’ll see 🙂

I have Monday to work in my room again.  Hopefully I’ll get a few more things on the wall and get a chance to take some more pictures of what I’ve been working on.