Wow!!! This is my 12th year teaching!!! How did that happen??? Time sure flies when you’re having fun! So glad all 12 of those years have been in Kindergarten!!!
Let’s start the tour outside of my room. Here is my bulletin board for this year. We had 65 Kinders enrolled!!! So, this year, we were lucky enough to be split into 3 classes…so, I only have 21 kids!! Life IS good!!!! And, right next to my board is that little sign that I found at Hobby Lobby! A cute reminder for kids to SLOW DOWN in the hallway .
When you walk into my room, this is what you see…
By now, you may have figured out that our school colors are orange and black…our mascot is a Warrior . In the picture above, the biggest question that I get asked is where did I get the squares that make up my mat. A friend of mine found them for me at Five Below!
Now, let’s zoom in…
Here’s my listening center. I got the little peg boards that my headphones hang on from LOWES. The giant wooden letters are from Hobby Lobby. I just paineted them to match my classroom. And, I’m in LOVE with the white book ledges from IKEA. They serve 2 purposes. ONE, they stop things from falling behind the shelf!! And, TWO, they are perfect for displaying my books for the listening center that week!! If you follow me on Instagram, you know I hit the BEST yard sale EVER this Summer and scored a TON of awesome story character plush dolls. I ordered the chain HERE to display them and the kids can just pull one down if they want a reading buddy!
Here’s how I have my books organized. My book bins are from Big Lots. They are THE best!!!! Soooo super strudy and the PERFECT size!!! You can check out my book labelsHERE.
My classroom isn’t very big…so, I try not to take up too much space with MY stuff. I want it to be the BEST set up for the flow of my classroom and for my students! The first picture shows my little work station. It is behind my guided reading table. I ditched my desk a few years back and found this at a used furniture store. It is PERFECT!!!!! It has a little counter area for me to stand and work at. Above that are mailboxes. I have one for each student where I store their portfolios and any information about them. Underneath there are shelves for my binders, etc. And, I store more of those on top as well. The other picture shows my computer. I just have it sitting on top of one of my shelves. The shelf is covered with a pocket chart that I use for centers. Under the shelf, if you lift up the pocket chart, you would find the tower for the computer and my printer . Above that, is some pictures of my boys and My Kindergarten Diploma.
Here’s just another view of that area. I painted my guided reading table with dry erase paint over the summer. It used to be GREEN!!!! Now, it’s pretty and white AND we can write on it! You can find the paint kit I used HERE. The fabric around the table is in place with Industrial Strength Velcro.
Next to my workstation are my Center tubs…they are also from BIG LOTS and are just as nice and sturdy as my book bins. Between those is my iPad station. Check out the organizer I use for my iPads HERE. And, above all that is a student work display area. I LOVE my giant Google eyes…Target Dollar Spot a few years ago, where else???
Next, is my word wall, pretend center, and Teepee. The rug in this area is from IKEA.
Here’s a closer look at my Teepee!! It’s one of my most favorite parts of my room!!! My mother-in-law made it for me!!!! Over the Summer, when cleaning out closets, I discovered an old duvet that had just been sitting in a closet since we moved here 8 years ago. So, I ordered a black cover for it and threw it in the teepee…now, it’s sooooo nice and comfy in there…oh, and those perfect little pillows are from Target Dollar spot too
When I went to Hobby Lobby this Summer, I almost FELL OVER when I saw these little canvas prints!!!!!!!!!!! An ORANGE TEEPEE!?!?! Get RIGHT out of town!!!!!!!! They go with my decor sooooooooooooooo perfectly!! Thanks, Hobby Lobby!!!
Let me just tell you about the kitchen set that I inherited this Summer!! The Pre-K teacher in our district had two kitchen sets. This one was OLD and in storage just collecting dust…so, she gave it to me!!!!!!!!!! I gave it a facelift!!! It’s called Stainless Steel paint!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, it looks super cute!! Here are some before and after shots!
My blocks, extra supplies and table baskets can be found right in front of this area…
Here is a close look at what is on our tables. We share all of our supplies. Here are my crayon baskets….these are just those SMALL boxes that look like tiny chinese take out boxes. I taped around them with packing tape for durability and put a little clipart of the color on each side. Then, I just stapled them in a row. These held up sooooo much better than I EVER expected!!! This is my second year with these same ones!!!!
There’s not a ton of workspace on my tables…so, I found that traditional nametags just didn’t work. They were too big and took up way too much space. So I cam up with these. They are little nametags attached to the table with binder clips and velcro. I posted them 2 years ago in my classroom reveal post and have had sooooo many requests to put them in my store! So, I finally did!!! You can get the black and orange ones HERE or chevron ones HERE. Here is the original picture that I posted a while back:
Towards the front of my room, I have a shelf that is filled with bins. These bins hold important supplies so that they are always easily accessible for me and the students. That way, I never have to stop class to go get a new gluestick out, or go dig for batteries, etc. It’s all at our fingertips. You can find these labels HERE.
Here’s a front view of my classroom:
My door is decorated with a growth chart. That way, I can easily call kids over during center time or when we have a few minutes to record their height each month in their portfolios.
Here is a view of the other side of the room:
I FINALLY, after YEARS of asking got permission to paint my horribly ugly lockers this Summer!!!!!! I LOVE them sooooo much now! My Mom came in and painted them with Chalk board paint. What a difference!!!!!!! They look so sharp AND it’s like one big chalk board now. I write little messages on them from time to time or reminders to myself about transportation changes, etc. Here is a picture of our first birthday that we celebrated last week. She was so excited about her locker being decorated!
A friend of mine painted this ADORABLE “Little Warriors” picture for me!!!! I just LOVE it sooooo much!!!!!! Things like this that people do especially for you are such a priceless gift. I just adore it sooooo much! Thanks, Adam!! <3
And, above my lockers are my color and number word posters. In front of that is my sharp/not sharp buckets and ANOTHER adorable sign that I found at Hobby Lobby!!!!!! Words to live by!!!!! “Work Hard and Be Nice to People”.
There you have it!!!! That concludes my classroom tour! Hope you enjoyed a look around!
