4 More Great Tips for Setting Up your Classroom...and Stay Tuned for the Classroom REVEAL

Well...another week has gone by and I am back with a few more tips and pictures of the classroom.  It has been a difficult task, but we just keep trudging along and our mantra is "baby steps" and I am always saying to may daughter..."We WILL get this done by next Friday"...fingers crossed...but don't tell her that!

All the boxes have been emptied except for ONE!  That means we have emptied over 100 boxes and that is not including what was stored at her house!  We are waiting for some classroom furniture, but rumor has it that all WILL arrive before the students do!!! However one year a while back I did start the year without furniture. I did not have any student tables...so teachers are known to be flexible so we were campers for a week and used "flexible seating" which consisted of boxes and a rug. YES you read that correctly boxes and a rug and guess what it worked out and we did get the first days of school under our belts with smiles and laughter and i had a bit of a sore back due to hunching over all the kiddos on the floor and that is a difficult task when you are almost 6 feet...yes you read that correctly...I am the teacher that everyone referred to as "the Tall One"and endeared name!!!

So the boxes where placed were Katie thought she would like the contents to go and then a rug showed up...I should mention... it was the wrong rug, which we did not realize until after we put it down...it did seem a bit large, but then the room seemed larger too!  Note to self: Before you lay down a new rug, make sure it is the one that you are supposed to have!!

So tip #4 is before you empty boxes or unravel rugs, make sure they are yours. I say that kiddingly, but you never know. I mean really who remembers what you ordered in June come August. If you are relaxing a bit, your teacher hat is way in the BACK of closet and you are wearing your sun hat!! The truth is...we are so used to receiving things that we did not order that we just kind of go with the flow. All kidding aside...just check to make sure. You don't want to do things twice..although they say the second time is better or easier.  So, now we have the correct rug.  This rug was selected so that each kiddo would have a square space to use when sitting on the rug!!  LOVE IT!!!

 Tip #5:  Decide  how you are going to store all your supplies and where you will store them.  Katie came from a newer classroom which had tons of closet space and her "new" classroom virtually has 1 closet that really is better to store large items with very little shelf space. This is a Special Education Teachers worst nightmare....I am talking the kind of dream you wake up from glad that it was just a dream, but unfortunately...THIS...is not a dream so you NEED to come up with a solution to this "Big Deal" problem...I mean it not something to tantrum about or a #5 Deal, but close enough...here is our solution.  We decided to use some of the "kiddo"cubbies for supply storage and to use shoe boxes and baskets with labels to show what is in each box or basket.  The shelves on the top do have doors that my husband is painting as we speak...it has become a family affair! (Click on the word labels and you can see the labels we created!)

Tip #6:  It is important to think about the space you have to work with and how you can make the best use of the space provided. This kind of goes hand and hand with Tip #4. So...originally we had the 2 classroom computers on a table to the left under the bulletin Board (Oh did I mention that she has more BB space than storage space...LOVE IT!!). Then we decided that the table really took up too much space and with the supply issue and not having a lot of storage space we came up with this idea:

One computer on each side of the built in shelves and Plastic storage drawers in the middle...better storage...better use of space and the kiddos can stretch their legs while working on the computers. NEAT and SWEET! We have some other ideas to come for this space as well...so stay tuned.

So...one more photo...we emptied the classroom library books and set them up...we have a lot more work to do, but this is what we have so far. Again we are thinking of how to best use the space we have...Oh...did I mention that the Golden Retriever is Boomer the dog you can read to, write to, talk to and solve problems with???

Tip #7:  Always check Target and your local Dollar stores for great deals. The white wire shelves were $19.99 at Target , Bean bags $9.99 a few years ago and all the bins and baskets are from Target or the Dollar Store...Just a little advice from one shopper to another!

The BIG reveal will be coming soon..hopefully Friday of next week OR maybe Monday...stay tuned and have a "FUN"tastic year!