Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Teacher Tuesday: Classroom Tour

Hey, y'all! COME ON IN!  I'm back in my classroom (praise hands!!!) and while things don't look super different I'm still excited to give y'all a quick tour. 

I try to keep things fun and colorful cozy because I know how much anxiety can be tied up in math (FRACTIONS!!!) and a welcoming environment is one of my top secret teacher tricks for helping ease a bit of that.

One of our science labs was redone this summer and I inherited lab tables and I LOVE THEM!




I got my old podium back (woo hoo!) and added the birthday sign from Dave's party for when students have birthdays :)  I have close to 100 kids in my classes so I'll get a lot of use out of it :) 




Another fun new addition is my huge SHOW YOUR WORK banner from Tunes and Spoons...


It's humongous and so pretty and I love it so much!




I moved my math memes board to the front of the room and added a few more.  If you teach middle school I can't recommend a meme board enough.  The kids LOVE it and I love that they print them off and give them to me when they see them. 


The other bulletin board I did a "think you don't need math... think again" board (I bought it on Teachers Pay Teachers) and I'll probably change this one up but it did the job for the beginning of the year.  I used to have this kitchen table as a "group work" table but since I got the lab tables I didn't need another table so I gave my small white one to another teacher and moved the kitchen table to the front of the room.  This is where I have my laptop and papers and all my paraphernalia.  I haven't gotten rid of the white chairs yet so they're just kind of hanging out for now... 



... and they're also standing in place of two blue chairs that I don't have yet. hahaha




I finally took down my "throw kindness around like confetti" board and erred on the side of keeping things simple and just hung up my "be kind" banner for now.


My bookcase just got a few new additions thanks to sweet students...


... I love that almost everything has a story.




Same over here...









Hands down my favorite part of my classroom is my back counter/desk area.  The storage!!!  The counter space!!! It's seriously the best.



The lower cabinets house a bunch of manipulatives, textbooks and my Christmas tree and the drawers are full of games...


... tools...


... calculators and let's be honest I have a whole drawer of candy and condiments too :)


Up top I have more games...


... dance supplies (I store all the extra supplies and supplies we use every year in here) as well as all my binders and teacher edition books.








So there you go! No theme other than FUN and lots of personal touches that I've collected over the years.  

I'm so thankful to be back in my classroom and to be able to create a learning space for my students that's cozy, safe and "normal".  Praying I get to teach from here for the whole school year!

HAPPY TUESDAY, friends!!!



35 comments :

  1. Love your room! Best of luck this year!! This is my first year being a SAHM instead of teaching and I miss it so much already. It'll be good to be home, but there's just something about teaching that makes you want to keep going back!

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    1. Yes! I think that something is the students :) Congrats on the SAHM gig! ENJOY!!!

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  2. Your classroom is so fun and welcoming! It's the perfect setup for middle school students who often feel awkward. Happy Teaching!! :)

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  3. Coziest math classroom ever! Love it!

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  4. Love your classroom! I try to make my classroom inviting as well...for the students and for myself! I'm jealous of all those storage cabinets! Have a great year.

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    1. I lived without them for years when I was in my portable and was SO GRATEFUL when I got to come back to my "big room" :) hahaha

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  5. I am heading back to my classroom today to start getting it ready! I LOVE how yours turned out!

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    1. Thanks, Reba! Best of luck this school year! hope you had an awesome day!

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  6. What a beautiful space to learn! I am always in such awe of you!

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  7. Well you know how I feel. I have alllllll the warm fuzzies. I could have looked at a million more pics, friend!!

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    1. When your kids go back in person you need to come eat lunch with me in my classroom! :)

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  8. Do you have Luke in your class this year?

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  9. Love the classroom..so your students dont have to social distance and can sit at same tables?

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    1. My smallest class is 9 and so in that class they each have their own table and are allowed to remove their masks if they'd like. My largest class is 17 and so those students share a table and have to keep their masks on when sitting at a table together.

      I’ve also flipped my classroom this year so students aren’t sitting for a “lecture” but are working on activities and guided practice during class time so they’re able to spread out to other parts of the room and sit at outdoor tables in the courtyard while I monitor.

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  10. your classroom is the best! I know you kids enjoy it so much!

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  11. Genuinely asking, how does this comply with social distancing and Covid regulations? Unless there is one kid at each of the tables there cannot be enough space between each student for this to be a safe distance, especially at the middle and high school level. I certainly appreciate the effort you have put into the space but some thought of safety and compliance of CDC guidelines should have also been put in.

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    1. Hey! Several of my classes are small enough that kids get their own tables and kids are wearing masks 100% of the time in the classes where they can’t socially distance. I’ve also flipped my classroom this year so students aren’t sitting for a “lecture” but are working on activities and guided practice during class time so they’re able to spread out to other parts of the room and sit at outdoor tables while I monitor. Safety was definitely considered not just in the classroom setup but in the structure of my class. Hope that answers your question!

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  12. Can I come relearn math with you? Love your classroom decor!

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  13. Love your classroom! Praying for you and teachers everywhere to have a wonderful year.

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  14. Your classroom tours are my FAVORITE! Love all the pics, all the joy and life you put into it. Praying with you to stay in school!

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    1. Thank you,Heather!!! Math isn't always happy for kids but my room can be ;) Attitude plays a HUGE role in learning so I try to hedge my bets by creating a joyful atmosphere.

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  15. This makes me want to go learn math again and send my kids through middle school math again too! Well done!

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  16. What a beautiful classroom! I love that Show Your Work banner.

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  17. I'm cracking up over here... I've been following your blog for ~4 years now and didn't think anything could surprise me as much as this just did – you're team LOGAN?!?! Ohh man! I'll always be team Jess haha :) Good luck with the start of school, love the peek inside your classroom!!

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    1. I'm pretty much team "anyone-but-Dean" but definitely have a soft spot for Logan ;)

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  18. It really is cozy...and I love the math meme board! Thanks for the idea.

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  19. Love, love, love your classroom tours. It makes me miss the middle school math classroom SO MUCH. I always did birthday banners - I’m guessing they can write notes on the board and then take a pic at the end of the day? I used butcher paper and at the end of the day I would roll it up and send it home with them. One year the students did one for me...I still have it :)
    For your acts of kindness board you could encourage others to write ideas of times when they have done an act of kindness or received one...maybe it will become a “contest” to see if they can spot one or perform one so they can add it to your board? Or be inspired by something they read perhaps?

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