Teacher Tuesday: Classroom Tour

Not much has changed in my classroom since last year's post but it just wouldn't be back-to-school without a little classroom tour so here we are!  My "theme" is fun and comfy and that's about it.  Math can be intimidating and sterile for a lot of kids so I've tried to create a warm and welcoming and fun environment for them.  It always smells good and there are always twinkle lights on ;)

I switched out my desks for lab tables a couple of years ago and don't regret it EVER!

Along the far navy wall I have a couch and G's old Anthro rug.  This year a teacher friend was getting rid of the little white IKEA tables so I put them together like a coffee table and the kids are already loving them.  They can separate them and sit on the rug and use them as a desk, hang out and play cards, etc. The old podium is now a plant stand that I cover in stickers ;)

I added this little tray with extra pencils, a couple cute little succulents and the Uno cards that are everyone's favorite. 

I put together this Big Bend board after our 8th grade camping trip last year and love it so much!

I have my kids old nugget couch in the corner and students get these out to hang out and do work and my small group girls love to use them to lounge on.  The white table is where I keep papers for that days classes and underneath are my table dividers and a few house game supplies. 

My friend Haylee gave me this plant several years ago and it has THRIVED in front of this window!

I meant to change out this board this summer but just ran out of time.  It's still applicable and the kids still think my MS pics are hilarious ;) The giant trophy is our house cup decked out in last year's house champion colors ;)

It's living in here for now and, honestly, it's pretty cute.

The "Show Your Work" banner I had made several years ago by an Etsy shop that no longer exists ;(

This other corner has my math memes board and then the world's ugliest Chromebook cart ;) JK! I'm super pumped to have my very own set this year (PRAISE HANDS!) and plan on moving it into that corner to replace the blue table, I just haven't had a chance to maneuver all of that yet. 

As a teacher I get a TON of mugs and so I started displaying them on this rack a few years ago and love it!

This bookcase came out of G's room a few years ago...

... and is just fun stuff along with a few books, student sart they've given to me, and then I'll add in seasonal items. 

This back wall I wold LOVE to change - but I'm giving myself time to figure it out ;) In the meantime I changed out my giant table for a way smaller one and repositioned it on this wall under the window...

... and it's working well as my "student supply station" and then housing house stuff underneath.

I grabbed the cart on FB marketplace this summer and I'm obsessed.  The drawers are filled with markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, and scissors and it brings me so much joy.

My "fridge" bulletin board will start filling up with student work fairly quickly.  I call it the fridge because it's like when your mom says, "I'm gonna put that on the fridge!" - but just my classroom version.  I use it to brag on kids and they love it!

 

PLEASE keep in mind that I took this pic during planning week and things are a little chaotic, k?  My desk area is such a blessing with the cabinets and counters.  Once I get textbooks handed out I should be able to move a lot of my house supplies into these cabinets - but I store the books in cabinets during the summer. 

My yellow mirror and hanging rack thing fell and shattered over the summer and so I hung up a couple of old Anthropologie hooks and a cheap Target door mirror.  

God bless my mini fridge and the chilled Reeses cups it holds ;) 

And there you have it! A peek inside my room!

If you haven't seen it already - there's a video going around right now of a mom crying because her son's kindergarten classroom was "boring" and didn't have a cute rug and while I don't think people have the same expectations for middle school teachers I feel compelled to make it abundantly clear that this is my TWENTIETH YEAR teaching and so much of what's in my classroom has been collected over that time - furniture and rugs and lamps from my house, wooden signs from a dear friend whose business I supported in her early days, thrift finds, donated items and decor that I've purchased bit by bit, etc.  I'm in the same classroom I started in (I was in a portable classroom on a different part of campus for a few years in the middle) and here's what it looked like my first year...

I was SO PROUD of that math mania wall - it was essentially a giant jeopardy board I made out of colored folders that I stapled to the wall - and that was pretty much "it" that first year.  And guess what.... kids learned and we had a blast and it was great!  I still talk to kids who I taught in that room and not a one has told me that they remember the bare walls - but they do remember some of my funny stories and how I used to let them play red rover in the field outside my windows before our gym was built ;)

So if you're a newer teacher feeling the pressure to turn your classroom into a magical space for kids just take a breath and remember that you're the magic not the decor!

HAPPY Tuesday, friends!!!