Classroom Setup, Day 1 (and a half)

School doesn't start here until after Labor Day, so I still have a couple of weeks before my classroom needs to be done. I put in a few hours yesterday because:

• I hate feeling rushed during teacher work week... they really should call it teacher meeting week!
• I'm always excited to go work in my classroom this time of year, even though I won't admit it to some of my teacher friends who are too cool to spend any summer time doing anything school related.
• It was a good excuse to give our new puppy some practice home alone in the crate; gotta build up his stamina before I go back full time!

I taught summer school during July, and I did take a bit of time one afternoon to move the big pieces of furniture in my room with the custodian's help (that's the "and a half" from the title of this post). So when I got to school yesterday, all of the bookshelves and my desk were already in place, but I still had lots to move.

This was the view from the doorway. Cabinets and sink on the left, my desk area by the left window, front of the classroom to the right:

The front of the room... how I wish that were a smart board! The projector screen is just pulled down, though I am excited that they finally mounted my projector in the ceiling. No more huge cart in the middle of the room!

Standing at my desk, looking back out the door:

I can't really call these "after" pictures; they're definitely just in progress. I focused solely on organization yesterday... decorations will wait for another time. I got the desks arranged and all of the other furniture situated. Trying a slightly new configuration this year, one that gives me a reading nook plus a meeting area.

Looking towards the front of the room... my reading nook is under the far window:

My desk area still looks like a mess, but I did clean out my file cabinets:

 The red carpet under the window is my new reading nook. My meeting area will be on the large tan carpet.

I inventoried lots of textbooks (most of which I rarely use), including part of our newly adopted math series:

This will be my small group/conference table. It used to be in front of the cabinets in the back of the room, and I used it mostly for dumping things. I've read Daily 5 and The Cafe Book this summer, and I'm going make a much greater effort to include small group instruction and individual conferences during language arts. Right now, the table is still covered in school supplies that my team ordered:

I feel pretty good about the progress that I made yesterday. Of course, it left me itching do do more. I love setting up my classroom each year and looking forward to a fresh start!