We’ve all been there.  That moment you step into your brand new classroom the summer before your very first year teaching kindergarten.  You walk around the room noticing the tables, shelving (or lack of shelving), the square footage of the room (too small or too big), and begin to list things the room “comes with”.  Things like construction papers, leftover supplies, missing group meeting rug and an empty bookshelf lead you to realize you aren’t in Kansas anymore! The familiar well-stocked room of your student teaching days was merely a dream, and you suddenly realize this is it!  You are in your own reality with a less than well stocked classroom.

 

Sounds scary, right? Truth: You can make this a space you’ll be 

proud of.  Most districts provide basic curriculum resources, so you really need to focus on the things you consider necessities for your students.  

There are so many things to consider in classroom setup, so let’s focus on 5 areas.  Think of it this way:

                                         T.O.O.L.S.

1.  Tools for Math–Enough things to count and sort

2.  Optimum Atmosphere–Spaces for twos and threes to work 

     together, lighting that encourages calm reflective thinking

3.  Organized Reading Materials–Do you have an assortment of F

     and NF books? Are they sorted by season, genre, author?

4.  Literacy Wall Space–room for sight words, alphabet cards, etc.

5.  Supply Areas with easy access to crayons, scissors and glue

Number 1, Tools for Math, can be daunting when you are staring at two or three tubs of small objects for counting and know you need much more to conduct a math lesson.  The good news is you don’t have to look far to find inexpensive things to count.  You can check for toys at summer yard sales (a great place to look, or check out the community Freecycle page for your area).  I scored a whole set of beanie babies–brand new from a collector who wanted to give hers to a teacher.  What a find! I recommend using caution when shopping any of the resources I mention throughout the rest of this article.  Safety first! Yes, it’s that kind of world now. 

 Number 2, Optimum Atmosphere, is all about how your room will function to help students feel safe, cozy and calm while learning takes place.  Bright fluorescent lighting is the nemesis of many teachers as it seems to have a negative effect on the focus of our students.  It is amazing to see what a few well placed lamps and comfy pillows or chairs will do to calm students.  These things do not need to be expensive, and again, you may be able to score some at a yard sale! Last year, I repurposed my old sofa cusions into some pretty chevron pillows for my library area.  My kids loved them!

 #3 Organized Reading Materials can be a bit of a challenge when 

      you enter a classroom with few picture books.  

     True story:

     Most teachers have collected picture books by purchasing them

     with their own money for many years, so it is not likely they 

     will leave this hard earned collection for you.  It is a right of

     passage for most teachers to begin a library of their own as they

     begin teaching young students.  If you are among the few new

     teachers to walk into a classroom with a nice selection of picture

     books, you have a wonderful, thoughtful teacher to thank!

     Books can be found at yard sales, garage sales, in sets on Ebay, 

     on Freecycle, and do not discount neighbors wanting to clean

     out a closet!  Pinterest is a great place to see various 

     organization techniques for your class library.  If you are in 

     need of book tub labels, here are some FREEBIES that I made.  

#4 Literacy Wall Space, is one of the most important areas of your 

     room.  It should be arranged in a way that facilitates the way

     your morning meeting area flows each day.  In my classroom,

     I started with my alphabet wall, sight words, then continued 

     to the adjacent corner with counting and calendar.  You will

     find many ideas on Pinterest for smooth flowing meeting areas.

     The area with your letters and sight words needs to be within

     “pointer” reach because you will want students to take part in

      finding or leading alphabet and word wall chants.

In this picture, the alphabet cards are on my bulletin board along with our sight words for the week.  If you were to continue on around to the right hand side of the picture, my calendar and counting wall are next! 

 #5, finally (at least for this post) Supply areas are places that

 a well-seasoned kinder teacher will tell you needs some serious thought.  Will students keep supplies on the table or desk with them, or will the supplies be kept in storage until needed (away from little hands that want to play with them)? In my room, the 

crayon organizer is the ONLY thing on the table.  Students have 

access to pencils from a cup on my desk or small group table.  You cannot imagine how helpful this is when we are working on a math lesson that requires specific colors to show learning.  Students learn to keep colors sorted, and maintain better focus during the lesson! 

I have tried keeping supplies on tables, but my students could never be ready to go right away, wasting valuable instruction time in favor of fumbling through tubs.  I’ll never go back! This system

keeps their attention on the task at hand.  Here is the Pinterest photo that inspired my crayon organizers. 

What tools do you find yourself needing/wanting for your classroom this year? I’d love to hear from you! Comments mean the world to me 🙂
Check out my pin boards! http://pinterest.com/mkcteach