Classroom Work Begins!

So yesterday turned out to be a bit uneventful which is why there was not a post. I was suffering from a book hangover and had to finish it. I was also waiting on my husband to call me and let me know he was on his way home from work so we could go work on my classroom and he could hook up the computers for me and move some of the larger items around.

Unfortunately, hubs didn't get out of a meeting until after 4pm and was worn out so we decided to postpone our adventure for the day. So the only progress that was made was that I finished my book! HA! I have a guilty pleasure in reading romance books. They are just such an easy read and I don't have to really think--I can just relax. So if you are a romance fan, I highly recommend Collide by Gail McHugh. It does have some graphic scenes so it may not be for everyone.

Today, however, lots of progress was made!

You may have remembered my room looked like this Day 1 after it was cleaned by the custodians:

Notice that there are still some items left up on the walls...

You can't really see it in these pictures but there was a lot of little scraps of paper all over the wall from lots of former posters, velcro, sticky tack, and hot glue.

So today I got to work......

Back of the classroom. I have 10 student computers that I got set-up and ready to run! I also went ahead and moved my tables for groups of 6, however they are really sloppy still and not in place. I also need to have the custodians level them all out since some are taller than others.

I cleaned off the bulletin board because last school year's things were still left up. I also mounted a full length mirror. I got tired last year of the girls (and some boys) wanting to go check themselves out in the bathroom mirror for random reasons (do I have pen on my face? is my hair straight? etc.) so I bought a cheapo mirror from Target and some 3M mounting tape and slapped it up.

This is the view from my door. I finally got my curtains back up! I bought them last year at Walmart and they are both blackout AND thermal (keep out the heat but keeps in the a/c!). I also have another whiteboard on this wall that I use for notes.

This whiteboard is in the center of my room. It also become an interactive board thanks to my digipen! My school also has a TV program that we run through our computers so it is also my classroom TV for the school news in the morning and for lessons. Therefore, I try to just keep it squeaky clean. :) 

This is my FAVORITE new thing! I bought carpet for my reading area! I wanted super plush carpet in a neutral color. This was the softest carpet they had and I really love the color! My kids know that I have a no shoes rule for the carpet area (last year I used those foam squares and had that same rule). I surrounded it with bookshelves that I have started to fill with my student books. I am hoping to move my futon in to this area in the next few days and the stand on the far right I plan on using as an end table to hold some magazines on. I also have a ton of pillows to recover and put around the perimeter for the kids.

This is the reading area from farther away. The floating bookshelf will go on the carpet after I put the futon in so it is just randomly sitting there until I figure out all the configurations. I also put up my READ letters. Love them!

This is my desk area. The gray cabinets are so nice and built-in!!! The large black shelf with crates sitting on it was purchased by the school and was in another teacher's classroom but she told me I could have it this past year when she retired! I love my crates and find it totally ironic that I had purchased these green and blue ones 3 years ago not even thinking of a color theme but liking them. The blue and green theme has continued.

 I love the crates and the shelf unit and plan on using it for my writing folders! 

I don't know what the rules are in the different states but in Kentucky we have a writing portfolio that begins in kindergarten and is passed up all the way through 12th grade. Every year 3 pieces of evidence must be added to these portfolios (narrative, expository, etc.)

Please pardon my mess!!! As I unpack boxes I have to lay it all out and then organize it so it is getting crazy messy.

That's it for today! I am hoping to get back in there tomorrow and continue to work on my room. 

I'll be back tomorrow with hopefully some more pics!