So...although most of us are still on our summer vacation, I know that many of you are ALREADY in full swing when it comes to prepping your space for the next school year.
I too am in this "MUST HAVE MY ROOM READY NOW" mode.
The crazy thing for me is that I am not setting up a classroom for students this year (familiar territory). Instead, I am setting up an office space/teacher resource room (unfamiliar territory).
So WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Well, here is my new space.
view from the door
view from the back of the room
As you can see, it isn't a HUGE space, but I believe it is sufficient.
Let me give you a little information about this room.
First of all, when this room was originally built in the early 90's, it was meant to be the Teacher's Lounge. That didn't last long! This room is on the opposite side of our campus from the cafeteria and since our teacher's only have 30 minutes for lunch and it would take them five minutes to walk to this room and five minutes to walk back to the cafeteria....well, you do the math. An advantage to being an old teacher's lounge, I have ample amount of bathrooms for the teachers when I am hosting professional development in my room (2 stalls per gender). I also have a nice counter space with a sink (I can see me using that space to set up a little snack area with drinks during trainings too.)
Next, this room is in a HIGH TRAFFIC area for our school. Just to the left of my room are the doors to the media center/computer lab. We thought this would make me more visible to the teachers and, hopefully, easily accessible as well.
Lastly, other than the cabinets at the back and two large metal cabinets, this room provides NO STORAGE. This is going to be a challenge for me as I HAVE A LOT OF STUFF.
So, like I said...WHERE DO I BEGIN?
As soon as I was given the go ahead, I began the overwhelming process of moving 20 years worth of teaching materials into this much smaller office space. It only took me four days, but now I am moved in and it is time to get inspired and create an environment that is organized, effective, and inspires learning.
So here are some images that are inspiring the decorating of my new classroom:
#1
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Schoolgirl Style. I know her classroom designs are inspiring so many teacher's around the world. I just love this design! I am so in love with black and white right now. Instead of the teal (although I love it), I am going to add in a little royal blue (the color of the cabinets at the back of the room which is also our school color). I can only hope that mine looks half as good as hers.
#2
Aren't banners fun when decorating? Amazingly, Shanty 2 Chic offers the entire alphabet as free printables. Who doesn't love free? I have already made a banner to hang over the counter space at the back of the room that will say "Teach, Lead, Inspire." Now if I can just find those cute little clothespins that they use in the above pic, I will be set.
#3
I just love people who like to share their cute work with others. Shannon over at Technology Rocks Seriously is so talented and I just can't wait to adorn some of my bulletin boards with her beautiful, inspiring quotes. Go check her out! You won't be disappointed.
#4
This has to be the CUTEST vintage teacher desk redo I have ever seen. For those of you who know me, in my entire 20 years in the classroom, I have NEVER had a teacher's desk. However, my new position kind of demands that I have one. Although I don't want to take up much of my small classroom for a desk, I thought this one would be sufficient for me. Now if I can just get my hands on an old teacher desk. There has to be one circulating around our 60 year old campus.
#5
My storage solution? Not sure, but I sure do like these milk crate storage shelves. What a great idea for quick, cheap storage solutions. I know I am going to have to think out of the box when it comes to storage solutions because I SURE DO HAVE A LOT OF STUFF.
So that's where I am at right now. I'm ready to set up a wonderful space for my new adventure in teaching. I will keep you posted as to how it goes.
In the meantime, what is inspiring your classroom design this school year. I would love to hear from you.
Happy Blogging!
Ann
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