32 Love Stories, Waiting to be Written

I moved classrooms (from building, to an outside portable) and grade levels (from 3rd to 2nd grade). I love all ages of children...I also can't stand all ages of children haha! not even kidding. They drive me to distraction and wreck my heart all at the same time. So moving grade levels is a non-issue for me, and I do it often and willingly.

But.

Moving classrooms? Nothing charming about that. Nothing at all. I feel like I used to have lots of storage and I was moving into a portable with very limited storage. I had culled out a lot of belongings LAST summer, but did it again this summer. I try to keep my work stuff at work, so if I couldn't find room for it in the portable, it had to go. I have about ONE INCH of available space at the moment. I mean, if I want to bring in a paper clip, something has to go. But it's (fairly) organized and (almost) clean, so #winning and I'm moving on.

Here is what it looked like when I got it:

Here's how it looked when I left tonight, with 32 second graders showing up in the morning....

 I am standing in the doorway, taking this picture to the opposite corner. I have 16 double desks, in pods of 4 students, for a total of 32 desks. Right in front of us is the writing center table. It has buckets instead of chairs. The buckets are full of math pieces. The big blue bucket in the center under the table houses recess equipment.

Immediately to the right of the door is my desk. It's not much of a desk to speak of. There are two heinous file cabinets right next to the desk. One is full of my teaching picture books and mentor texts, the other is full of my professional books. Did I mention the lack of storage? Under the desk is a rolling file cart that has my emergency sub plans (one week's worth) and my regular sub folder.

Past the file cabinets are built in shelves and counter under one of two windows in the room. I am using the space for my class library. Straight ahead is where the listening center will be. The black shelves are reference and picture encyclopedias. The word wall has the first grade words already on. The second grade words will go up gradually in a lavendar color.

 The book boxes for Daily 5. I have no idea if I'm doing these right. But it said to have them ready for the first day of school, just with a variety of several books. Also included, a folder, a word work notebook, and a reading composition book. Whisper phones and pointers on top shelf.

Continuing along the back wall, the "CAFE" bulletin board. On the right side are 4 clips for holding reading anchor charts. PS I love my alphabet. I found them tucked away when I moved classrooms, and I think they are just about perfect.

 My happy place. The bulletin board above the math pieces has clips for anchor charts. Puffy rainbow pom poms? Swoon.

 Still to go...a small carpet area with pillows for reading and problem solving, and the green bulletin board is intended for samples of their math recordings.

Next to the reading area are two tall shelves that came with the room. They were added in by the teacher who was in this room. What we see here are a lot of manuals and teaching resources for the adopted materials of my district. Behind the shower curtain (you heard me) are binders and some extra folders/notebooks. If I ever get around to cleaning that shelf up, even as minimally as the one next to it, I will take down the curtain. I do not hold my breath. Nor should you.

 The other window in the room, directly across from the first window. Sink is in the corner, and it has hot water! I've never heard of anything so luxurious! I made the curtains (from sheets) and the kids made the melted crayon art last year. The three pieces say Learn, Create, Laugh.

Down the counter from the sink, these clear boxes will hold math and literacy activities for independent work, the black buckets will have word work activities for Daily 5, there's a pink basket for some independent science explorations, and way at the end there, right before the one and only closet, is a box for student files and the pencil sharpener. Under the counter are some open shelves (with file boxes of math (of course! haha! never enough!) and some science and social studies units) that I covered with curtains made from same sheets as the window curtains. I used small tension rods to keep them in place.

 The reading table. Instead of chairs, they will sit on these buckets. ($5 with lids at Big Box Home Improvement Store and full of....more math!) Behind the reading table is my Science bulletin board, a shelf that has my word work centers and activities, stored until it's time to put them into rotation in the black buckets. On top of the shelf are some jars of incentives. The wicker drawer set was a hand-me-down from Pottery Barn and has all my office/student supplies in it. On the left are the student cubbies and a portable cupboard I brought with me from my old room. It has a lot of paper products in it.

 Continuing back along the front of the classroom...my whole group carpet area. This room had no carpet, so my principal got me this brand new one. Thank you! <3

Almost back to the door around this side of the classroom (as seen by the blinding light) is my writing center (in the cubbies) with a space for anchor charts over the center and the very simple calendar space partially covering the whiteboard. Above the writing anchor charts is an "I Can Write..." display prepared to showcase all the ways kids can write. The first purple square is going to be "Lists", which we will introduce and begin writing on our first day of class.

To the left of the writing, and just before the door, is the homework station. Folders are in the wire basket, and on the under shelf are leveled books for practicing at home. Directly above this is a very big, very empty, Writer's Workshop bulletin board that will hold their published works.

And that's it! I don't hate the portable. I am not in love with the dearth of natural light (I think I turned my lights on in my old classroom twice in 3 years, what with the wall of windows and the transom windows at the top of the 20 foot ceilings on the other side). I am quite smitten, however, with the walls. I HATE putting up bulletin boards, and I really really REALLY hate putting them onto the odd shaped boards of my old class. In the portable, the walls are all bulletin board material, so I could just make them the shape of the paper.