Classroom Makeover!

Because I work at a year-round school, there are only 3 weeks for me to break down my classroom, clean, make changes and improvements, and set back up again for the new kiddos.  Needless to say, I have been spending almost every weekday in my classroom.  Here are some of the new changes and improvements!

 I am using fabric (instead of butcher paper) as the background on my Word Wall this year.  A colleague of mine gave me this tip and I finally took advantage of it.  Hopefully the fabric will last (and not look ripped up and holey by the end of the year) and make it worth my $30.

My students' pictures will go on the stars.  The title says, "Look Who's Popped In!"  As an introduction to graphing, they will try 4 different types of popcorn then vote for their favorite.  We will discuss the results after the graph is complete.

I (finally) increased the size of our classroom library.  Next step - add plants, bean bag chairs, a lamp, etc.  I need to make this space more fun and inviting!

The desks are cleaned, sanitized, and ready for new shining faces!

I (finally) moved all four computers on to one table.  My, the space is wonderful!  I moved the other table near the sink and it will be used as our Creation Station and a small group work area.

So I had one minor set back.  Aye!  What a mess this was!  My desk had always been wobbly and it just could not take me moving it around.  On a brighter note, I traded for a new, more sturdy desk AND it forced me to clean out and reorganize my desk drawers!

Okay, so by the time I am adding to / editing this post, our school has been in session for 4 weeks already.  (We are on a month break now, but we'll be back to it early September through early December.  Did I mentioned I LOVE the year-round schedule!?)

I wanted to join my very first linky party (yippee!) on TBA, so I am adding a few more pictures of my classroom.  If you want to join the party too,  check out the blog post HERE!

This is our Calendar / Math wall - though it looks a bit bare in this picture.  We add more as the year progresses.

I am such a technology nerd, so I consider myself very LUCKY to have a mounted SmartBoard in my classroom.  I use it on a daily basis.  I would not go so far to say my students use it on a daily basis, but certainly on a weekly basis.  Our Phonemic Awareness Center is the table to the left.

I so love our small group table - how lucky we would be to have another!  I am super excited about the apple tablecloth that I found at Target today for $5!!  It is going to look AWESOME on this table.  :)

Hmmm...I guess that's it for now.  Back to the classroom to take more pictures!