A little bit of progress

Well, this isn't really a tech post but it is prep for the school year. After my family went on vacation, I went in to work in my classroom for the first time this afternoon. It was overwhelming. Coming from First Grade, I realize, I have no idea how to set up a sixth grade classroom. I spent most of my time in my room unpacking boxes that had been moved to my new classroom. That felt like progress until I realized that the teacher who was in the room before I was left a ton of stuff. I don't think she was trying to stick me with her stuff but I do think she thought it would be helpful or that I would use some of it. I might use some of the borders that she left but not so much some of her posters. I'm just a different person and different things appeal to me. So, I spent some time cleaning out the cabinets and drawers and getting rid of things that I don't need.

I peeked into some of the other classrooms in my hallway. We all do it. No one minds, usually. I saw some really great setup and also some rooms that hadn't been touched. It made me feel better and motivated me to keep going. I set up some shelves for my library area and a rug. I opened up my new rug and my new butterfly memory foam chair that I got since I needed a "cool" chair for sixth grade. My old, broken down rocking chair was not going to cut it for this year!

Here is the only noticeable progress in my classroom.

I put some of the desks in groups and moved the book shelves around. The bulletin boards still have border and paper on them from last year. I will be taking that off. I like to put up black fabric and use colorful border to make everything pop a little bit. It is nice on the eyes once it is done. I have colorful curtains for my shelves so there is still a lot of color in my classroom. 

I'm excited to put up some of the bulletin boards that I have found on Pinterest. One of them is a "BE" wordle. I printed all of the words in fun fonts and colors with the word BE in bold black letters. I am going to include the classroom rules poster and the Tigers are . . . poster that go with our PBIS. They will fit in very nicely. The board that inspired me can be found here.

Since we are going to be using a lot of technology, part of my job this year is teaching my students how to be good digital citizens. Another board that I plan to use from Pinterest is the Before you speak . . . THINK board. I am still working on this one. Instead of using the word speak, you use app icons. Here is the pin that inspired me. Once I have the bulletin boards up (probably Friday) I will post a picture.

I'm going to work tomorrow morning and hopefully by then, all of the furniture will be moved to the right places and I'll be able to get all of my stuff put away.