Classroom Tour

Whew.  The room is finally done!  Well, I suppose you're never really done, but it's close enough that I'm not going back in to school until our professional day on Tuesday.  I still have a few things to label for the students and I'm sure I missed a few things that I won't realize until the students arrive, but I'm feeling pretty comfortable with the room for now.  So here are a few photos of the room setup:

 

View of the classroom as you walk in the door by my desk.  The doors to the other 3rd grade classroom (with the F and E on them) are open.

 Starting to the right of the top photo and working counter clockwise around the room... the view of my desk and the CAFE board.

Computer table and a bulletin board which will be used to display student writing.  Right behind this center is an island of student cubbies which also serves as a divider between the computers and the classroom library area.

 Classroom library... I had a hard time deciding how to organize books.  It was much easier working by theme in Kindergarten!  The small baskets are all series books, large tubs are picture books (fiction and non-fiction) and reference books.  The middle shelf on the left favorite authors, and the middle shelf on the right is random chapter books alphabetically by author.  You can just see to the right of the shelves the two balance disks which children can use on the floor or at their seats, and there is also one of those sitting pillows.

 Still moving counter clockwise, there is a student table on the back wall, and then my kidney table area.  There are two student swivel chairs, and two balance balls which the kids can pull over.  I have them sitting on upside down frisbees so they don't roll away!  I put felt on the frisbees so they wouldn't scratch up the floors.

 This wall is all of the student supplies.  Mostly math supplies in the two rolling carts, my word work bin, bins of math games in folders to go with the Everyday Math program etc.  I love having everything labeled so that the kids know where it goes!  The two bulletin boards here will be for "Wonderous Words" and something else that we are working on in science or social studies.

 And, the Boggle Board!  I stapled magnets to the bulletin board and then put magnets on all of the letters.  I used the business card magnets since they are flat.  Those rolls of magnets drive me crazy when they curl up!  The little tub on the bottom is a thin plastic container I found at Target last spring.  It is flimsy enough that I could staple it to the board, but sturdy enough to hold all of the letters.  Perfect!

 Just to the left of the Boggle Board is my common core "I Can" posters.  I will put the standards we are working on to the front.

 This is a shot from the kidney table looking towards the front of the room.  There is a second classroom door next to the I Can posters.

 

Next is the classroom jobs and attendance chart.  Students put their daily folders and agendas in the basket each morning.

 

 The front wall and rug area.  My crates sort of blend in since they are so dark in the picture, but I really like the way they turned out!

 And a close up of my little owls.  I love them!  I can clip in new table names on the bottoms to match something we are doing in class.  If we are studying synonyms, I might choose 4 synonyms for the word great to name the tables (awesome table, super table etc.)  When we study explorers or countries, I might change them to reflect those topics.

 I love this storage "cube".  Each side is a different material... whiteboard, chalkboard, felt board and cork board.  The magnetic side faces the door and has magnets for the kids to sign out if they are leaving the room.  This side is my "Ambitious Aces" information (based on the Mastery Club that is making the rounds online).

And, that's the end.  I hope you enjoyed the tour!