The BIG Reveal!

I have been working feverishly on getting my classroom into an organized, well-oiled machine, and for those that know me well, this has been quite an undertaking.  Finally, however, it is done, and I am eager to reveal the transformation!

First of all, I share this video.  It is, perhaps, one of the BEST, covers/mash-ups of a song I've heard.  It is happy ... it puts a smile on my face ... and it reminds me that in the middle of the ugly and the dark and the depressing, there is this jewel of color that splashes across the sky, brimming with the promise of the unexpected.

What a perfect segue into why I chose the visual theme that I chose for my classroom!  

First off, I read an article at the tail-end of the school by a teacher encouraging other teachers to really look at creating a visual theme that is cohesive throughout the classroom.  My sister has been telling me to do this for years, but I really thought it was beyond my ability what with my severe artistic disability where color combinations are concerned.  Whether she believes me or not, I took what my sister has been telling me to heart and filed it away with what this other teacher wrote.  

"Why not?"  I asked myself.  And so began my research into cohesive, tied-together visual themes.  I wasn't so much looking for cutesy teacher themes, but rather colors that flowed well together and could be visually appealing to both adults and children.  

I landed on a visual rainbow theme this year due in part to its sunny, cheery feel as well as the fact that it worked with the UGLY wall and trim colors in my classroom.  I mean, how can you make a garish yellow and garish blue trim work in your favor???

However, it became apparent very quickly that the idea of a rainbow was pretty symbolic in nature to me personally.  Rainbows are unexpected; they are both brilliant and fleeting.  But for the briefest of moments, it reminds you of promise and dreams, and just like the song says, dreams really can come true.

This life I lead, both professionally and personally, really is the stuff dreams are made of, and many of my biggest dreams have yet to see the fruition of reality!  And yet, I continue to dream and wonder and hope and pray.  

And so, I give to you my own personal DARE TO DREAM world ... 

This is the first thing my kiddos will see ... a cheery door welcoming them to my room.  The GRADE is missing because I am waiting for the the E to be printed off the color printer that STILL isn't working.

A look from the back of the room toward the front of the room.

Difficult to see them very well, but I have clouds with rainbow steamers hanging from each window as well as from the ceiling.

My attempt at being crafty ... twenty-five tissue paper flowers hand made by moi!

White board and computer desk area.  The goal is to keep that PAPER FREE this year. My library is a bit out of control.  I need to do some weeding, which I may get my kids involved with ... we shall see.

Learning target area.

A bulletin board dedicated to recommending books.

The windows again.  I also have vases of flowers, all the same color, but "rainbowing" down the window sill to add to the cohesiveness of the visual theme.

My kidney bean table with my DAILY 5 and CAFE board behind it.

There will be more photos to come, hopefully, detailing a lot of the, well, details.  In the meantime, there it is. My room! 

Pensieves

This summer, after I wrapped up what can only be described as a year fraught with stress and stress and, oh, have I mentioned the stress?  I decided to get a handle on the organization (or the lack thereof) in my classroom . 

I tackled my storage closet ... as well as my giant piles of papers ... and ummm, the ridiculous amounts of pens and pencils ... and the clutter, oh the clutter!  But the entire time I was taming that beast, I was thinking about how I could better plan my days and weeks, keep track of my student data, and make all of that easy and manageable.  Of course, I did what any self-respecting teacher would do, I went to Pinterest. 

I am having a scandalous affair with Pinterest!  That website is ... well, it's like a frozen hot chocolate and a beach vacation and a great-looking man willing to wait on you hand and foot all rolled into one. 

I am not even joking.

In my very formal research -- yes! Pinterest IS formal research -- I discovered a few teachers who have organized their lesson plans in such a way that it just really felt ... oh, I don't know ... right.  I was telling a friend and colleague about the organizational system I was getting ready to undertake, and here's where it gets weird ... well, a cool weird.

We were actually meeting to go over a book we were both reading, The Daily 5, by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  During my excited rambling about my revolutionary organizational system, my friend said, "You know, that really sounds like the Pensieves in their CAFE book!"

Come to find out, The Sisters, as they are referred to, created a binder they call Pensieves, in honor of Dumbledore and Harry Potter.  Pensieves are really binders wherein we can pour our thoughts into ... all our important ideas and data.  Brilliant! 

I am taking The Sisters' idea one step further, and I've created three pensieves. 

I give you, ladies and gentlemen, my pensieves.

My Planning Pensieve -- pardon the blurry quality

My Reading Pensieve -- again with the blurry quality

My Math Pensieve

All three Pensieves -- My hat's off to The Sisters

Organization 101

Okay, I walked into my classroom five years ago, and inherited a GIGANTIC mess.  I was so overwhelmed that I just spent a great deal of time shoving "stuff" into corners and drawers and file folders and boxes ... pretty much anything that would hold "stuff." 

I was super excited about the prospect of having this incredibly large storage area in the back of my room.  However, that large area quickly became small as I shoved all sorts of "stuff" into it.  This practice ballooned into me attempting to walking into the closet this spring and having three things fall on top of me as I scratched the crap out of my shin.

Much as I hated the prospect of going through that disaster, I realized what I had to do.

It was time.

I had to start pitching "stuff."

I am happy to announce that you can now walk the entire length of my storage closet.  The "stuff" has now been tossed, filed, or Goodwill'ed. 

Here's the proof!

In process -- you can still see "stuff" on the floor, and I'd not yet switched the direction in which my file cabinets were facing.

The filing cabinets have now been switched for easier access.

Check that out!  I am looking at the lovely walking space there in the middle.  Oh how lovely!

Oh look!  Yep!  Right there ... in the middle ... yep.  You can walk right through there.

Organizing My Zones

So, I started reading a book by Melanie S. Unger -- ORGANIZED TEACHER, HAPPY CLASSROOM.  She suggested that when one goes in to organize/clean one's classroom, one should go at it by zones, so as not to overwhelm yourself and make it impossible to get anything accomplish.

Well ... I'm not sure I've followed that rule completely, but I did try to work in zones. 

Here are some BEFORE photos .... and some AFTERs ... it's a work in progress, don't you know!



BEFORE library zone ... ugly, disorganized, have I mentioned ugly?



BEFORE ... teacher zone looks like a bomb blew up there.




A BEFORE shot ... oy vey, the disorganization!




AFTER: First zone clean and organized.



AFTER: Mailbox and Media zones

AFTER: Teacher zone (except for that HIDEOUS bulletin board) is now neat and tidy.

The rest of the room ... miles to go before I am done.

Organized Teacher, Happy Classroom: Manage Your Time, Space, and Materials

In my attempt to find my own personal rainbow connection, I stumbled upon this book by Melanie S. Unger.  Oh boy, did I ever need to stumbled upon this book!  My room has turned into a complete and total disaster by all accounts, and I realize that, whether I like it or not, people are judging my teaching ability on the aesthetic of my classroom.  So, interlibrary loan is my new best friend, and I am going to be spending some time this weekend, digging into this book.  I'm doing my own little book study and compiling my notes in a LiveBinder here. 

Feel free to stop by and visit it in the coming days.  I hope to be putting all the stuff I've learned from Ms. Unger into this binder!

The Rainbow Connection

When I became a teacher, I promised myself that I would the kind of teacher that would inspire her students ... encourage them to be life-long learners ... motivate them ... engage them ... leave them panting for more fun, creative learning.

And then reality hit ... the kids with behavioral issues ... budgetary constraints ... testing stress ... the lack of colleague support ... the lack of administrative support ... the political machine ... just everything, and that excited girl that dreamed of making a difference in the lives of her students faded from sight.

I was perusing a site not too long ago and was slapped, square in the face, with just how far I'd traveled from that dreamer.  I didn't like the person I'd become ... the teacher I'd become.  I wasn't bad ... I just wasn't what I knew I had always wanted to be. 

I stumbled upon this song from a movie I saw many, many moons ago with my mom and my sister, and it reminded me of just how much I wanted my vision or illusion of teaching to become reality. 

So, because I blog as a way to express myself, I decided to start this blog as a way to work toward finding it, that rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me!

Happy Reading, my teacher friends!