A Perfectly Imperfect Classroom and Other Thoughts From The Week

I was not good about taking pictures this week, so this is not a Five for Friday, but I've got a lot of thoughts so I'm still going to reflect on the week.  

I have worked for only three days and I am already exhausted from taking in information from my new district and school and working in my classroom.  I have such a love/hate relationship with the whole classroom setup process.  I have to admit, I stopped looking at "classroom reveals" and reading blog posts because they are making me feel so overwhelmed.  My classroom will not be picture perfect this year but that is okay.  It's in a formerly open school, so one whole side of my room is a makeshift "wall" made up of a jumble of cabinets and bookshelves lined to separate my room from the hallway.  And the cabinets are stuffed full, so all of my stuff is currently sitting in the middle of the floor and covering every open table space.  Maybe one year I will get to stay in the same space and work out of organized cabinets.  I realized I was incredibly spoiled last year in a huge room with two large windows, two locking doors, and lots of bulletin board, wall and storage space.  This room will be different, but if I tackle the organization process in little pieces, eventually it will be fine, too.  

I've been catching a few of Sheila Jane Teaching's Periscopes once in a while.  Today (maybe yesterday?) she made a really sweet point about having an imperfect classroom.  I'm paraphrasing, but she said to remember what is on the inside that makes you a great teacher.  If you put me in a room with no color scheme or cute decorations on the wall, could I still be a great teacher?  I love having an organized, visually appealing, put-together room, and do strive for that (and boy does it make my job easier!).  However, I was hired to do this job because I'm a great teacher, not because I had a gorgeous classroom.  I think it is worthwhile for all teachers during this stressful time of year to stop and remember why we are great teachers!  It's setting an "infrastructure" of an ordered day and our personal connection with our students that truly matters. 

With that being said, there are a few positives and fun things I have been working on.  

1.  I have a tiny window in my room.  (One of the things I love about my new room is that it has an outside door that opens to a sweet little fenced in playground!  We can step right outside into it!) I am working on making a ribbon curtain for the window.  If it turns out I'll share a picture soon! 

2.  I looked at Sit Spots last year and ordered a sample but they didn't work on my area rug.  (I did end up using the sample for a little one who used it as a visual reminder of where to sit, even though it didn't stick to the floor.)  This year I have wall-to-wall carpeting and no rug, so I decided to get the Sit Spots.  I ordered apples to go with my theme.  I wish they were not so expensive however...$1.99 for a shape times twenty-ish students is a lot.  Additionally, I ordered 10 feet of the strips, which were cheaper.  I plan on cutting these apart to show students where to put their feet to stand in a line.  I learned last year that a huge part of kindergarten is managing spatial awareness!  If I can get them in a decent line before they even leave my room, our hallway behavior is much better. 

3.  Today's whole project was organizing my classroom library.  I love, love, love my classroom library.  It packed up nicely and survived the moving process in organized fashion.  I was able to add lots of quality titles to it today as I was sorting through what was already in the classroom.  

4. So far I love my new district and school!  

5.  Not school related...but I just finished reading Jennifer Fulwiler's book "Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It".  It had me in tears by the end of the book.  I'm happy that I was able to do lots of summer reading this year!  I have to remember to keep some good titles on hand to help keep some balance this year.  I used to read "Freedom Writers" to start off every school year when I worked with high schoolers.  This year I'm thinking about re-reading "Educating Esme" since I'm considered (and feel like) a new teacher again.  Any other fun (not necessarily PD related) teacher reading suggestions??? 

I'm off to celebrate a family wedding out of state this weekend, and will return refreshed to my classroom on Monday!