There are a lot of AI tools floating around. But which ones are relevant, safe, and easy to use? Evaluate AI with this rubric and checklist!
I am one of those people who cannot work in silence. I have always incorporated music into my classroom whether it be just for background noise, or to enhance our lesson plan. A few years ago I sub…
Are you looking for a calm classroom theme? I have five beautiful and unique classroom decor bundles that will help create a peaceful, engaging, and beautiful home away from home in your classroom! These five bundles will be a perfect way to create a calm classroom vibe!
You can’t get the most out of university without learning to think critically. It isn't easy, but with our handy guide, we’ll have you thinking up a storm in no time!
I teach a 1st through 4th self-contained, mod/severe, special day class. I am going to highlight some of the key elements in my classroom.
Teach responsibility in your classroom through the use of intentional activities. Continue refining what responsibility means to your students all year.
Make setting up your classroom a breeze with these 5 tips on printing classroom decor! Don't miss these best practice tips for amazing decor!
Classroom tour of a Pre-K Blended (ECSE) classroom. You will see the whole groups area, centers, teacher desk, and so much more!
How do you plan to create a calm classroom environment? Here are 5 tips to help you to create a space you and your students will LOVE by...
A few weeks ago I posted this little picture on my Instagram. You might have seen it. A student of mine desperately needed a visual schedule on her desk and I (being a lover of all things providing closure such as check marks), created this tabbed schedule so she could easily close the tasks as they […]
Image 7 of 27 from gallery of Leimond-Shonaka Nursery School / Archivision Hirotani Studio. Photograph by Kurumata Tamotsu
Imagine this scenario: You walk into your classroom, ready to tackle a day and have a great lesson you cannot wait to share. But as soon as your class steps through the door, you’re met with a barrage of aggression from one student. A student who seems to thrive on chaos and disruption, making it ... Read More about The Surprising Effective Approach to Dealing with an Aggressive Student in Your Classroom: De-Escalating Strategies
Are you obsessed with everything farmhouse? Me too! I had the amazing opportunity to partner with my Alma Mater-The University of Central Florida, and give
I work with the Multiple Disabilties population and this blog is about multiple disabilities classroom setup with covid-19 recommendations.
If you look on Pinterest you are sure to see a lack of science classroom decoration ideas. I want to share with you my...
VMDPE Design was tasked with designing IBOBI International Kindergarten, a modern Montessori school for expats living in a residential area of Shenzhen, China.
Coffee carts are being used in classrooms all around the world. And today I want to share my best tips for having a special education classroom coffee cart. On the blog today I'm going to show you how to set one up from scratch. I'll also be sharing the benefits a coffee cart can have
Teaching is a lot of work. Decorating a classroom doesn't have to be! Wondering, "What's the easiest way to decorate a classroom?" It is totally possible to
Setting up your technology classroom is a breeze with these 5 tips to get you started. From decor to space planning I've got you covered.
Overwhelmed and understaffed my first year as a special education teacher in the self-contained classroom, I discovered that implementing an effective independent workstation helped my students become more successful and independent. Click to learn how I got control using task boxes and independent workstations in my special education classroom. My students loved the differentiated math, language arts, science, and social studies curriculum with age appropriate clip art and real photographs.
There's a difference walking into my classroom now. It looks different, but it feels different. Students say they "feel like [they] can breathe in here."
Get ready for plenty of fun with firsties!
Decorating, organizing, and preparing your high school classroom spaces is critical for new and veteran teachers alike. Here are four ideas to get your classroom prepared to support and inspire your students and keep you motivated to deliver incredible lessons!
Our department recently hosted an ECC (Expanded Core Curriculum) Open House. I worked with two other teachers on the area of Sensory Efficiency. We decided to base our display on the book Rosie's Walk. We developed sensory activities that could be used with the book. We matched the activities to the pages in the book. Each element of the picture was outlined with a different tactile. The barn was outlined with a pipe cleaner. The fox was outlined with hot glue. The hen was outlined with Wikki Stix. The pond was a silver bowl of water with light up ducks. The larger ducks were found at the dollar store. The fence was created with a cardboard box surrounded by a sheet of brown poster board. We placed a tactile matching activity behind the fence. I filled 12 yellow plastic eggs to make 6 pairs of matching sounds. The eggs were placed in yellow "hay." When the student matches two eggs they are placed in the egg carton. This light box activity was easy to create. I used foam "bees" and glitter in yellow colored hair gel. We included a "taste test" with a data collection sheet. The students had to mark the chart under the color jelly bean that they thought was the sweetest. We made this more difficult by using sour jelly beans. Sensory activities can be used with many children's books.
I remember being a new teacher and waiting so anxiously to get into my new room! I tried to imagine what it would look like...the center areas, the little tables and chairs, the storage space, etc. How would I arrange my new room? What centers would I have? Would I have enough shelves and tables? Those were just a few of the hundreds of thoughts I had before I started school. I drew my layout on notebook paper late at night when I had new teacher jitters and on napkins as I waited for my food in restaurants. The day had come, and after I saw my classroom, I had to reconfigure my arrangement based on the space, furniture, and other obstacles. I knew I had to have space to put down cots for nap time, I needed a small group table/teacher aide work space, I needed the tables to do double duty for activities and lunch time, I had to work around the built in carpet, cubbies, teacher desk....the list went on and on! My advice is to make a list of necessities and plan those areas first. Sometimes you will have to work around not having enough storage or tables, funky pieces of furniture that have to stay in your room, outlets in goofy places, etc. You will have to get creative! Also, It's perfectly fine to redo your arrangement during the year and switch it up! I've always changed my arrangement at least once a year and I always want something different as a new school year begins. The classroom should be a happy & comforting place for students and teachers as well! During college courses and internships I learned about early childhood room arrangements. The shelves should be low, all materials on open shelves are for the students, everything labeled, plenty of walk space, etc. I took notes as I toured classrooms and poured over those cute teacher blogs! : ) But only from my own teaching experience, I truly learned the importance of classroom space & design. Here are a few of my favorite classroom floor plan arrangements that I've had over the years. We might not have the same furniture or same amount of furniture but I hope it gives you at least a few ideas to work with! Happy planning! I liked this arrangement because there was plenty of room between the centers and tables. I bought the cube shelves from Target. They made a great room divider, held storage, and you could see through them so it made the classroom a light & airy feeling! The large group time carpet was built into the floor so it couldn't be moved. I double duty used it for our whole group lessons & for block play. The art center and easel were conveniently located to the sink for easy clean up. The light table was next to an outlet and book shelves were used as center dividers. I also used some of the backs of bookshelves for felt boards and to display vocabulary. The cabinet next to the door was used as a parent sign-in station and the rug there was used as our safe spot. I liked this arrangement because placing the library center at the entrance of the classroom provided for a homey/living room look as students entered. The safe spot was located closer to the teacher work area tucked into a corner and the pretend center had plenty of space. I also liked having a defined blocks center. Students could leave out special constructions during transition time and return to them later. In this floor plan the safe spot was moved near the cubbies and the light table was moved to the back wall. I traded in a table in the discovery area to allow students to have more workspace. Also, the library area was moved to the middle and made the classroom feel much larger. There was also a book shelf/cabinet placed behind the group time carpet. The cabinet held puzzles and morning tub manipulatives. Here of a few photos of some of my past classroom arrangement ideas! They are a mix of photos and from different years. Enjoy! Parent sign-in station...the back of this cabinet (which actually used to be the pretend center fridge) stored crayon buckets! Pretend center in the corner... Here's another pretend center area where I had it in front of the window... Discovery/science center close to the classroom entrance... Chairs were bought at Ikea and they have remained in great shape! Baskets were bought at garage sales and www.saveoncrafts.com Discovery/science center Here's another discovery area idea in the corner with bookshelf and table... ABC center with use of table, magazine rack, and bookshelf. The shelf on top of the table is an over the sink shelf. I bought it at a garage sale and sometimes use it for storage under the Smartboard! I love items that do double duty! Portable light table on top of Ikea table with magnet board behind. Safe spot and crayon tub storage...parent sign-in station with folder drop off bucket... Built in group time area... (labeled apple baskets awaiting school supplies on Meet the Teacher Night! Get your labels HERE!) Built in cubbies and rectangle table used for breakfast... Rolling blocks station that could be moved to the big carpet for play. Another year, I made a bigger blocks area. I turned over the dress up closet/mirror and utilized it for block play/storage. The rug is from Ikea and I love the mellow colors! Math center table and bookshelf/cabinet... Library area when it was in front of the window. I created extra storage from zip tying Michael's wooden crates together to make a bookcase. I covered an existing felt board with burlap to tie in the neutral colors. The chairs were half price (yay!) from Garden Ridge/At Home store...the rug was bought there too. In this arrangement the library center is near the classroom entrance. It's defined by a rolling book cart and writing station cart. The writing station cart actually used to be the blocks cart, lol. Like I said..I have done a lot of re-planning and rearranging in my teaching career. It's fun when you find new uses for things and they work! I took the wheels off my listening center cart, flipped it over, and put a plastic bin inside...instant sensory station! ABC station: writing center/abc games... this is when I had a whole lot of hot pink leftover from my previous classrooms... I slowly turned over to neutrals and natural textures...it made the classroom feel much more calm, clean, and relaxed... Math center with storage for manipulatives and a table to play the games. I used the back of a cabinet for a math pocket chart game and vocabulary. And last but not least...the art center built by Target cube shelves. I've hope you've enjoyed my little room arrangements tour and I hope you've found some useful ideas for your new or existing classroom! If you have any questions leave them in the comment section below. Happy planning & happy teaching! ~ Christian
With the City Kids Education Centre in Brooklyn, BAAO studio elevates the traditional daycare into a child-led learning hub.
After sixteen years of teaching, high school teacher Kisaundra Harris switched to flexible seating. Her students now call her classroom a safe haven.
this post contains affiliate links For many years, my classroom just didn't look or feel right. While I knew that the actions inside a classroom mattered more than what was on the walls, I also wanted it to look... well, at least clean and organized. Thus began a very gradual, years-long process of taking my room from a color-clashing mess to a comparatively calmer, semi farmhouse look. Some of the materials I bought, and some were reimbursed or bought by the school, but it did not happen overnight and was, again, a process of finding out what did and didn't work for seventh and eighth graders. Why this look? The colors and choices you see in my room were an attempt to balance several factors: Administrative Limitations: I wasn't allowed to go full-on flexible seating, and I also had only 5 authorized wall colors to choose from for ONE accent wall. Non-negotiable colors: I didn't have permission to paint, cover, or replace anything I wanted. In addition to non-negotiable carpeting, I had dark green cabinets to work around. Maximizing space: I teach middle school in a room that is NOT big enough, and I was desperate to maximize space for student desks, the classroom library, myself, and at least SOME alternative seating. The fact that I watched way too much Fixer Upper while on maternity leave (ha!) Things I Learned Before I dig into the photos and specifics, here are some of the biggest things I learned during the process, regardless of your theme: Have a color scheme and stick to it. The fewer colors, the better, unless you are actually embracing a rainbow or neon theme. Work with, not against, your classroom. As stated above, working with my non-negotiable cabinets made a world of difference for a cohesive look. Containers that match are worth your money. By "containers" I mean shelving, bins, folders, wall hanging files, or any storage. Buying a zillion of the same black milk crate REALLY helped not just my OCD but the overall appearance of cleanliness (ha) in my room. You might also like my older blog post, 7 Tips for Decorating an English Classroom Classroom Tour! Here are some of my favorite things, with links. (Some of the products shared are affiliate links, but many are not. All opinions are my own.) To see a complete list of products I recommend, check out my Amazon store. Also, follow my classroom decor journey on Instagram. I edged my whiteboard in black painter's tape for more contrast against the white walls I couldn't paint, and also used even thinner painter's tape to make the lines on the board itself. I used self-laminating sheets and magnets on the days of the week. I bought garlands from Hobby Lobby three years ago and use magnetic hooks like these to attach them to the board. These lights never recharged properly (see next photo below for my alternative), but I used painter's tape to create the "pole", along with a black hanging file, which I labeled with my Cricut machine and iron-on vinyl. These battery-powered lanterns with built-in timers have worked out MUCH better. I used the velcro-like picture hanging Command strips as well as these hooks to attach them to my wall. Pro tip: If Command strips don't stick to your wall properly, use some sandpaper to gently rough up the spot a LITTLE, which does the trick for me. Floor cushions made from recycled material were from Target; the LED adhesive lighting under my whiteboard ledge can be found here and add great opportunities to turn off the overhead lights! The ledge trays were custom made by my husband, but here's the letter kit. Hubby also made a magnetic faux barn door for me. The photo stickers were made with my Sprocket printer. The Closetmaid storage bench came from Walmart (or Amazon), the bookshelves are from IKEA, and the stools are also from Walmart. (The standing desks were from the school.) Cart from Michael's (labels made with a Cricut with free font Harry P) Trays from Office Depot; I made labels in PowerPoint and covered them with packing tape. Poster free from the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program; white magnetic shelf from Amazon. Black crates from Lowe's - I used them ALL OVER my room. I made labels with self-laminating sheets, a hole punch, and binder rings. The vintage typewriter is a huge hit with the big kids, and not just my toddler! Container from the Target Dollar Spot, labeled by my Cricut I used dollar store frames to create a "dry erase" scoreboard; the library pockets were attached to cabinets with double sided tape. For more information about the scoreboard and how I teach grammar, visit my blog post about The Grammar House Cup. I made the Homeroom banner myself; Fadeless bulletin board paper has been good for two years now! I once read to put mirrors across from windows to bounce more light around the room. I don't know if that's true, but I did get a cheap long mirror from Walmart to put alongside a cabinet. This also cut down on student trips to the bathroom to look in a mirror! Energizer brand tap lights are a little bigger and leave more room for writing! I just did Sharpie at the time, but I know many people use Cricut machines for this. This message board has been a huge hit over time! Floor cushions (or patio cushions) from Target make a nice, cheap flexible seating option! This pencil dispenser was a big hit with students. The only downside is that mine often releases two pencils instead of just one. I used black dry erase Wall Pops to add some definition to this school-bought round table (and remind kids that 4 people should fit). The acacia SKOGSTA stools from IKEA are my all-time favorite and have been very durable the past two years (and are worth the $25 price tag, if you ask me). My mother sewed a custom table skirt for me, which we attached with adhesive Velcro. These OXO brand pop-lid containers are perfect for allergy-friendly candy. (One of these days, I will remember to make cute labels for them!) Thank you for visiting! Honorable Mentions Here are a few more of my "favorite things" in my classroom! Avery brand square labels (for my classroom library AND for Bitmoji stickers!) My favorite fidget of all time (quiet and not messy!) Jeopardy daily calendar GE Outlet Wall Plug Adapter Bingo daubers that I use to stamp papers (see this blog post!) Do you have additional ideas, questions, or comments? Share them below!
