The best classroom setup ideas to get your class ready for back to school including the best classroom layout and desk arrangements.

Planning out your classroom bulletin boards? I'm sharing lots of ideas and tips, plus pictures of my favorite bulletin boards!

The best classroom setup ideas to get your class ready for back to school including the best classroom layout and desk arrangements.

Inspiring and unique classroom setup ideas for middle and high school. Incorporate classroom decor, fun seating options, and purposeful organization.

When you set up your pecial education classroom setup there are a few extra things to consider. Check out these tips for furniture, layout, and wall space to create a learning environment that supports special needs students.

This week was pre-planning and I really got almost nothing done. I just can't figure out what to do with my room. I don't like distraction and clutter and lots of stuff. Most of the other teachers have cute themes in their rooms but it's visual overload to me. So my room tends to look pretty plain and dare I say, boring, compared to everyone else's. So far this is what I've got... As you can see, I'm painting my walls light blue. (They're actually finished now.) I figure it's a nice calm color. But I have no idea where to go from here. I did make some things to hang on the walls... I also put up our schedule... And that's about it. School starts on Monday!!! How will I ever be ready? Is it ok to decorate later? Will the kids be sad about their plain room? Stay tuned...

Check out my new Pastel Classroom Decor full of bright soft colors that are the perfect combination between colorful and calming! Plus, you get a freebie :)

Connect with the outdoors.

The best classroom setup ideas to get your class ready for back to school including the best classroom layout and desk arrangements.

These classroom decorating ideas and hacks cover everything from setting up bulletin boards to finding unique classroom themes so teachers can get things moving for the new school year.

Welcome to our class! I’ve changed some parts of my classroom this year and I have to say that I’m loving how everything turned out. Please note that this is my 12th year of teaching and I did not create this environment overnight. It’s taken years to accumulate and/or create everything that is in this ... Read More about Learning in Wonderland Classroom Tour

Amazing classroom decoration ideas including how to add a class fireplace, a beautiful teacher space, a classroom fridge and more!

3rd grade teacher Deanna shares how she saves time and works more efficiently.

My favorite part about getting ready for back to school is getting all of the bulletin boards set up around my classroom. Here are some of my favorite ideas.

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.

The best ideas in classroom organization including organizing bookshelves, creating a teacher cart, plus create the perfect teacher space!

Thank you so much for your interest in this product! This is a positive affirmation mirror set that contains positive words to put around your mirror in your classroom. This contains a black and white file and a link to the exact Astrobrights pack of paper I used to make it colorful! This product also contains a link to the exact mirror I attached these to. **This set does not include the words "YOU ARE" as shown in the picture. Here is a picture of this in my classroom: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRRlbHBy_b/ @madebyemmak @emmainelementary

Whether you’re a grad teacher, or you’ve been in the gig for years, it’s always a great help to yourself – and your students – to start your school year on the right foot. And especially after the mess that 2020 was, I thought a little reminder, or a mindful prompt, might be just what you need! So, if you’re looking for tips for a successful school set up – you’ve come to the right place! 1. Getting (and staying) organised! It’s something that either floats your boat, or has you rolling your eyes. But deeeep in our souls, we know being organised helps everything run a little more smoothly, and just as importantly, helps us to adapt and pivot in the classroom when we need to! (…which is everyday, amiright??) 😎 When our homes are a schmozzle, our life feels a bit like one too, right? So it makes total sense that the same goes for our classrooms. It might only mean spending five or ten minutes after school ensuring that everything is in its place and ready for the next day. Better still – including student in this organisational aspect throughout the day not only helps you stay on top of things, but also teaches *them* to take pride in their classrooms! Win/win I say!! 👊🏼 As you can imagine, I’m all about good-lookin’ organisation!! And it’s probably obvious – I’m obsessed with making classroom decor that will assist teachers to create an amazing learning environment, but just as importantly, save teachers time, stress, and keep them organised!!! If all this talk about getting organised is stirring a little something in your heart, check out some of my favourite (and most helpful IMO!) resources: I love my Teacher Trolley Drawer Labels I use my Teacher Toolbox Labels in the classroom *and* my home (goodbye kids craft corner chaos!!) And also my Binder Covers and Spines which come in seven styles. 2. Rules, rules, rules! When you’re focusing on a successful school set up, the first few weeks of the school year are usually spent setting classroom routines and expectations.⁠ And then the tricky part – upholding them!⁠ I’ve found framing classroom rules in a positive way – ‘we sit on the floor nicely’, rather than ‘don’t talk on the mat’ – really helps students to remember what they are being asked to do, rather than them only knowing what they shouldn’t be doing.⁠ ⁠Creating classroom rules WITH your students helps them to feel a sense of responsibility and means they are more likely to hold themselves accountable. I’ve always found it helpful to keep rules clear, simple and not too long a list! I like to focus on kindness, safety and respect. If you’re teaching the younger years, you could always make these values as suggestions, then with your students, brainstorm what these ideas look like in action. Then together you could turn them into rules. I also like to use a phrase that can be repeated to and by the children over the course of the year. It might look something like: “We take care of ourselves, each other, our school and our world.” If in the first few weeks, you break it down with the kids, and they understand what ‘taking care’ of these important aspects of their lives looks like, it can be used later on as a gentle reminder when they might be about to make a poor choice. Just to make life a little easier, and your classroom a whole lot more beautiful, I’ve got several Editable Classroom Poster Sets available in my store (as well as in my Decor Bundles!) which you can use to display your classroom rules. 3. Kids wanna play all day! We all know how important it is, but sometimes we can get lost in the busyness of our days, and forget to include some opportunities for play in our planning. So here is a little reminder for you as to why play is just so beneficial. – Play helps reduce stress. Just because they’re smaller than us, doesn’t mean kids don’t get stressed easily. We’re all humans. Play releases feel-good hormones, putting your students in a positive, joyful mood. Positivity is contagious, so spread it around like glitter!!! – What I love most about play? Our students are still learning while they play, they just don’t realise it! Play also improves brain function and helps boost their creativity. – Play allows students to build interpersonal skills and strengthen their connections with their classmates. It allows them to practice problem solving, compromising and negotiation skills. In a sense, play at a young age is setting up our students *for life*! – Playing with your students is also a beautiful way to develop your relationship with them as their teacher. It also gives you a peek into the way their minds work. As adults, we don’t often make time for playing, so we forget how therapeutic it can be. To begin with, it can feel a little awkward, but like many things, the more you do it, the easier it gets!! And if you feel like you might forget about scheduling play? I can guarantee you, your students wont forget! 🤣 I like to plan out my days so that the students can see a visual representation of what’s on – so why not add a visual reminder for yourself! My Editable Visual Timetables include over 120 various daily classroom activities and subjects to assist you in visually displaying an outline for the school day so that your children will be able to keep track of their day. It also comes with clock faces (digital and analogue) for you to display beside each activity so that your students will know what time each activity begins and ends. 4. Get to know your kids! Of course, as teachers, we spend the entire year getting to know our students, before farewelling and entrusting them into another teacher’s hands. The first few days and weeks of school are imperative for developing strong, positive relationships with students. You have the chance to *really* get to know them. And the easiest way to do this? Find out what they love. Their favourite memory from their summer holidays. What makes them tick. And, then going forward, make a point to engage with them about the things they love. It’ll make them feel like a million dollars! And you’ll be pretty much guaranteeing yourself a successful school set up! A simple way of uncovering more about your students is with my Back to School Activities Pack. Here you’ll not only find templates for exploring each students’ strengths and goals, but also activities around your school’s values, and helping students along with their morning routines. It’s a whopping 54 pages of back to school goodness right there! 5. A little bit of self care goes a long, long way! There’s no tired like ‘Teacher Tired’, but Term 1 Teacher Tired is like no other. Having up to 20 kids in your care for hours at a time, that’ll exhaust you! Managing their varying energy levels, mixed emotions, lessons, interruptions – a day in the life of a teacher can be an absolute whirlwind. My advice? After years of learning the hard way (!) – give yourself 10 minutes in the morning to do something that calms you. Listening to a guided meditation on the Headspace app. Some cat-cow poses. Time to drink your coffee mindfully. Whatever works for you. Just make it a habit. Something that you know will fill your cup in the morning, before you start pouring out to others. As teachers, we’re great at following a plan and sticking to a schedule. So don’t forget to schedule in some time to do what you love – exercising, getting crafty and creative, socializing, bath and candles, shopping, Netflix – whatever it is that lights you up and fills your cup. Be kind to yourself, friend. Do you have any other helpful tips for a successful school set up? Feel free to comment below, I’d love to hear them!! Chantelle -XXX-

The best classroom setup ideas to get your class ready for back to school including the best classroom layout and desk arrangements.

Time to get creative!

Welcome to my pre-k classroom tour! Classroom spaces and and arrangements are so very important and especially in the early childhood years! Defined areas for learning centers allow for students to be gravitated to new provocations and it also helps them know where to return materials properly. I love to create inviting center areas that are already set up for play! It gives students kind of an invitation to play and a few ideas about how to get started. The center learning areas I have are: blocks, pretend, discovery, reading, abc's, art, ipads, math, sensory, puzzles, & light table. Sometimes I don't have the centers open all at one time. For example, at the very beginning of the school year blocks and pretend centers are open. Students learn to be responsible in that center and then a new center is open/added every couple of days. I also like to incorporate the topic we are studying into all the centers. Currently, we are learning all about the season of spring! There are so many seasonal concepts students are interested in. We are exploring insects, spiders, butterflies, and gardens! We are also learning new art techniques with our Andy Warhol bee prints and learning about garden artist, Claude Monet! First stop, our morning board area! Here we have our word wall which has our alphabet circle letters (purchase here!), sorted student names, environmental print from our community, and post-it note student drawings of vegetables we have been learning about! We also have our Smartboard, Wish You Well Board, and other carpet/circle time supplies. Here is our newly arranged blocks center! This is a new classroom and I finally came up with a solution of where I wanted our blocks center to relocate. For a few years I have had it open to the group carpet area. It allowed for students to have a lot of room to build...but when it was time to clean up (and even if I gave the blocks group a head start) ..students were waiting to sit because of the blocks on the floor. So during winter break I revised the room layout a little bit which allowed for a new reading area, separate blocks area, and larger discovery area. It is working quite well! I am trying to stay with a more natural theme this year.. I purchased the two burlap canvases (above shelf) at Hobby Lobby and they display photos from our buildings study and photos of our observation of a hobby farm construction. The carpet is from IKEA and I like how they colors and design are a bit toned down? ..unlike a regular primary colored transportation rug. I was also attracted to this rug because it features a castle (for fairy tale unit), an igloo (for winter unit), and neighborhood buildings. We were studying community, construction, and maps when the rug arrived so it tied in nicely! The mirror is actually a pretend dress up clothes cabinet that I flipped over. It makes the center appear larger and students can view their constructions from a variety of angles! The blocks always stay in the center but I rotate extras with the current topic of study throughout the year! The "extras" include road signs, cars, construction vehicles, flowers, stuffed animals, plastic toys, people...whatever fits the theme. The blocks center also includes baskets for storage and clipboards. We practice drawing out our "construction plans" on the clip boards and students also like to copy the vocabulary posted. Our newly expanded discovery area! I have a large wooden spool/table and 2 wicker Ikea chairs that I hope to add in soon. The discovery center is all about investigation & finding out! Students explore weight differences, measuring, size ordering, textures, etc. The discovery center permanently houses science tools like a microscope, tongs, tweezers, pan balance, scales, binoculars, and magnifying glass. The center also has baskets for storage, clip boards for observation drawing & writing vocab, pencils, sensory bottles, plants, and vocabulary. In our discovery are we also have informational picture books on insects and gardens, seed activities, a butterfly observation basket, During our spring unit of study the center holds: The Very Hungry Caterpillar butterfly life cycle cards, plants, mini pretend nature doll house, seeds & seed packets, real butterfly wings, and a basket of textures. Here is an example of another unit of study in our discovery area. This photo is from our summer ocean unit from last year. Items can easily be switched out and easily rotated to fit any theme! This is a photo of our spring math center that contains insect books (that focus on counting & time), folder games, a Hungry Caterpillar roll, count, draw game, a Hungry Caterpillar graphing game, chick eggs number match up, sensory numbers, and a few other spring themed math games. I love using trays for center games with little cups on the trays. Trays help students be ready to play with easy setup and easy clean up! Before we play in new centers for the new topic of study we ALWAYS have a class circle time meeting about center procedures. We go through how to play every game (teacher and students model) and how to clean it up! This is so very important and helps center time to run much more smoothly and students learn practical life skills. Our new reading area! It contains a Hungry Caterpillar felt board for story retelling and sequencing, Hungry Caterpillar sequencing cards, pillows from Hobby Lobby, rug from Ross, two wicker Ikea children's chairs, insect puppets, books about gardens and insects, and also spring themed QR codes that lead to stories on the ipad. Our sensory tub is filled with flowers, magnet numbers, green and pink pots for patterning, gardening gloves, gardening tools, and watering cans. It also has mini vocab. cards that I laminated and then taped to the side. Sensory is such a fun center and quite popular too! There are hundreds of sensory ideas on Pinterest. I store sensory materials in large plastic bags in a tub. I like to sprinkle in plastic magnet numbers and letters and also post vocab on the outside of the tub. Tweezers, tongs, chopsticks, and shovels can be added to help with fine motor! This is our ABC center which now features Hungry Caterpillar word cards, Eric Carle stories, rhyming cames, and alphabet matching games. I have my writing center and ABC games combined this year and we call the whole center ABC center. The writing supplies are located next to this shelf and contain whiteboards, a variety of writing utensils, paper, and wikki stix. The ABC center games can include: letter matching games, letter bingo, alphabet beading, letter i spy sensory bottles, letter formations sticks, letter tracing, etc. Our spring pretend center filled with farmer's market items such as flowers, pots, seed packets, and vegetables! We incorporated literacy into this center by having gardening books, seed packets, an open/closed sign, and vocabulary displayed. Pretend is such an important center to have for students to explore community roles, practice life skills, and just experience "play." This is just a glimpse of all the fun and exciting things going on in our classroom for spring! Thanks for stopping by to check out our classroom! Only a few more months till school is out, then summer, and back to fall again!

Learn how to set up a classroom step by step with this clear and helpful guide. Your classroom set up game is about to get a big lift!

Transform your classroom into an engaging learning space with these classroom organization ideas! Get inspired to create an organized space for students to thrive.

Back to School season will always be one of my favorite times on the calendar! One of the best parts of my MJLL community over on Instagram is seeing first-hand, the amazing boho themed classroom set-ups that teachers all over the world are creating with my modern classroom decor bundles. I try to share as many as I ca

Learn every step of classroom setup, must have resources, and materials needed to setup your self-contained classroom. Peek inside my classroom!

I don’t know about you, but I can always use more classroom management tools! This was my first year back teaching after 2 years off. In some ways, I felt like I was starting over, and in some ways, I felt like a veteran teacher! Anyways, after the year was over, I knew there were […]

Come check out these classroom lighting ideas to reduce headaches and even spark creativity in learning. The lighting in your room should match the task!

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…

After having a long holiday, some students may be a little bit lazy to go back to school. They prefer to enjoy themselves at home and play with their friends. Turning back their mood toward studying and learning at school, needs more effort since they usually enjoy their free time. One thing that we can do as a teacher is design the classroom by applying a new concept or decoration. So that it can steal the students’ attention and surely boost their mood contact teachers looking for NYC Teaching Jobs. In upgrading a classroom, we have to consider some things. […]

Access the above chart by clicking on the graphic or the headline. Access the article below, here. "What effect do different classroom seating arrangements have on student participation? What does your learning space reveal about your teaching philosophy? Should teachers or students decide who sits where? In today’s article, we take a look at what the research says. "Learning spaces come in all shapes and sizes, from rectangular rooms built for 30 students where you can close the door on the world but still peer through the window, to flexible, open-plan environments with folding walls where scores of students come together. Outdoors, indoors, subject-specific spaces with specialist equipment and multipurpose rooms for whole school use." Via Tom D'Amico (@TDOttawa) , Dennis Swender

Teachers, this is your ultimate classroom design guide. Your one stop for classroom setup, decor, bulletin boards, organization ideas & more!

Whether you’re a grad teacher, or you’ve been in the gig for years, it’s always a great help to yourself – and your students – to start your school year on the right foot. And especially after the mess that 2020 was, I thought a little reminder, or a mindful prompt, might be just what you need! So, if you’re looking for tips for a successful school set up – you’ve come to the right place! 1. Getting (and staying) organised! It’s something that either floats your boat, or has you rolling your eyes. But deeeep in our souls, we know being organised helps everything run a little more smoothly, and just as importantly, helps us to adapt and pivot in the classroom when we need to! (…which is everyday, amiright??) 😎 When our homes are a schmozzle, our life feels a bit like one too, right? So it makes total sense that the same goes for our classrooms. It might only mean spending five or ten minutes after school ensuring that everything is in its place and ready for the next day. Better still – including student in this organisational aspect throughout the day not only helps you stay on top of things, but also teaches *them* to take pride in their classrooms! Win/win I say!! 👊🏼 As you can imagine, I’m all about good-lookin’ organisation!! And it’s probably obvious – I’m obsessed with making classroom decor that will assist teachers to create an amazing learning environment, but just as importantly, save teachers time, stress, and keep them organised!!! If all this talk about getting organised is stirring a little something in your heart, check out some of my favourite (and most helpful IMO!) resources: I love my Teacher Trolley Drawer Labels I use my Teacher Toolbox Labels in the classroom *and* my home (goodbye kids craft corner chaos!!) And also my Binder Covers and Spines which come in seven styles. 2. Rules, rules, rules! When you’re focusing on a successful school set up, the first few weeks of the school year are usually spent setting classroom routines and expectations.⁠ And then the tricky part – upholding them!⁠ I’ve found framing classroom rules in a positive way – ‘we sit on the floor nicely’, rather than ‘don’t talk on the mat’ – really helps students to remember what they are being asked to do, rather than them only knowing what they shouldn’t be doing.⁠ ⁠Creating classroom rules WITH your students helps them to feel a sense of responsibility and means they are more likely to hold themselves accountable. I’ve always found it helpful to keep rules clear, simple and not too long a list! I like to focus on kindness, safety and respect. If you’re teaching the younger years, you could always make these values as suggestions, then with your students, brainstorm what these ideas look like in action. Then together you could turn them into rules. I also like to use a phrase that can be repeated to and by the children over the course of the year. It might look something like: “We take care of ourselves, each other, our school and our world.” If in the first few weeks, you break it down with the kids, and they understand what ‘taking care’ of these important aspects of their lives looks like, it can be used later on as a gentle reminder when they might be about to make a poor choice. Just to make life a little easier, and your classroom a whole lot more beautiful, I’ve got several Editable Classroom Poster Sets available in my store (as well as in my Decor Bundles!) which you can use to display your classroom rules. 3. Kids wanna play all day! We all know how important it is, but sometimes we can get lost in the busyness of our days, and forget to include some opportunities for play in our planning. So here is a little reminder for you as to why play is just so beneficial. – Play helps reduce stress. Just because they’re smaller than us, doesn’t mean kids don’t get stressed easily. We’re all humans. Play releases feel-good hormones, putting your students in a positive, joyful mood. Positivity is contagious, so spread it around like glitter!!! – What I love most about play? Our students are still learning while they play, they just don’t realise it! Play also improves brain function and helps boost their creativity. – Play allows students to build interpersonal skills and strengthen their connections with their classmates. It allows them to practice problem solving, compromising and negotiation skills. In a sense, play at a young age is setting up our students *for life*! – Playing with your students is also a beautiful way to develop your relationship with them as their teacher. It also gives you a peek into the way their minds work. As adults, we don’t often make time for playing, so we forget how therapeutic it can be. To begin with, it can feel a little awkward, but like many things, the more you do it, the easier it gets!! And if you feel like you might forget about scheduling play? I can guarantee you, your students wont forget! 🤣 I like to plan out my days so that the students can see a visual representation of what’s on – so why not add a visual reminder for yourself! My Editable Visual Timetables include over 120 various daily classroom activities and subjects to assist you in visually displaying an outline for the school day so that your children will be able to keep track of their day. It also comes with clock faces (digital and analogue) for you to display beside each activity so that your students will know what time each activity begins and ends. 4. Get to know your kids! Of course, as teachers, we spend the entire year getting to know our students, before farewelling and entrusting them into another teacher’s hands. The first few days and weeks of school are imperative for developing strong, positive relationships with students. You have the chance to *really* get to know them. And the easiest way to do this? Find out what they love. Their favourite memory from their summer holidays. What makes them tick. And, then going forward, make a point to engage with them about the things they love. It’ll make them feel like a million dollars! And you’ll be pretty much guaranteeing yourself a successful school set up! A simple way of uncovering more about your students is with my Back to School Activities Pack. Here you’ll not only find templates for exploring each students’ strengths and goals, but also activities around your school’s values, and helping students along with their morning routines. It’s a whopping 54 pages of back to school goodness right there! 5. A little bit of self care goes a long, long way! There’s no tired like ‘Teacher Tired’, but Term 1 Teacher Tired is like no other. Having up to 20 kids in your care for hours at a time, that’ll exhaust you! Managing their varying energy levels, mixed emotions, lessons, interruptions – a day in the life of a teacher can be an absolute whirlwind. My advice? After years of learning the hard way (!) – give yourself 10 minutes in the morning to do something that calms you. Listening to a guided meditation on the Headspace app. Some cat-cow poses. Time to drink your coffee mindfully. Whatever works for you. Just make it a habit. Something that you know will fill your cup in the morning, before you start pouring out to others. As teachers, we’re great at following a plan and sticking to a schedule. So don’t forget to schedule in some time to do what you love – exercising, getting crafty and creative, socializing, bath and candles, shopping, Netflix – whatever it is that lights you up and fills your cup. Be kind to yourself, friend. Do you have any other helpful tips for a successful school set up? Feel free to comment below, I’d love to hear them!! Chantelle -XXX-