Classroom Tour

*Warning...lengthy post ahead ;)*

When I walked into my classroom for the very first time I felt so many different things. Extreme happiness, excitement beyond compare, nervous, anxious, and overwhelmed! I couldn't believe after years of planning and praying someone trusted me with this room. Someone knew I could handle every little detail that came with it. I was over the moon! Then my sweet AP said, "I'll leave you alone to soak it all in." And that's when I started looking and seeing what would consume my days for the next 6 weeks. SO. MUCH. STUFF. Now, don't get me wrong I was feeling so incredibly blessed that I did not walk into an empty room...but oh my gosh at the stuff. The teacher before me had taught kindergarten and decided she wanted to be a full-time mommy so she left every stinking thing! That would all have been perfect if I too was teaching K.... So for a moment I just stood there and looked. This is what I saw....

Right inside the door

The amazing awesome, yet packed closet...

Standing in the door looking under the board (holy moly at the storage containers!)

The view from the back of the room towards the front

Like I said, I was so very grateful not to be shown into an empty room but let's get real I had to go through all of this! Let me be honest...clutter and disorganization makes my blood pressure go up! So I said a little prayer and then got on the phone with my momma! We started three piles: keep, trash, donate. Then sure enough I started to see what a BLESSING my room was going to be! I started seeing how big and roomy and PERFECT it was!!!

AHHHH! My favorite part :)

Then I started bringing in all of my things I had collected throughout the year. I decided to do a beach theme after I found the cutest adirondack chairs and matching umbrellas. I also decided that I wanted to do bright colors that would make the room feel even more open and colorful. After I had all the furniture in place it was time to start decorating!! Most of the things I used in my classroom I got at Garden Ridge, Old Time Pottery, Target, and Dollar Tree! I l-o-v-e a bargain! I did not pay full price for ANYTHING in my classroom! I ask for a teacher discount everywhere I go! ;) Anyway this is how it looked when I was finished!

Standing in the front door 

My kidney table and "desk" (the storage cubes are from Target)

(Empty) Classroom Library and Word Wall

Front Board

Beach Reading Center! The screen is from TJ Maxx!

Standing in the closet

This is what it looked like pretty much all year. I plan to keep everything basically the same but there are a few things I want to add and modify. Thanks for sticking around for this super long post :) As soon as all the floor waxing and cleaning is finished I'll be back in there. Happy summer, friends!