Through The Middle And Beyond

Setting up your classroom before the new school year can be stressful. For most teachers, this can make or break a smooth start for the new school year. Here are some tips to start with a smooth transition.

• Take advantage of the “Early Move in Days” at your campus. Use these days to move your materials in and start moving things around if needed.
• Before unpacking, scope out your classroom to decide on how you would like to set up your desk and students’ desks. I prefer to have my desk in the back of the classroom so I can easily see all of my students’ computers at the same time. This ensures that my students’ stay on task and makes it easier to monitor on quiz/tests days.
• At my school, our 6th grade “Meet and Greet” night is on our second day of contract. I have learned to make sure we only have the basic things up such as bulletin paper with borders and maybe some posters. Don’t get overwhelmed about your classroom not being complete. Remember, your classroom is for your students.
• When thinking about a theme for your classroom, think about what your students might like. I see many classrooms with cute themes such as flowers and farm styles, but having a theme your students might like will make them feel more welcomed. For example, I have my student center as a “Harry Potter” theme and my library nook as a camping theme. The kids love it! I uploaded some pictures from last year for you to get an idea! PS: I use a cute theme for my own area.

• Ask a family member or friend to help you out if they can. This can be a big help, even if it’s only for half a day!
• You can find a lot of items such as border and cut out letters from the dollar store or Amazon.
• Use material that you can reuse instead of buying new butcher paper every year. For example, the backdrop for the library is from Amazon and the Harry Potter theme is material from JOANN. They easily fold up for easy storage.
• Organize all of your items the year before and label them. This saves so much time when looking for specific items.
• Lastly, don’t stress about not having your room completely done before the first day of school. You can slowly add items to your classroom at any time and your students won’t even notice.

I hope these tips help you set up your class with no stress. I will have a new post soon when my classroom for this year is complete. Remember, you can always reach out to me for any questions! Enjoy setting up your class! ~ Jen R.