Classroom Set-up 2012-2013

I finally finished setting up my classroom for the 2012-2013 school year.  I spent at least four full days working on it and I must admit, I'm very happy with the final product.  Let me take you on a photo tour of my room.

This is part of my desk.  This year I split it into two parts.  All my technology is on these two desks.  The computer hooks up to the LCD projector.  I have my IPEVO camera which I use like it's an ELMO document camera.  It's perfect!  And best of all, it was only $70 with free shipping.  It works so well and it can come off its stand so I can show students things close up in things such as science class.  I will also be able to put my iPad on the desk as well and hook it up to the LCD projector (which isn't shown). 

Also shown is our calendar, our class rules and the arrow pointing to the piece of paper is our School-wide Student Learning Expectations which changes daily.  I have a large file cabinet to the left and a closet that holds all of my resource books among other things.  

 Here is the other half of my desk.  In front of it, is my Puffball Machine which is part of my classroom management program.  You can read about it here.  In the green crate I collect samples of student writing and the folders peeking out are "Absent Work" folders for those students who miss class.

 Here are the students' morning work folders, Early Finishers notebooks and reading workbooks.  On the shelves are the games for the classroom.  Those are typically used during rainy days.  To the right which is cut off, are all my math manipulatives......I have a TON!

Here are the community supplies.  I got the baskets at the Dollar Tree about six years ago.  I LOVE the bright bold colors they came in.  I also repurposed an old Enfamil container to hold our colored pencils and an old Lysol container to hold eraser caps.  There is another one that holds my clothespins but you can't see it.  And of course, my favorite carry all caddy.  I love those things.  They hold crayons and markers if the students need them.

This is my prayer table - since we are a Catholic School, all classrooms are required to have one.  I have rosaries, prayer cards, Saint books and more here available for the students.  And above are our Beatitudes and The Ten Commandments posters. 

On the shelves are just more supplies for the students, Glade plug-ins and math sheets.

Here is our classroom library.  I have over 1,800 books available for the students to check out.  My librarians use the computer in the back corner to manage and check-out books.  I use a program I got called Book Collector.  It was relatively cheap and has served me well for 6 years.  In the library, I have my genre posters on the back wall and to the far right by the windows I have my Reading Strategy posters.  You can download both for free in my TpT store.

This is the back side of my library.  I moved the couch out so we had some extra room in the library.  This will also provide students a space to read without being crowded by those looking for books.  The paper tray holds all our special paper and construction paper.

The flipchart has a whiteboard in the back where I list the homework for the day.  Also, the hooks are where the students will put their backpacks and other belongings.  You can't really see it but behind my flipchart is our supply closet which holds all our art supplies.  I also have a large table where I meet with students.  The white container holds student prizes and my favorite art drying rack is the red thing on the floor.  I love that rack!  The green bulletin board is where I plan on putting up the Early Finishers set I got from Shelley Grey's TpT store.

 This is our side whiteboard.  Surrounding it are a bunch of resources that we refer to throughout the year in Language Arts.

Here is our classroom culture poster that I created and had printed through Vista Print.  You can read about that here.

Here is my Mountain Language bulletin board.  This is a great way to reinforce and practice DOL.

Here are the carts that hold more math manipulatives and our paper supplies.  I got these at Staples a few years ago.  I love them.

Here are my Kleenslate whiteboards which I won and our Logic Links puzzle pieces.  The students and I love our Logic Link puzzles.  They are tons of fun!

This is where students turn in their homework.  I have a system for collecting homework which makes it far easier for me come grading time.  Read about it here.

This is the front of my room.  I project up on that board.  On the far right is where I list our daily schedule.  I made a large magnet that says "Mrs. Lyon's Class Schedule" on Vista Print.

This is the laptop cart and above it is our TV which I'm hoping to replace with a flat screen (wishful thinking).  Also is the poster on the wall shows students how to properly label their paper headings.

This rolling cart with I got at Big Lots hold a variety of things.  Regular pencils, fun pencils, fun erasers, my whiteboard markers among many other items.  On top sits my LCD projector which is connected to my computer.  Not a super expensive LCD projector and it works for what I need.

Here is my Monday thru Friday cart where I store any handouts or copies for the week.  On the floor next to that are my iPad chargers.  No iPads in them yet.  They are coming soon.  However, students will be able to take them home so this is just in case we need them and also to be able to easily sync them.  And of course, sitting on top is my mailbox.  I got the mailbox at Home Depot for about $6.  Great deal.  Students can leave me notes inside.




Here are a few shots of my room from different angels. 

In addition to finishing my classroom, I also created my student binders for the year.  The past couple of years, we have had iPod binders which stood for "I'm prepared and organized daily".  I also create the students nameplates on different colored iPods too.  Since my class is going to have a class set of iPads, I decided to drop the iPod binder and incorporate a new product - the iPhone.  So my binder this year is called the iPhone binder which stands for "I'm Prepared, Highly Organized and Neat Everyday".  (I really don't work for Apple....I swear!) Since I'm known as one of the "techie" teachers I figured this theme fits.  Plus the younger kids always love to see their name on their very own iPod nameplate for some reason. haha

Binder Cover Sheet

Examples of Student Nameplates for desks

This year, my binder consists of a 2" blue binder, a pencil zip case, a ruler/3 hole puncher, 8 tabs with labels for the different subjects and of course the students' agenda.  I typically collect $15 per student so I can purchase all the supplies needed for the binder, some folders and notebooks and have them all matching and ready to go the first day.  This way, the students DO NOT purchase any folders, notebooks, binders, etc - just general supplies like pencils, markers, etc.  

I also came across these great stamps which I think will tie in nicely to my technology theme.  I can use them when stamping the students' agendas or homework.  They will definitely get a kick out of them!