Classroom Digs/Now Teach!

Hello friends! Today will feature an update on my classroom digs.. as well as a few teacher organizational tips! My first blogger oops! came in the form of saving my post last night instead of posting it! FAIL!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to continue Teacher Week!! Aren't you just loving getting to know more about all of your favorite bloggers and all of the ideas flowing around?

So... I bring to you a small update on my classroom digs (I'm not ready to show you my room yet ;) ), which also happens to be a sneak peek at my Tips and Tricks post later in the week!

Here is a before-ish picture of one of the bookshelves I inherited from my mom several years ago. I forgot to take before pictures until I have already begun! This poor little shelf has seen better days. It's been through years of use in my mom's office, and then has travelled through 5 move-ins and 4 move-outs from my classroom, and don't even get me started about 3 years of 28+ kids each year loving on this thing! Notice the peeled off finish and exposed plywood?

Here is the start of the makeover! I'm not going to tell you what material I used to make this over yet.... that comes on Friday's Tips and Tricks post!! However, here is my mid point... where I began to question what I was thinking when I started this little makeover!

 

And... the finished product!! A Dr. Seuss-inspired bookshelf for $6.00!! :)

 

 

I can't wait to get back into my classroom tomorrow to load this puppy with my kiddos Read to Self tools!

As for today's organizational tip... you already know I'm still working feverishly to get my room set up by Monday! I'm hoping to have a classroom reveal by early next week! Check back next week for more organizational tips :)

I will share that organization is HUGE for me.. I'm a little obsessed with storage containers of any kind.. so I have a plethora of them in my classroom! My advice for new teachers is this...

1. Get organized and stay organized! Don't have a huge "Oh, I'll do that later when I have a minute." cuz' let's just be real... that minute never comes! Take 10 minutes every day to take care of the small things before they become big things!

2. Stick to it! It's just like interventions for our kiddos.. give it time to work! Once you have found an organization flow that you're ready to try for the year, stick to it for several weeks! Don't just toss the idea on the first day or week. After a few weeks, if you have stuck to your plan with fidelity and it's still not working, change it! My first year I would spend hours and hours organizing and re-organizing ALL.THE.TIME. trying to get my classroom JUST RIGHT. I didn't just let it live for a bit before changing it!  :)

3. Beg/Borrow/Steal. It's your first year. IT'S YOUR FIRST YEAR! Don't look at other classrooms that seem to come straight off your Pinterest-filled computer screen and compare them to yours. I guarantee that teacher with the awesome classroom you admire is not a first year teacher. Take any handouts you get from other teachers, ask local businesses to donate supplies, borrow from friends/family/neighbors! DO IT! Once you have all of this...

4. MAKE A PLAN! Take some time to sit in your room and just BE. Look around, draw your room out on paper. Create a vision! Arrange and lay your bulletin boards out on the floor before hanging them on your wall!

I look forward to sharing other organizational tips with you in the next several weeks as I am finishing setting up my classroom and getting materials prepared for next year's class!

Don't forget to head over to Blog Hoppin' to check out all of the other AWESOME ideas out there! I'm still working my way through all of the amazing classroom set-up linky's! See you tomorrow for "Taming the Wild!"