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Kindergarten Rainbow Classroom Reveal

It's starting to come together!  I love rearranging my classroom for the beginning of the year.  It's all about solving problems I ran into last year, and incorporating all the new ideas I've learned over the summer!

Problem last year:  I had this rainbow storage shelf over my lego table.  It also happened to be in the path where my kids lined up.  Without thinking they would "hang" on it, and a couple of the bars were cracked.  Trying this new spot!  The two shelves on the side hold crayons and markers.
Love, love, love my stage!  It is also storage!  The two tall parts of the stage are on hinges and have a ton of storage space in them.  I finally have a place to shove all those wipes, kleenex boxes, baggies, and extra supplies parents bring me!
My small group corner.  Getting it all organized for my Science of Reading small groups I've been working on all summer.
Trying something new with my calendar time this year.  Making it more like a timeline.  It has all the birthdays, early out days, and holidays already in.
This is kinda messy, but shows off my flexible seating storage and the "tall" seats that are a favorite.
I love chalkboards.  :)
My new loft is actually a bunkbed off amazon.
I'm doing so much more with playdoh this year after an amazing session from the online Elevate Conference sessions this summer!
Yup.  I have a rainbow order problem.  I admit it.  I embrace it.
Moved my art center this year.  Still have some organizing to do.
My writing center.  Waiting for all the "Family Word Page" posters my kids will bring in!
Lots of name game activities for the beginning of the year.

Kindergarten Classroom Stage

I was just thinking I never actually posted pictures of my finished classroom stage!  I fell in love with a picture on Pinterest of a classroom stage, and begged Christopher to make me one like it.  He did it even better...because the tall side pieces are storage.  Anyone that knows me knows how much I need more storage in my classroom!  I'll start the year with a place to shove all the school supplies, kleenexes and Clorox wipes parents bring in on Meet the Teacher Night!

This is what I saw on pinterest: 
 

And this is what Chris made!


The kids can reach the whiteboard easily, I sit on the tall edge to get out of the way when teaching with my slides, but sit on the lower one to read to students.  The kids LOVE to get a clipboard and sit or lie on the stage to do their work.  It's my new favorite space in my classroom.



Kindergarten Classroom Reveal

I love the start of school.  It is my absolute favorite time of the year!  With the craziness of the past few years, it has been especially fun getting my classroom together for a year that feels a lot more "normal".  We have our tables back,  I'm starting to understand Illustrative Math a little better, and I'm learning new things with Science or Reading that are blowing me away!  All of that is making me really excited about the year!

Here are a few of my favorite spaces in my classroom this year:

My Focus Wall

I've done this so many ways, but I wanted my new sound wall to be near my group time area, so I moved my loft over and created this space from an old chalkboard and a few things I found at Hobby Lobby.  I think it will be easy to change each week, and it makes me happy when I look at it.  :)


Flexible Seating

I jumped onto the whole "Flexible Seating" bandwagon a few years ago.  I don't hear about it nearly as much anymore, but I tell anyone who visits my classroom, it is the BEST thing I've ever done for my classroom.  It helps my kindergartners become more self aware, it allows me to have less tables in my classroom, it gives everyone what they need for a work space without making anyone feel singled out, but most of all, it is the best classroom management tool I've ever had!  Everyone wants to make their own choices in seating, and never wants to have the teacher pick where they need to sit because they aren't making good choices!  

My Loft and "Calming Cave"

I lost my amazing loft a couple of years ago when we had to redesign my whole classroom with students sitting 3 feet apart.  I have to tell you.  All the anxiety of that year, and all the hard things I had to do, losing that loft made me sob like a baby.  Now that things are starting to get a little more "normal", my wonderful principal bought be this bunkbed off of Amazon for my classroom.  It's the perfect size.  This year I have my dollhouse up on top.  The lower spot was named by a student last year "The Calming Cave".  How cute is that little couch!  It was my prime day deal this summer.  Love it!

Book Shelf

Yes my books are in rainbow order.  Yes, that's weird.  Yes I can find the book I want (most of the time).  The black buckets are filled with the books I read to my kids each week according to themes.  The rest of my books I grouped as colors.  I actually do better that way.  Curious George-yellow  Rainbow fish-blue.  it's one of the ways my brain works best.  Also, it makes me happy when things are in rainbow order.

Science Table and Clipboards

Created this new little flex seating space this year.  Inside those cube seats are extra markers, pencils, and gluesticks.  I'm starting the year with my light table in the science center.  The clipboards are from Really Good Stuff.  I did apartment inspection for a whole day of my summer in order to earn the money to buy it, but I wanted it that bad!  We use it a lot with my flexible seating, and later in the year when they are following along with our morning meeting on paper.

Fundations Supplies and Crayons

I think every teacher I know was haunting the dollar section at target for these amazing containers.  I even had my family hunting for them!  I ended up trading some blue ones for some white ones with my teacher bff and we were both happy.  They PERFECTLY hold all my Fundations white boards, magnet boards, erasers and markers.  We used them this week and it was great!  I'm loving my new zipper bags for my Fundations supplies.  I was worried the kids would struggle putting them in the bag, but they did it easily the first day!  

Marker Cakes and Supplies

My stepdad made me my "marker cakes" years and years ago, and they are still one of my favorites every year.  One of my former students, who is now an 8th grader, stopped by this week and the first thing he said was "Do you still use marker cakes?"  
The lids are glued inside the holes and we just switch out the markers when they dry up.  My markers last much longer and I don't have lidless markers on the floor!

Lego Table/Work Space

This is my lego table that also works as a flexible seating work space when it is not center time.  By the way, I took one of the chairs out, so now there are 3.  It was too crowded.
I love my greatest teacher award. :)

Bulletin Board/Dramatic Play

I had each student decorate the first letter of their name for our bulletin board during meet the teacher.  Dramatic Play area starts with babies!  It has been really popular so far!

Morning Meeting Space/Stage


My amazing fiancee is building me a really sturdy stage for my classroom.  This part is only the first section of the stage.    My morning meeting area is always evolving.

Hallway Bulletin Board

I'm horrible at bulletin boards.  This year I'm trying something new.  My hallway bulletin board is a timeline of our year.  I've put a label with the date for each week along with a "polaroid" of our Monday book we will read.  I plan on adding a photo from the classroom to each square.  Yay!  It's done!  It goes all the way through April when alphabet countdown starts, then I do something similar for alphabet countdown.

Locker Tags

Love this clipart I got off etsy.  Peekaboo Kids


Art Center

I spent way too much time one August afternoon organizing crayons and markers in these Target containers (on top my art shelf).  There is no way the kids are going to keep them that way, but it makes me happy for now.  LOL

Sensory Table

ABC noodles to start the year!
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