Tuesday, October 3, 2017

My Fourth Grade Classroom Tour

I hate to admit it but boy have I been putting this post off. I know it is one that many of you have been looking forward to but honestly now that my classroom is set up and functional it's the least of my worries. Now that I am a month (30 days to be exact, but who is counting...) into this school year it is non stop deadlines, planning, and behavior management. In some ways I don't feel like it is fair for me to share this and make it look like I've got it together when it comes to teaching since that is FAR from the case. I also feel like I am definitely not the person who should be giving advice on where things should go or how to navigate your first year since my room is constantly changing and I feel like right now it is survival mode. I also value having Prep In Your Step as an outlet that I can come to when I am so tired of life as a teacher and can escape it for a bit so putting this post up is combining those two things. Regardless, I want you to feel like you get a glimpse at my double life (Hannah Montana can be the blogging creative me while pre-wrecking ball Miley Cyrus can be teacher me) and I know that I'll want to be able to look at these pictures in the future as well.




The one thing I forced myself to keep in mind while preparing my classroom was that I honestly don't know how long I'll be in this field and therefore do not want to have to spend a fortune. It is insane the amount that has to be spent on the bare minimum for a classroom. You are pretty much expected to have all of the things a student could need but are given only a little bit of money from the state and your PTA if you're at a school where that is strong. While it would be so nice to think that I'll be using the things purchased for my classroom until I retire I fully expect myself to do something other than teach in the near future meaning that a lot of the money that went into purchasing supplies and resources for my classroom may not be used by me for all that long. Fortunately there are tons of great teacher re-sale Facebook groups so if I do decide to get out of it I won't be at a total loss. 

Over the summer I created a Go Fund Me just to purchase the books that I was expected to have to line the shelves for my classroom library. Had I not done that I honestly wouldn't have had much back in that area at all. I was blown away at how generous people were to help this endeavor and can honestly say that the classroom library is one of my favorite areas. For other supplies I shopped deals on Amazon's prime day, purchased most of my organizational stuff from Dollar Tree, and got some shelves and book cases at Target. 

In addition to not knowing just how long I'll be teaching this year was a little tricky as well due to the fact that I was a new hire on the fourth grade team and was placed in a brand new classroom meant to be used for kindergarten (hence the refrigerator, huge space, and in classroom bathroom). I am teaching at the same school and on the same grade level as student teaching so it has been nice that there is a lot of familiarity with it all but I had not envisioned myself in a space so large and with so much storage when I was starting with nothing. It would have been nice to not have to buy bookshelves and furniture of that nature but in order for the space to work for fourth grade instead of kindergarten it was necessary. In all I am happy with the way it turned out and the fact that while I did have to spend a lot of money on the space and supplies I tried my best not to compare it to what I've seen all over pinterest and instagram. If this year has taught me anything so far (and you can take my word for it that I've already had a lot to learn) I think being cautious as well as conscious of what to spend money on for a classroom has been a big part. So to avoid me rambling any longer here is a look at the space. 

*The pictures were taken on two separate occasions so that may be why some of the stuff looks a little different but hopefully it gives you a feel of the room either way! I also feel like it's hard to get a full feel of the room from the photos but each area is kind of separated so maybe you'll be able to imagine it all together! 


































Products Used:

All of the labels, posters, and pennants I made on my own to save some money. If you'd be interested in them let me know and I can try to maneuver teacher's pay teachers. 


monogrammed chair in library // library rug // book banner (the one thing I tried to figure out listing on Teacher's pay Teachers) // striped laundry bin for reading cushions 


If you made it through all of those pictures and my rambling at the beginning of this post you deserve  a big round of applause. If there is anything specific that you are curious about where I found it or what I use it for please do not hesitate to comment and I'll try to send the information your way. Additionally, some of y'all have been requesting more content related to teaching and I'd love to hear more specifically what you would like to see. Like I mentioned, I am far from a pro but if I can help anyone who may feel as overwhelmed as I have in the process I'd be interested in sharing what you may be interested in seeing. 

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