Classroom Set-Up Pictures!

Here it is - finally finished! My room makes me so happy every time I walk in my door! This is a picture-intensive post, so I'll try not to add too much text (but forgive me if I go on and on - I'm really proud of my room - everything in it is completely me!)

Here's the view from the front of the room. I tried to keep everything kid-height since I'm teaching pre-k this year.The caddies on the table match the colors on my carpet so the kids know which row to sit in (except orange is yellow - I couldn't find an orange caddy, but I love these so much I don't think I'll ever change!)

 When the kids came to our Meet The Teacher the night before our first day, they found their star on my door. That was their first hint that we had an outer space theme going! Each time we enter or leave the room the kids try to find their star, which is helping with name recognition!

Do you see the focal point of my room?! That gorgeous Solar System Space Canopy in my Reading Center! Everyone who comes in immediately comments on it, and the kids gravitated towards it first thing!

Here it is close up! I received the Space canopy, blue pillows and inflatable space shuttles from Oriental Trading Company!

The kids love it! The pillows are washable, so I don't have to worry about them harboring any "friends" and the canopy is just the right size for3-4 children to hang out and read together.I'm currently hanging it from my ceiling, but I have a plan in place to mount it from the wall kind in case the Fire Marshall objects.

Doesn't that corner look so inviting?!

Here's the view of the opposite corner - our Pet Center in the back right, our Listening Center along the back wall and our new Lego Table!

I have a lot of books on cd that have felt pieces, so I placed a felt board at Listening Center so the kids can follow along with the pieces as they listen. Those number posters are from my Outer Space Classroom Poster Pack!

 

Here's our Pet Center, with our hermit crabs! The kids are fascinated by them! I'll post more about them soon!

 

Notice the clothespin on the bottom of the sign? It helps me manage how many kiddos are at each center! I put 2-4 stickers on the bottom of each center sign depending on the maximum number of kiddos I wanted at each center. Each child places their clothespin on a star when they go to a center. If all the stars are covered, the center is full and they have to go to a different one! The signs all say what the child is learning at that center - great for parents and admin who may not know the benefits of "play"!

 

 

This is our far wall, with ancient blinds that no longer open. Perfect for hanging my alphabet line at a more child-friendly height!

I used clothespins to attach the Alphabet cards to the blinds - now I can remove them easily - in case I want to spotlight a letter during a lesson!

Here is the opposite side of the room - complete with my husband who gave up a Sunday afternoon to come put that horseshoe table together for me! Notice that our easel, sand & water table and art cart all have wheels? In order to maximize our tight space they're usually pushed against the cupboards, but are pulled out for center time!

We have our color posters by the sink.

 

 

Do you see where I spilled water on part of my clip chart and the ink bled? It was right before our Meet The Teacher event and I wanted it on the wall to explain to parents, so I laminated it and threw it up there anyways. Amazingly, it's not bothering me as much as I thought it would!

Here is our Block Center - the rug was $15 at Ikea! Right now they're only playing with the train, until we get used to doing Centers and I pull out more items for them to play with. The train was also an Ikea purchase! Just $14!

 

This is our Dramatic Play Center - right now it's a kitchen - with just a few dishes for the start of the year. I'll add food once we get our procedures down! Dolls will come out after that. The wooden table and chairs were also from Ikea - $20 for the set!

 

This is our Writing Center. Right now we/re just using dry erase markers and boards. Don't you love the rocket ship boards? I was so excited to get those since they matched my theme AND were on clearance at Learning Resources. Later on we'll pull out the paper, cards, pencils, smelly markers etc.

 

Our Science Center is just 2 shelves for now. I got some great magnet kits for later on. Right now the kids love looking at everything with the magnifying glasses! Those birds play actual recordings of real bird and I have a dried deer antler on the top shelf too.

This is our Math Center. This darling is making a pattern with mini erasers.

Also at Math Center at these adorable ice cream bowls and pom poms. We're practicing counting and color recognition with them. I have eaten about 100 pretend bowls of ice cream and its only day 4!

Right now we only have our easy puzzles out - and they're still hard for some of my younger kiddos. I do love that my two Shure brand puzzles each come with a book!

For the first few days we didn't have internet access, so these Jack Hartmann videos saved my sanity. Since I'm in a new room I have a new laptop so I have nothing downloaded on it yet - these videos were our brain breaks while doing the inevitable waiting as schedules changed and things like lunch ran late!

How cute is this?! This is my son Joshua, showing how I took my pre-k kiddos' picture on the first day. The background is an Outer Space tablecloth and he's wearing an Astronaut Helmet , also from Oriental Trading!

Whew! Lots of pictures, right? I tell you, I am so happy with my room, and my little pre-k kiddos are absolutely precious! It's only day 4 but I can already tell we're going to have a blast this year!

(Disclosure: I was provided products by Oriental Trading Company in return for my honest review. This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the products listed above. I was provided the samples free of charge by the company and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation was received for this review.)