It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s back to school time… well almost! My students don’t arrive until next week, but I have been busy in my classroom preparing our space and prepping my lessons for the next few weeks. I want to make it clear that I only redecorate my classroom once every 2 years… and it just so happens that this is the year to do it. To read more about why I only decorate on school years ending in an even number, click HERE.
Pinterest, party stores, home trends, and of course, my personal budget all come into play when I start to plan the concept for my classroom theme/ décor. I have been planning this classroom for a while now and I began prepping materials during my summer vacation. I buy my décor supplies when my budget allows – and when items go on sale! Amazon Prime Free Delivery helps, too! (But more on THAT a little later on in my post!).
I have ALWAYS been a fan of 2 things when it comes to decorating my classroom. #1 is polka dots. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE me some polka dots! #2 is any décor from SchoolGirl Style. So needless to say, I incorporated both into my décor this year.
As you can see, my work was cut out for me! That is why I tend to go into my classroom a few days before I am actually required to go back to work. I like to be able to spend the few pedagogical days that I have before my students come in to plan lessons and have meetings with my team members. With that being said, when I did go in early, I didn’t spend entire days in my classroom. I came in for 45 minutes one day and a few hours the next day. Just those extra hours were enough to alleviate the back to school frenzy that happens when teachers report back to work at the end of August.
Those desks! Ugh! How I do not like those desks. They are big, bulky, and take up way more space than I would like. However, thanks to the growing school population, our computer lab was converted into a classroom over the summer. That meant the tables that the old desktop computers were on were no longer needed (but no worries! We now have a travelling cart full of brand new laptops!) So, when I expressed my desire to give up my desks in exchange of the old computer room tables, my principal was more than willing to accommodate my wishes!
Seeing these tables and matching chairs made me so happy and made me want to set up my room as quickly as possible! I couldn’t wait to see the finished product!
I had decided over the summer to go with a cactus theme. I found a wonderful clipart set at The Hungry JPEG with cute little cacti from which I began my design ideas. I started by creating my Cactus Calendar Glam which you can find HERE. I made this Calendar Glam to fit the Deluxe Calendar Pocket Chart from Carson Dellosa. You can see that product HERE.
The poms and border can be found in my Amazon Store by clicking the link HERE.
Once this board was complete, I was on a roll! I continued to use the same colour scheme for the poms, borders, and cacti throughout my room. I made a coordinating timetable, classroom rules display, and name cards for the desks and cubby areas to sprinkle the cactus theme throughout the room.
My new favourite place in my classroom is the Breakfast Bar. Our school is privileged to have the support of Breakfast Club of Canada. That means that every child receives a FREE continental breakfast each morning. This area will be where my students come to pick up their breakfast and where I will grab my coffee when I need a quick pick-me-up! To read about the impact of this program on our students, please click HERE.
I want to give a huge shout out to Joey Udovich for this amazing Door Décor set! You can find this set and many others HERE.
I still have some things I need to add in order for my classroom to be complete. This weekend I will be going to IKEA to grab the KALLAX Shelf Unit for my students to put all their school supplies when they are not in use. I am also waiting on 3 black and white polka dot curtains to hang in order to hide the open storage shelfs in my classroom. I found the perfect ones on Amazon and you can find them HERE. These ones even come with hooks! I’ll be heading to the Dollar Store to get the shower rods to hang them.
The next set of photos give you a real sense of what my students see when they walk around the room. I love ALL THE SPACE that I have now that the desks have been replaced by tables. I love that the room is bright and airy without having to turn on the florescent lights. And of course, I love those polka dots!
Click on any image to see it up close.
And there you have it! My classroom reveal for this year and next year! I can’t wait for my students to see it on Tuesday!
If you like the items that you have seen in these pictures, you can finding them in my Amazon Store. Are you an Amazon Prime Member? If not, you can receive your first month for free, and enjoy perks like free shipping and Prime shopping days! You can sign up now and cancel whenever you like! Use this affiliate link to get Prime for free 1 month!
Have a great day!
[…] Normally at this time of the year, I am busying prepping a blog post highlighting my classroom decor. That will not be happening this year. When we left in March, we were permitted to grab some essential items such as laptops & personal items and only with an appointment. We didn’t have the opportunity to take down most of our stuff because we thought the closure of the school would be temporary. So, my classroom decor will remain the same as it was last year. You can see what I did HERE. […]