We’re back for another school year! Here’s hoping you have had a wonderful, restful, and enjoyable summer vacation and are getting into the groove of the new school year and enjoying your new students.
The beginning of this year has been very busy! Our school population has grown and because of that, our school had to expand. Throughout the summer, an extension was built on to my school and I am one of the teachers who got to move into the new space! I knew this move was going to happen in the spring, so I took the end of the year pedagogical days to get rid of things that had been gathering in my old classroom for the past 9 years, pack up what I knew I needed for the new year, and started to think about how I wanted my new room to look.
Normally, I go all out when decorating my classroom but, my thinking has shifted greatly — partly because of the kitchen renovations going on in my home at the moment! Weird, right? My husband and I decided to change up our kitchen and living space for a more streamlined and minimalist look. We are going for soft whites, light grays, and a touch of modern wood in our home. So, imagine my surprise when I arrived in my new classroom to see lots of bright, white walls and flooring as well as wood accents in my room!
This room is a lot smaller and has significantly less storage space than my previous classroom. I had a lot of thinking to do in order to maximize the space and the furniture that I have. Also, I am not allowed to staple, nail, or pin anything into the wall so that also played a part in how I decorated as well.
And here is how it all played out!
I must admit that I was a little scared knowing that I would be moving into a new area of the school but I am very happy with what has been provided for me! I moved my IKEA cubby system into the room since my students use tables and not chairs, and I purchased some Rubbermaid bins that have helped with storing extra supplies and teaching units. As well, I also did a big purging of items and materials that I knew I would no longer be needing. A ,to of new teachers were happy to take them off my hands!
Now that I have chosen to do a very minimal decor, I think I will continue this trend for a while now. I love how the white looks so clean and streamlined and how just a little bit of my favourite polka dots add just the right amount of pattern to the room. And the biggest plus of all is that I didn’t spend a lot of time decorating — which gave me loads more time for planning and prepping curriculum for my new students.
And there you have it! I hope you are all having a wonderful new school year! Stay happy and healthy out there!
Have a great day!
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