The Big Classroom Reveal!

Even though school has technically begun, I still wanted to have a classroom reveal. Before we get into the good stuff, I need to disclaim that I pour my heart and soul into my classroom. I spend 5 days and 40+ hours a week in this room. It would be insanely hard for me to work and enjoy coming to work if it did not feel like an extension of my home. This career is my passion so I enjoy buying things for my job. It’s more than ok if you choose not to spend money on your classroom! There are moments where I realize I can’t either and it’s OK!!

The Process of Moving

Now, let’s get in to it! I was informed that the room I was moving in to was less than ideal. “Disgusting” was thrown around a lot. The previous teacher had been in that room for 7 years and was left everything from the teacher before him. So needless to say, it was hoarder central. We had three days to start moving and cleaning before we officially had to start back. The first day was all about bringing everything I had at home and bringing everything from my old room to my new room.

Side rant… Let me stop right now and tell you the most LIFE CHANGING purchase that made this move as easy as it could be: a wagon. I have no words for how much I love this wagon. Many made fun of this purchase until they were asking me to use it for their move. I’m sure this is not a new thing for many of you but it was a life saver for me. I ordered mine on Amazon but I’m sure you can find them elsewhere!

So everything was going great with the move until… the elevator broke. This put a huge bump in the road and now it was time to go up and down the stairs with all the tiny things I had left. It really only became a problem because the teacher moving out of my new room refused to move without the elevator. So I was stuck with everything in my new room. Not to mention I couldn’t put anything in the hallway because that was in the process of getting waxed. It. Was. Overwhelming.

What Everyone Dreads

Everyone talks about the horrors of moving classrooms but you never fully understand until you have to do it yourself. I have never felt so defeated and overwhelmed during a process like I did throughout this one. I felt like the three additional days accomplished absolutely nothing. I worked 10-12 hour days and would leave never feeling good about my progress.

It’s insanely hard figuring out what’s worth saving and where you’re going to store everything. The best part about taking everything down and realizing what the previous teacher covered up. In my case, there was years old construction paper on the wall that was covering up ripped drywall. It’s not in my DNA to just cover up a problem so that meant I needed to paint the walls myself. Like I said, this is an extension of my home. I wouldn’t cover it up with poster board in my home, it wasn’t happening in my classroom.

I am so unbelievably thankful for my person (if you haven’t read the importance of having a person, read here) because he would console me every day I came home and felt unaccomplished. He also came in to help me on my first official day back. All while I was in meetings, he was building everything and helping me with the library. When I had a break, he helped me hang up a lot of things on the wall and much more. After his help, I felt SO. MUCH. BETTER! Lesson here: do not be afraid to ask for help. I hated asking and don’t regret it at all.

Finally… The Pictures!

This is the second classroom that I have ever set up. This is the first time I decided to go with a theme. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that all summer I was working on outer space classroom decor so obviously that means my classroom is outer space themed!

Let’s start with the hallway bulletin! The moon is a hot mess and made out of tin foil but I love it nonetheless.

This is the front of my door. I decided to try using contact paper on my door so I could save so time and money using fadeless paper each month!

Inside the Classroom

The backside of my door! I had this mirror last year. The moon dream catcher and stars were ordered on Amazon. I made the tule curtain with fabric from Hobby Lobby, a tube from my new carpets and string!

When you walk in, on the right you have our calendar area. My calendar is from the Target dollar spot a few years ago. I made my own outer space classroom decor calendar set but with the limited time I had, I chose to wait to use it next year! You also see the weather report posters and the extra cards are in the Target dollar spot bins from years ago that are push pinned to the board. The cute table is from Five Below (I wish I grabbed another one to make the surface space bigger). My attendance boards are magnetic sheets that I ordered off Amazon last year. I divided the sections using washi and painters tape! My magnetic numbers were ordered off Etsy. The two wall decor displays were from TJ Maxx last year.

This is my designated reading area! In this picture you can find my word wall headers (held up with magnetic tape), birthday display, and schedule cards. I did create an outer space themed alphabet set but I loved my alphabet so much last year that I decided to save myself some time and keep it again this year!

This is my classroom library! I’m so excited to have a rug in here this year (purchased from IKEA). My “class leaders” display with from Teach Create Motivate. The cute moon mirror and pillows (on the left) are from Five Below. The canopy (ordered on Amazon) has glow in the dark stars on it and I’m obsessed! It’s attached to the ceiling with a command hook. I have a huge laundry basket (bought from Ross last year) full of reading cushions that I received through a DonorsChoose grant!

I like to keep this wall as bare as possible until the students and I start working with curriculum because this is where I will keep anchor charts and posters for them to reference. The WRITE and READ blocks are from the Target dollar spot last year as well as the pencil banner. I used vinyl to spell out “Create” on it! I have my wire “turn in bins” from IKEA on the shelf as well as a clip strip for papers with no name (Target dollar spot last year).

This is always a work in progress because I am always trying to figure out what works for me. I am so glad that I don’t have a desk because I love giving 95% of the room to the kiddos. I will be doing more posts about how I organize and set up my corner. You can find my rolling cart labels and teacher tool box labels in my teacher corner for sure!

This back wall of my classroom is my math area. All my whole group lessons will be here. My focus wall is close to my desk so I can display what we will be learning within each unit. I created my gorgeous number line and number posters and am really obsessed with how it came out. I have star lights on top of my board and LED color changing lights on the bottom (both ordered off Amazon). The growth mindset display is from Teach Create Motivate as well.

This is a new area for me! Last year I had to really teach SEL which is something I never really thought I needed to do so explicitly. Because there were so many issues, I wanted to be better about giving students a designated spot for them to calm down. I used the rug that I had in my room last year. The round pillow and lava lamp is from Five Below. The cart was given to me by a friend and I used vinyl to label it. The small table is from IKEA. The HUGE puppy was won for me from a birthday years ago. I did buy fidgets from Amazon to put in a bin for students. I also got all the signage ideas from The Perfect Blend (I made everything myself so it matched my themed).

This is the last of my room! I absolutely loved having fake plants in my room last year and my students did too. I had all of these and though it didn’t match my outer space theme, I figured it would still look awesome for the science and social studies area. The top garlands are from Hearth and Home at Target. The other plants were left by the previous teacher in my old room. The blue mailboxes were ordered on Amazon. As you can see, the closets are a HOT MESS! I only have open storage so there’s no hiding that and that’s something that bothers me because I hate looking at clutter but there are some things that just have to be.

That is the end of my classroom reveal! It was an insane process and journey for me. I’m pretty proud of how it came out since so much blood, sweat and tears went into it. I will be showing more detailed posts about how I organize myself and my students soon! Until then friends!

Interested in my classroom decor set? You can find the BUNDLE with free updates and any new products added after you purchase here!