Ideal Classroom

I am excited to be reading Teaching with Intention this summer along with some AMAZING teachers!!  Greg posted on IG a few weeks ago that he was going to reading this book and doing a book study on it and I knew I had to order it!!

I have convinced a few of my coworkers friends that they should read it too, so we are reading it and going to work on our rooms together!!

The first chapter was all about what our ideal classrooms would look like!

I love these questions because it gives me time to reflect on what I want my new classroom to look like this next year.  I had to move out of my classroom that I have been in since 2008, and I moved down the hall.  Next year I will only be teaching math, science, social studies and religion, so that also changes what my room will look like.

I want a room where students are able to move around the classroom to work. I want them to all have places that they enjoy working, and of course it does not have to be at a desk.  Remember, I don't sit at a desk in my house as I am working, so why should they have to?!

I want a room that is decorated not with a bunch of store bought or teacher created resources, but with student work and thinking.  I want them to be able to show what they know, and what they are learning about!

I want the students to be working independently or in their small groups.  I want them to be able to talk with their friends as they work, and to pair share!  I would love for them to be able to expand their thinking by asking each other how they got that answer.

I don't want to be standing in front of the room talking at my students all day.  I don't want to be the only one explaining how to do things, or accomplish tasks.  I want to be able to work alongside my students, encouraging them to try new ways to solve their problems.  I want to be able to work with a student one on one until they are able to master carrying, borrowing, the life cycle of a tree, or a timeline.

I already have some alternative seating in my classroom available to my students. I have desks for them, but I also have stools, high stools, beach chairs and plenty of floor space for them to sprawl out on!

I also already have a lot of space of organizing  my materials, and I think that will be easier when I am now focusing on a few subject areas rather than all of the subject areas.

 I want to continue to work on displaying my student work in a way that is easy to transition from piece to piece so it isn't so long between changing their work out.  Last year I had these awesome clothespin mats, but they were so high, and it was a chore to change their work.  I did change it every few weeks, but it still took a ton of effort.

I need to find better lighting for my classroom.  I have a classroom surrounded by windows, so we typically have a very bright classroom, but I hate dislike turning on the overhead lights.  I need to find some fun lamps and areas to put them so that way there is more light in my room, but it isn't that blinding overhead light.

I also want to work on finding better more efficient ways to organize my materials so that way the students know exactly where things are and aren't still asking in May where to find the stapler.  I promise, it didn't move all year last year.

I am very excited to continue reading this book, and I am hoping to get into my new classroom next week so I can share some pictures of my new room coming to life!!  Hopefully checking out Monday Made It with Tara will also inspire me to try some new things!!

Check out these amazing ladies to link up, or find out what some other AMAZING, INSPIRING and ENCOURAGING teachers are going to be doing to their classrooms this next year!