My 2017-2018 Classroom Space

I’ve long been inspired by the Montessori and Reggio Emilia approaches to education — particularly by the attention devoted to setting up the classroom space with intention and simplicity. I’ve tried harder than ever before to keep some of those ideas in mind while setting up my classroom space. This is my favorite set-up of the four years I’ve lived in this 2nd grade room. Things are “zoned” this year into four areas — the library/writing area, the science corner, the geography/cultural space, and the math section.

Here are some photos to show you how things look!

The doorway to my classroom features our class mascot “Q.”

Our writing and grammar area. The little drawers contain parts of speech sort cards that I purchased from a Montessori company over the summer.

Our classroom library! I’ve finally got my books under control this year. I still might have too many, but the baskets can actually accommodate them all.

Reading buddies and cubby seats in the library. The kids ALWAYS end up sitting in our extra cubbies, so I’ve gone ahead and made them official with pillows.

A more zoomed-out view of our library section and our “storage” hallway area.

The Peace Corner is possibly my favorite spot in the classroom. I hope that my students will soon be able to use this space independently to monitor and process their own moods and emotions.

Our STEM corner. I am SO fortunate to have received a grant this summer to get a 3-D printer.

Our fish miraculously survived a summer at my house with two very intrigued cats.

Our bird-watching station is brand new this year. I’m hoping we’ll have some birds soon!

My art supply shelf is a major improvement over the set-up that I had last year.

Our geography/culture corner. I’m excited about the incidental learning opportunities built into this space.

My cosmic address boxes — inside each box are materials pertaining to each of the settings.

A view of my newly-painted large wall. The lefthand side is for students to post work that they want to share and the righthand side is our “Wonder Wall,” for posting our weekly wonders.

Our family photos shelf. I can’t wait to fill the frames with photos of my students’ families. I think it makes the space feel warmer and more welcoming.

This is our wonder workshop inquiry shelf — students will store materials for self-driven projects in the containers.

My milk crate stools have survived their first full year of student use!

One of my math shelves — finally organized in a way that makes sense and leaves the materials accessible.

Our yoga mats and my teeny, tiny teacher space.

The rug, in the heart of our classroom, is where we’ll spend extensive time this year gathered as a classroom community.

The reaction to the classroom space from the students has been great thus far — they’ve treated things with care and have been fascinated to explore the many nooks and crannies in the space. I can’t wait to watch how they make the space their own!

Norah September 2, 2017 / 8:25 am

Beautiful! I can just imagine how much the children love being there. It’s very warm and welcoming.

- Cultivating Questioners September 4, 2017 / 11:39 am
  
  Thank you! My students and families have reacted very positively to the space thus far. I’ve loved seeing how comfortable they are able to make themselves in the nooks and crannies of the room.