A Fresh Start

I had a great time redoing my room this year. Last year, I had four days available to work on my room. And we all know that is not enough time. As soon as we were given permission to get into our rooms this year, I was there! I had been wanting to do a few new things, like find a new floor plan and redo the color scheme. I still have some projects that are incomplete but so far, it's going well.

I wish that I had gotten a picture of the room before I started pulling the things off the window counter and unrolling carpets. But, I didn't think about it until the next day. *shrugs*

My son and his friend hung all the bulletin board paper. Yay for me! I'm 5'2" and always have to use chairs. They're nearly 6 feet and didn't require any chairs or ladders. I was impressed that they had it all done in half the time it would have taken me.

This is my ELA center. I inherited the shelf on the right. It was white last year. To give it some help, I attempted to put some contact paper on it. It did little to improve it's looks. But I didn't have a lot of time. So, the shelf remained yuck the entire year. :(

This is the shelf now. I chose four colors that I am using in the room to spray the inside of the shelves. For the trim, I opted to use colored duct tape. It was faster than trying to hand paint the trim. Then, I recycled the left over roll of contact paper from last year to cover the top and back. The design was faux marble and added a classy touch to the now colored shelf.

My calendar board. I ended up not liking the kidney table there. It didn't allow enough traffic room.

My desk, the new bulletin board colors, and the awful black file cabinet!

This shelf is contains centers for Fine Motor activities. There is a shelf behind it that has the tubs with rice and water. I also keep the broom, dust pan and art easel back there.

ELA center

I elected to not put cushion on the crates. Mostly because I ran out of time. I thought the missing plush was going to be something that the kids would be discouraged by, but as it turns out they don't miss it. Plus, without the cushion, the crates that are in front of the board are perfect for a step-up to allow the kids to reach the interactive board.

The calendar and listening center. Underneath the yellow fabric is the kitchen center. I need to get some baskets for the shelf. I plan to use it for the books I am reading to the class.

My husband Phil gave me the big Monet print. I love it! For those that may be wondering, the reason why the bulletin boards are still semi-empty is because as the kids learn new letters we put them on the board. They show so much excitement when a new letter goes up. When I did this last year, the kids were thrilled when we put the last letter up in March.

The laundry basket on the floor had just been emptied. I used labels for sorting school supplies during "Meet the Teacher". The parents and kids were great!

The Math area is to the left. It was partially complete in this picture.

The computer center. I am going to incorporate some of the ideas from Daily 5 this year. I put up the red bulletin board to enforce Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Vocabulary. I am still trying to figure out how to simplify it for Pre-K.

My desk area. I am satisfied with it. I am also happy with the way the black file cabinet came out. I still need to cover the bottom drawer with lime green paper. But other than that, the colors look great. It's an older cabinet and in order to use it for files I'd have to buy file folder hangers. Instead, I decided to use it to store baby wipes and the extra clothes for the children.

My "How Do I Get Home?" ribbon. The kids have matching tags on their back packs. :)


This is the room so far. It's a work in progress.