I know, I know. It's been well over a MONTH since I've posted! Shame on me. But in my own defense, I've been exhaustively busy. However, what little free-time I've had outside of work has been devoted to something very worth while and necessary. Since my last post, I've scrubbed my classroom clean, organized, painted, and organized some more. In addition, I've also moved into my new home which brings a whole new slew of tasks that need to be done.
Finally, I'm back on track with my classroom. Before I show you everything I've got going on, I wanted to give you a bit of a sneak peek and show you what I'm using as my foundation for my classroom - a focus wall!
Here is what the focal point of my classroom looked like on the last day of school, before the previous teacher had everything moved out. This is the first wall you see upon entering the room.
Just your average middle school classroom. However, it's very large and has ample amount of storage cupboards - four for my own use, and a giant sliding shelf unit for curriculum tools. I also have two large waist-high counters with cupboards but I'm still working out what needs to go where.
At first, I was a bit overwhelmed. Where do you begin? Then I etched out a plan. I wanted everything in the room to be very "matchy-matchy" since it is such a large room. I don't want it to over-stimulate my students but still want it to feel comfortable and homey. So, I started with a color scheme. There are a million varieties to choose from, and none that I saw on other blogs really sparked my imagination. Our main school color is red, so I thought I would incorporate it into my color scheme. The last thing I want to do is paint a giant wall red (a color known to cause anger or excitement - NOT good for middle schoolers :] ).
Calm and relaxing. Yes, your light bulbs are probably going off - blue! I decided to go with a teal/aqua and red color scheme. Very popular in the crafting world as of late. I ended up choosing the exact hue by looking for bulletin board trimmers. I found a pretty teal blue trimmer and a red to match. It was as easy as bringing a sample of the bulletin board trimmer to the local hardware shop and having the color matched.
But I didn't stop there. I wanted my blue wall to pop. It needed some excitement and a focal point. Instead of explaining it, I'll just show you!
Ta-daaa! A lovely hue of blue and a large silhouette of a peaceful tree. It fills up the space nicely and prevents me from having to concoct some sort of wall-art to hang (which would most likely violate a fire code with everything else on the walls). I drew the tree on the wall first, and then painted it solid black. I love it! It was simple enough and didn't cost much - just a night of painting.
Although this was my first major task (of many), it was a great start to my classroom makeover adventure and I already felt I was on to something from the get-go. I've been working hard ever since and have much to share with you!
Keep checking back for updates! The school year will be here before we know it. Whether we're ready or not, here it comes!
:) Emily
