Ready, Set, Grow

We’ve been working for weeks to get our classroom just the way we want it.  We had more than 100 boxes and an empty classroom to merry together in hopes of creating a welcoming learning environment.  It’s a little like setting up a nursery.  Once you learn you will be a parent you go about collecting the necessary items to sustain life for an under 10 pound being who will immediately take over your life.  You put decorative stuffed animals in the crib(even though you know they can’t stay), you hang little clothes in the closet, and line up diapers.  You walk in that room and anticipate all that becoming a parent is going to mean.  Then it happens.  You bring home your newborn and that room never looks the same.  More clothes are in the laundry basket then on the hangers, the crib is devoid of anything cute, and the stench of dirty diapers permeates the room. 

We are in the anticipatory stage…

Everything is just where it should be.  We’ve been buying supplies all summer, and they now sit perfectly organized at tables and on shelves.

    Glue sticks are new, scissors are washed, and crayons are pointy.  The absolute best part of getting ready for school…new crayons.  Who doesn’t love a new crayon?  It practically begs you to create your best work ever.

No way I could leave out this picture.  See these markers?  ALL THE RED ONES IN THE RED CUP AND THE BLUE ONES IN THE BLUE CUP!  That will never, ever, happen again after next week.  Seems easy enough, use a marker and put it back in the right color cup.  Doesn’t matter I tell ya, it will be a hot mess within 3.2 seconds of little people getting their hands on them. 

The book baskets are evenly spaced on the shelf all the exact same distance from the edge.  Be still my beating heart.

Yes, our room is ready.  Every piece of furniture was placed with a learning goal in mind.  All the shelves were filled to meet the needs of our teaching and learning.  Nothing was placed without thought(except that smiley face on the wall Mrs. Lane HAD to keep).  We have sat in that room and anticipated all this year will bring.  We know what we’ll do differently and what we’ll keep the same.  We’ve made copies, cut paper, written names on bus tags, and talked over our first days. 

All we need are backpacks hanging,

and little bodies filling the chairs.

For the next few days we will savor the organization of our room.  This isn’t the picture of learning though.  Learning is messy.  Life is messy.  We know that, and we eagerly accept that!

   

On September 4th and 5th, we begin our journey together:)  Happy last days of summer…