It's beginning to look a lot like...

...A CLASSROOM!!!!

YAY!  After quite a few hours my big, empty, new room is starting to feel like a classroom!  There is finally a semblance of organization and I think I've decided where I want most stations to go.  Praise the Lord for that!

I took a few pictures today of my favorite things so far.

1)  I hung my In This Classroom poster.  These have been popping up all over the place, like here and here just to name a couple of my favorites.  Well I looked at some online and thought hmm, I bet I can make that.  Which can sometimes be famous last words but I like the way my version turned out.  I edited the list items to be exactly what I wanted, used some butcher paper and a paint pen, laminated it, and VOILA!  In this picture it wasn't quite smoothed out yet so the laminate is reflecting the light--sorry!  Overall, I LOVE it!

2)  I got my table/desk skirted!  There is absolutely NO closed storage in this room (unless you count filing cabinets and I don't) to stash stuff in.  I am all about tubs and organization but really, a girl needs some room to throw extra things.  I bought some cute discount fabric (it's black with white swirls and pretty flowers, but hard to see in the pics) hemmed it to the right height, and velcroed it to the table.  VOILA storage and cute room decor, all in one!

Yeah, just ignore all the clutter and random things everywhere.  I was unpacking...

And does the inside of this not just scream FORT and make you want to grab a good book and crawl in???

Oh well, under the table is now full of storage totes and random goodies. 

3)  I made a birthday display!  I saw inspiration on pinterest newest addiction and just couldn't help myself.  I once again used butcher paper, cut some letters and circles, and laminated the whole thing together.  I then attached some ribbons and hung it on the wall!  During the first few days of school I plan to have kiddos write their names and birthdays on paper circles which I will simply paper clip to the ribbons.  Easy, quick, and definitely re-usable year after year.  Yes, cutting all those letters got a little tedious, but nothing some Pandora radio and sonic happy hour can't help with  :)  It was worth it...

4)  I found a solution for at least part of my limited white board issue.  Last year my room had TONS of white board space, which you can see in this post if you so desire.  In the second picture of that post you can see my front board.  On the right side I sectioned off some space and wrote the daily agenda, homework assignment, and necessary supply list.  I LOVED having my supply list on the board.  Students knew exactly what supplies to gather and/or get out without having to ask.  I also set up the expectation that these supplies be out and ready by the time the tardy bell rang--wonderful!  I knew I needed somewhere to post necessary supplies that allowed me the flexibility to change it daily, but I didn't have board space.  Here is my solution...

Do you see them??  Those two vertical lines are actually ribbons attached to the bottom of two small printed and laminated pieces of paper that say ALGEBRA NEEDS: and GEOMETRY NEEDS:  And yes, while we're discussing this picture, that is my ENTIRE white board area in the whole room.  gasp.  faint.  bleh.  Outside of the ribbons are a permanent coordinate grid (right) and polar graph (left).  Oh well, c'est la vie.  

Anyway, back to my genius plan.  Ha!  I brainstormed the most commonly used supplies that I found myself writing almost daily last year and printed these on pieces of paper.  Again through the laminator so they hold up all year cross your fingers.  These lovely jewels can easily be paper clipped to the ribbon and interchanged as needed.  

So the necessary supplies are still posted for both class, easily visible at the front of the room, and I have given up almost no board space.  Also, since there is nothing tying these beauties to the white board I could move them to a wall.  But, confession, most of the wall space is gone.

Whew, that was quite a list.  Anyone still reading this far?  I think I'll call it a night...  Have a great rest of the week and remember to smile at someone random  :)