My Renovated Classroom

This is the view when you walk in the door. My walls are now "Pecan Sandy" instead of "Battleship Gray." That's my new birthday desk straight ahead. It's much smaller than the great wooden box of a thing I used to have. I believe it will be better for working one on one with students. They can just slide their chair across from me and we can work together. Behind the desk is my locker full of teacher's editions, resources, candy, etc. I have some of my favorite quotes above the white board.

If you look to your right when you come in the door, you'll see my one lone bulletin board. "Think Outside the Box" it says. The corner there has a world history time line at the top, various posters about Ancient Egypt, Rome, etc. and a world map. I have some art from Cambodia and Africa as well as my llama and rainstick.

If you look to the left this is a corner with my aide's desk and a table for student supplies, information and the place to turn in work, etc.

From the front of the room, at the white board, this is the view I see. The wall o' hooks for bookbags and coats. And my new "Habits of Successful Student Leaders" wall. I got some of the suggestions from Ron Clark's book "The Essential 55" and I invented some of my own. The habits include "know all the names of the teachers in the school and greet them by name" "if someone drops something and it's close to you, pick it up and give it to them" "when someone is talking to you, look them in the eye."

I added "practice good personal hygiene" and "practice inclusion not exclusion." If I can get 6th graders to practice some of these habits, I will feel successful!

(Those 2 little girls in the photo came in to get a Coke and they were impressed with my autographed poster of Toby Mac)

I have to add 8 more desks to this room. It's going to be crowded. I will hold as many classes outside as I can as weather permits, just to be able to move around and breathe.

As I look back over the photos, I realize that you can't see my poster of Michelangelo's "Creation." Well, it's on the the left wall when you walk in.

Well, that's the tour of my classroom, now you see the place where I will spend about 9 hrs a day, 5 days a week for the next 10 months.