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I thought it would be fun to share with you how I got my inspiration for my classroom colour scheme and original setup, so… Here it goes!

My first two years of teaching were at Beechwood Elementary in a Grade 4 Classroom where I was replacing a teacher on a leave of absence. Because it was not my classroom, I did not feel comfortable making changes to the physical setup or the decor. However, I always enjoyed visiting other teacher’s classrooms and taking note of things I loved or things I may eventually want to use when I had my own classroom. My other favourite place to go for inspiration was Pinterest!

The next year, I was lucky to get a tenured track post at Westpark Elementary. I was so incredibly excited! I had heard that it would take YEARS to get an open tenured track post and was beyond thrilled to not only get my first choice, but to also get a TENURED POST my first year on the priority list.

Needless to say, when I got the post I couldn’t wait to take a look at my room. And boy was I in for a surprise… I had an empty room! No furniture, no books, no manipulatives… nothing! I was told it was originally a meeting room and that I would need to make a list of things I would be needing.

​It only took me a few minutes standing in my new room before it hit me. I could make this room my very own. I was handed a blank canvas! Pinterest officially became my BEST FRIEND!

Of all the pins I saved, there was one classroom that truly inspired me. Jamie, author of 2nd Grade Stuff, had a beautifully colour coordinated and organized classroom. I still love looking through the photos.

She was also my inspiration to have the legs of one of my tables shortened. Love it! And it truly does help the kids who have the wiggles.

Gotta love Pinterest! Be sure to check out some of my other favourite classrooms on my Classroom Setup Pinterest Board.

At Christmas, we bought our Christmas Tree from IKEA and got a $20 discount coupon. I was so excited to finally spend it today!

The lighting in my classroom is not ideal. We have fluorescent rectangular ceiling lights that are always slightly humming. Not ideal for a comfortable learning environment… Although I often keep the lights off, it can get a little dark during the winter and on rainy days, so I knew I wanted to buy some lamps.

I had checked with our caretaker about plugging them into power bars in my room and asked another teacher with a Flexible Seating Classroom how she enjoyed her IKEA lamps. She loved them and found it made for a nicer environment as well.

I decided to go with 3 floor lamps ($9.99 each) and 2 table lamps ($6.99 each). I already have one of the table lamps in white and I love it because it’s made of plastic and is very durable. 

I am so excited to bring my new things to school after our March Break! I love IKEA! I think I would like to go back and buy some bed trays for kids to work on the floor, but haven’t quite decided which colour I prefer…

I just love IKEA so much! I always find something great there! Can’t wait to go back!!!

Earlier this year, a new Kindergarten parent was kind enough to offer our school some brand new office furniture for our classrooms… FOR FREE! I was so excited and very happy to have some new pieces for my classroom. My new things arrived in early January and although I knew that I would have to thin things out eventually, I wanted to try everything out first before making a decision. I got 2 small round tables (they seat 4 students, but with their work out I find 3 is better), a large black bookshelf and a trapezoidal table.

It was our school’s open house yesterday and so I used this as an opportunity to clear out some of the furniture ad make more space in my classroom! At this point, I was finding my classroom to be quite cramped which was affecting the way the class as a whole was functioning.

Here is what was in my room before I thinned out:

• 2 large couches
• 1 love-seat couch
• an old fashioned desk
• 7 regular desks
• 1 standing desk
• 1 bean bag chair
• 1 low round table with cushions
• 1 small plastic Ikea table with stools
• 1 long table with chairs
• 1 small coffee table

PLUS… all the new things

• 2 small round tables with 3 chairs each
• 1 pentagonal table with 3 chairs

And this doesn’t include my bookshelves , teachers desk, filing cabinets and other storage pieces. Needless to say it was TOO MUCH!

My class is so much more open and welcoming. I have less bulky furniture pieces and was even able to give some of my things to another teacher interested in getting her feet wet with Flexible Seating.

I decided to get rid of:

• 1 love-seat couch
• 4 regular desks and 4 chairs
• 1 small round tables with 3 large chairs

​I’m loving my new set-up, but I will for sure be making more changes as the year progresses.

Stay tuned for pictures! 🙂

I cannot believe how fast this school year is passing by! I have started so many wonderful new things in my classroom this year, and as such have had a lot less time to work on my blog as I had originally hoped.

With the New Year here, I am going to make it one of my goals to post on my blog at least once a week! After all, I want to share my learning and discoveries with you! And I am so excited!

Some of the things I took on for the first time this year in my classroom:

1. Flexible Seating
2. Brag Tags
3. Interactive Math Notebooks
4. Communal Supplies

I originally thought that I would simply be implementing flexible seating, but this led me to discover many other wonderful things that went along with my teaching style and my kiddos learning styles.

TeachersPayTeachers and Pinterest have also been an absolute inspiration to my new discoveries.

So excited to share it all with you! Here’s to 2017 – another year of discovery!

This is my first post on my new blog and I am so incredibly excited to be sharing my experiences, discoveries and ideas on teaching! I’m going to be posting some pictures of my classroom very soon. Feel free to follow me!