A Little Vintage Classroom Flair!

This post is way overdue, but I am finally ready to share my classroom space with you after a few weeks back in business! As I mentioned a while ago, this summer, I walked into my classroom, and I crinkled up my nose at my theme.  Although I have never been an over-the-top theme aficionado, I realized that I was totally OVER my subtle jungle theme… and the copious amount of zebra print that went along with it.  So, I decided to mix things up and do something that was long overdue: be true to myself and my decorating style.  I LOVE all things vintage… so I felt it was time to bring some goodies from home…mix some things up… and surround myself with some colorful vintage classroom style.  Plus, I thought it would be fun to play around with words throughout the design to open the door to future discussions about the weight of our words.  Here’s what I came up with!
Welcome to my classroom, teacher friends!

I have a thing for globes, and nothing says vintage classroom like globes right?!  I displayed a globe collection on my window sill, and I placed a chalkboard globe on top of a bookshelf.  It might be my absolute favorite classroom accessory.  (Shout-out to Rachelle Smith for the cute chalkboard prints!)

This is a view of my bookshelves on the far side of my room.  I love how simple yet colorful they are.

I added a few other decorative touches to the windowsill and the bookshelves to make the room pop!

 This is our gathering area.  I do read alouds from this spot, and I also gather kids together with clipboards for discussions and sharing opportunities.

I snagged this large basket from Michael’s and added a fun leopard print burlap bow for a dash of whimsy.  It holds our basals to streamline the read-alouds of our main selections.

This is just another shot showing the bookshelves and the read aloud area. My kiddos usually sit in an L shape because I have so many kiddos that they don’t all fit on the rug itself.  🙂  (This year, I have 29 third graders, and 30 fourth graders.  It is a full house!)

I haven’t utilized my “teacher’s desk” as a teacher’s desk for years now (aside from the storage of materials in the drawers).  So, I kept my desk against the wall, and I moved my mentor texts display to the desk to create a cozy reading nook. I LOVE this space so much now!

I hung a few clipboards to the sides of metal cabinets to display a few classroom posters with a dash of colorful masking tape.  I used masking tape as an accent on everything this year!  Swoon!

Here’s another shot of the reading area (as it was set up for Meet the Teacher Night).  This just shows where it is in relation to my file cabinets…which as you can see… are also sporting a little masking tape and chalkboard number labels. 

I store most of the resources that I want just a few steps away on the shortest  file cabinet.  This green basket houses my clipboards, my notebooks, the office folders, and other important resources.

This is a little peek at the back of the room.  Confession: I haven’t changed the black paper in a few years, so it has seen better days.  I wanted to change it out this summer, but since I did a deep clean and did major purging, time was short, and something had to give.  Please excuse the wrinkles. I think I may need to repaper it after all.  I am sort of cringing right now—not gonna lie! {shudder}

This year, I decided to use fun alphabet flash cards as an alphabet line.  I love the cool colors.

The READ display used to be at the front of the room, but I moved it to the back for an AR display.

This area houses my sub tub, some of my most used resource binders, and a set of drawers containing materials for my focus board.  The numbered baskets are for tiered lesson resources.  The bottom baskets are early finisher activities (Brain Bubbles). The two student desks house student resources.

So, I really should have snapped a photo of this next area
BEFORE the kiddos arrived because the clipboards are in a state of
disarray, BUT this is a snapshot of our  real classroom life.  This is what it looks like on a
day-to-day basis.  I have the clipboards, whiteboards, dry-erase sleeves,
dry-erase markers, socks (for erasers, and Post-Its in a central
location to help streamline classroom happenings. 

Our first Word of the Week was scholar… because I want my students to see themselves that way from the very first day.  🙂

This year, my pencils are organized in cups in a little caddy from Targets.  I store pencil sharpeners in the back.  (My classroom sharpener makes the most horrendous noise, so I like having them available for student use…especially during class discussions.  It’s a major sanity saver!)

I wrote a little inspirational message on the window to a classroom door using a chalk marker.   This is our classroom mantra.  We can do hard things!  (I decided to let the old “Art Office” stencil remain in plain sight because with the whimsical vintage vibe, I felt like it had a little something to offer— real vintage schoolhouse authenticity!  Love it! 

On the other side of the door, you can see our cabinets and counter top.  The student mailboxes are stored here along with our homework and morning work trays. This is basically the classroom command center, and I love how much more simplified it is this year.  It is working like a charm!

This is a close-up of our collection bins.  I picked them up at Staples last fall.  They are perfect!

I attached a few magnets to the back of a cookie sheet for another small display and a place for my notepad. I love that it adds a little bit more visual interest that way!

Ahhh, yes.  This is another one of my favorite back-to-schools finds.  I picked this up at Marshall’s, and I just LOVE it.  I almost brought it home to decorate my house, but I love how it looks in my classroom.  It’s another great way to add a few vintage touches to my classroom.

Nothing says “teacher” like apples right?!  I love how simple and classy they look!

Of course,  I am a sucker for details, and I wanted to make my classroom feel as much like a home as possible, so I also put together the following displays on the windowsills, cabinets, etc.

My room is feeling just like I wanted it too! I honestly could not be any happier!!! It’s the perfect environment for learning and growth!  I am so optimistic about this school-year!

I display my objectives at the front of the room.  I used to display them on my focus wall, but I really like having them in a place of even more prominence right up front!

This map is a happy-looking addition to my classroom, but really, it’s broken.  It doesn’t go up all of the way, so I made it part of the decor for now, until I can get a new map.  I use the SMARTboard for almost everything, so I am not really concerned about space on the whiteboard at the moment.  Plus, we are studying Westward Expansion in 4th and looking at the Gold Rush in 3rd, so it’s coming in handy at the moment.  When life gives you lemons…make lemonade…right?!

To the left of this area, I store some of my literature circle goodies in separate baskets.

I also have two boards for anchor chart displays and formative assessments.  I decided to embrace the old green chalkboard since I’ve decided to work in a little vintage flair, and I kind of love it.  The black paper (regrettably) looks sad, but if you only knew how much duct tape I rolled on top of the other half of the chalkboard to hang the black paper, you would fully understand.  🙂 It was obscene.  If I ever get permission, I would love to go to town with black chalkboard paint to avoid taping up bulletin board paper every year only to have it fall down from humidity in May.  (It’s a sad state of affairs. Trust me.)

This small group area is right in front of our anchor chart displays.  It’s in the perfect location to reference our existing charts or make new ones!

 I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a peek into my classroom.  Have a happy “new year”!