This is my meeting area with students. We refer to it as "The Hive" and we have morning meeting and many read-alouds here. I also gather students back here in small groups to chat and instruct at times. I pulled many of the games off of the shelves, pitched many, and put the rest into the baskets shown below. These baskets will allow my students to put them back in a fashionable way as well (since they are labeled).
I moved the art/craft box from the side of my room over by the sink. I also took down the "Job Jars" and replaced it with the bee that I use once a year (at the beginning to show names) and now it will hold the students who have jobs in the room. I also used to have a red crate on the bottom which contained clipboards. I moved the clipboards into black bins that are under another table that's in the front of the room. The clipboards are numbered so students know which one is theirs for the year.
I turned the computer desks to face each other this year...we'll see if it works. I also put their song binders in the black crates and instead of stacking them on top of each other, put them side by side. They are also closer to our meeting area and students will be able to grab them more quickly.
This is where the black crates are right now...They'll eventually get turned on their sides and hold the students' book bins.
So excited for these!!! I had someone build them (and my principal paid for them - woo hoo!) and will fill them with books once the students sort the books...that should be interesting. I have them currently wrapped up (okay, not all of them). I'll put the books into bins based on what size is needed. I also cleaned off four more shelves on the side of the room and they are open for more books. I keep grabbing people to come into my room so they can see the progress I've made. I also bought (with PTO money) two gray totes that hold our smaller pillows and after I cut off the handles, we can use them as buckets to sit on when we flip them over. Smart thinking, huh?
I decided to put corkboard on the back of the shelves to allow for charts to be hung, my own chart, and also their thinking and learning. Excited to see how we use these this year! I am hoping to put a student in charge of the blue chart. It tells students who gets the special book nooks and what groups I am conferencing with that day. It alleviates LOTS of questions.
Hoping to continue to keep my room organized this year!
