Whether you’re a new teacher or a seasoned teacher, chances are, you’ll be taking some time this summer to set up your classroom for next year. Classroom set up can be a little overwhelming with all that goes into it. There are so many things you ask yourself about how you want your room to look, how it’ll be organized, what systems you’ll use, etc. Here are my 7 tips to help you set up the classroom of your dreams!
7 Tips for Your Classroom Set Up
1. Plan out your room
There are two major things that come to mind when I think about planning out a classroom: decor and organization.
Decor
Classroom decor will look different based on what grade you teach and your own personality. Being a kindergarten teacher, I love classroom themes! I chose a jungle theme for my classroom as it was fun and I felt like I could do a lot with it. I also love animals and got to incorporate this love into my theme! You can choose a theme like this or even just a certain color theme.
My advice when choosing your classroom decor:
– try to not make it too busy
– leave room for students to see their work displayed (you don’t need to cover every inch of the classroom before school starts)
Jungle Theme Classroom Reveal
Sneak Peek of my Ocean Classroom Decor Bundle
Organization
The other part of planning out your room is your organization. This means how your room will be organized as well as how your materials will be organized.
Questions to ask yourself before you start organizing your room:
- What areas or sections do you want to include in your room? Will you have a writing center? Technology area? Space just for free play items?
- Where will your supplies go? Will you have your teacher supplies somewhere separate from student supplies? What will the supplies go in?
- Where will student supplies go? Will they have a pencil box? A community box that the whole table uses? A chair pouch?
- Will students be at desks? Or tables? Or will you use flexible seating?
- How will your library be organized? By theme? Author? Season?
If you ask yourself these questions before you begin your classroom set up, you’ll have an easier time as you’ll know exactly how you want your room.
2. Make a list of everything you need to do
I am a list person. Lists help me feel super organized and like I know the direction that I need to be going in. When I have a list, I know exactly what I need to be doing.
Tip number 2 is make a list of everything you need to do. I like to type this out on a word document and section it out into categories. When I finish something on my list I change the text color to red so I know it’s been completed.
Here’s my list to get you started:
- Organize materials into stations (word work, math manipulatives, writing, technology, free play, etc.)
- Set up and label student supplies – pencil, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue, eraser, folders
- Set up student desks or tables – label with name tags
- Assign a rug square to each student
- Organize teacher materials – teacher desk, extra supplies, files etc.
- Organize curriculum – where will this go, how will you organize it (files, binders, tubs)
3. Make a list of everything you need to buy
Now, this will be different for everyone depending on what your classroom has when you walk into it, how long you’ve been teaching or what kind of budget you have. I like to shop at the following places to keep my classroom costs down:
- Target dollar spot
- Dollar Store
- Amazon
Check out my list of Top 10 Teacher Must Haves
4. List out everything you need to make
This may be my favorite part of classroom set up. I love being crafty and I love DIY projects. My dad jokes about all my projects because he is very handy and I always pull him in when I need help with my classroom DIY.
Here are some things you might want to make for your classroom:
- Classroom decor: print (on cardstock), cut and laminate
- Anchor charts
- Word Wall
- Bulletin Boards – Welcome board with student names
If you’re interested in DIY projects for your classroom, check out these DIY Crate Seats.
5. Start in one section of the room and work your way around
I am the type of person that wants to do all the things all at once. This gets really overwhelming when setting up a classroom because there are so many things! The way I stay organized is by starting in one section of the room and working my way around.
For example, my room is set up in sections such as the word work section, writing station, listening to reading, library, free play and math. So the way I set up my classroom is by starting in one section, pulling everything out that would belong in that section, organizing it and moving on to the next. That way, once I’ve completed a part of the room, it’s done (for the most part – of course there will be minor changes and additions).
6. Set up systems
When you have systems in place, you’re setting yourself up for success. Everything will have a place and you’ll know where to find your stuff and your extra stuff.
The systems I set up:
- Where sheets go that need to be copied and where they go once their copied
- What happens when you need to file something – where are the files? What goes in those files?
- Where student work goes when it’s unfinished, finished and corrected
- How student work goes home
- Where extra supplies are – how students get those extra supplies
- Where teacher supplies are
- How you store materials for the week/for next week
7. Label items for students in your room
I always save this step for last as you never know if you’ll have late additions or people dropping from your class last minute. Also, when I get to this part of my classroom set up, I know that I am almost done and ready for the school year!
Here’s all that I label for my students:
- Cubbies
- Desks
- Carpet Squares
- Chair Pouch – inside: pencil box, any workbooks and folders
- Pencil boxes – inside: pencil, colored pencils, scissors, glue, eraser, expo pen and eraser
- Guided Reading Bags
