Another day of blog hoppin'!!!!

 

Teacher Week: Classroom Digs

So, I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week '13. Today is the day to share what my classroom looks like. Well, I haven't really had much time in there yet so it is still in a state of chaos but I'm going to hope you take pity on my mess!

If you are new to my blog, you may not know about how my school functions. Over the last few years, the school district has been building us a new school that meets seismic codes here in B.C. The new school has been built on a community model rather than on the traditional classroom model.

What does this mean for me?

Well, for starters, it means I don't have a classroom of my own.

At least, not in the traditional sense. No more one room/one teacher.

Instead, what we have are a group of different sized rooms (called Learning Studios) that open out onto a common area (called the Community Commons). We then have a teacher's office where we keep all of our professional resources etc.

No more teacher desk, no more "owning" a room.

The idea is that we have a "home base" in each studio but that the teachers and students use all of the community space as much as possible.

It is different, I'll admit. And, as we only moved in last October, it has taken (and continues to take) a lot of time and effort to figure out how to teach in this new model.

I spent last year using the green studio as my home base (also called the DaVinci because it has sinks and space for both science and art) but I switched studios in June with one of my team teachers.

So, now I am in the purple studio. I spent a couple hours in there yesterday (first time I was able to get in this summer) and took a few shots. Had wanted to work more in there today but it was being cleaned so I worked on my professional space in the teacher's office

Here is what my studio looks like right now:

The view from my door looking towards the Smartboard/Group Meeting area. The open door you see on the far wall opens onto a patio that my students can use to work, garden etc. It is so great having outdoor space right beside my studio!

A closer look at the Smartboard/Group Meeting area. I don't have a carpet (I've asked for one but who knows when, or if, I'll ever get it?) I climbed up on the ladder yesterday to do my bulletin boards. All the same - turquoise with black borders. My favourite!!!!!

 

This (very messy!) table is my Teaching Table where I meet with small groups. The cupboard behind with the open door is the one space where I can keep personal items within the studio. Beside the cupboard there is another board covered in turquoise paper. This has a table in front of it and will eventually be home to my Writing Centre.

 

This is the view looking back from the patio door towards the entry. The whiteboards at the back will eventually house my word wall. Under the boards are the student cubbies. I am so glad that they pull down so I can hide the inevitable clutter caused by 24 young children storing their assorted stuff!

 

When you first enter our school from the playground or west side, you come in to a large School Commons (one of two) and you see our community immediately. 

This is our community behind the large glass accordion doors. You can see our community commons. Right now all the furniture is on the outside of the doors because they were just waxing the floors.

 

The Purple Studio is in the corner where the door is open. To the left is the door and open garage door (we can open and close this as needed to create more or less privacy) of the Orange Studio. The dark door is the entrance to a small room where teachers can work 1-1 or with small groups. The door on the far right is the entrance to our teacher's space where we keep all of our professional items and have our desks.

And here is the office space...

This is a broader view of the teacher's office. We have a table in the middle to meet at and personal spaces around the walls. Mine is in the corner where the pink chair is sitting.

 

 

Some more close ups of my office space.

 



And, there you have it...my studio and office spaces as they looked today. I'll be posting photos of the room as I get it done. School doesn't start for me until September 3.

 

So, stay tuned!

 

Ms. Hughes