2013 Classroom Reveal {At Last!}

I was in LOVE with my classroom last year. It was sunny, and spacious, with high ceilings and plenty of bulletin boards. When my school purchased a beautiful new building, I was elated. Then I realized I would have to leave my perfect classroom behind. Needless to say, I got a little nervous. Fortunately, Melanie from Schoolgirl Style (a dear friend of mine) had lots of ideas and offered to collaborate with me on my new classroom design with exclusive first access to her upcoming Rainbow Chalkboard product line. It was an offer I couldn't refuse! 

A standard set with a white background is also available for teachers that like to conserve printer ink. 

The front wall to my classroom displays my Black Series Alphabet Picture Cards, calendar areas, Daily 5 charts (from A Year of Many Firsts), color words, and the all-important classroom rules. 

The alphabet picture cards are available with a white background too. 

I am in LOVE with my classroom rules. The prints are available for purchase on TpT. 

My teal chevron bookshelf survived the move into my new classroom, along with my favorite striped tins from IKEA. 

My classroom library is without a doubt, the focal point of my classroom. It's the first thing you notice when you walk in the room. Books are arranged into themes and displayed in the rainbow bins on the lower shelves. Each student's book boxes for read-to-self time line the top shelf of the library area. The green bins are numbered to identify which box belongs to whom. 

The Expedit shelf from Ikea creates a perfect boundary for the library area as well as a comfortable seating option for read to self time. I often sit on the bench to deliver my Daily 5 lessons. 

The beautiful rainbow pillows are from Ikea too!

Have you noticed the adorable children above my classroom windows? Each of these spaces was a white plastic material. I used packaging tape to attach the cloud print Fadeless paper and Bordette. Melanie had the idea to place silhouettes in that space and I love the idea. She sent me the silhouette graphics (which will be included in her upcoming Rainbow Chalkboard line). I traced each one onto black Fadeless paper, cut the pieces out and glued the onto the clouds. I found bright cardstock and used it for the bows, balls, and balloons that are accenting the silhouettes. 

Rainbow pennants from the collection hang below each window and I created a faux-shade using Melanie's wide rainbow stripes and black Bordette.

The black tree branch and boy on a swing were cut out of black vinyl and applied to the walls. Since I don't have bulletin boards in the front of the room, this was a fun way to add a pop of color to an otherwise blank canvas without damaging the fresh coat of paint on my classroom walls. 

I decorated the back of a small bookcase in the library with the same fadeless paper and Bordette trim. Like the windows, these pieces were also taped into place. I created a banner from children's book jackets as a final touch to my classroom library. (I created a tutorial for creating book cover banners last fall. You can find the tutorial here.)

Of course, another cute silhouette was attached to the side of the shelf. This little guy was cut from black vinyl as well so he will last a long time. 

The bookshelf creates a divider between my classroom library and the gathering space for prayer. My wonderful friend Meggan did the lettering on my chalkboard boxes. 

In addition to an image of Mary, a children's bible, and a wooden cross, the prayer table also includes two printables that I created. The first is a prayer of blessing for our pastor, principal, and the head of maintenance at our school. Those three people worked so tirelessly all summer long to get the building ready for our doors to open this fall. Without their hard work and dedication, the students and staff of my school would be lost. We pray this blessing each morning after we say The Lord's Prayer. 

The second framed print is a quote from scripture. It serves as a reminder that Jesus always welcomes children to join him in prayer and love. 

The color word signs displayed on my white board are available in my TpT store. 

I created another banner with my name on it to hang above my desk. In addition to being a pretty decoration, it is a very helpful reference for students when they want to know how to spell my name. 

My computer desk is from Ikea as well. It has another vinyl silhouette of a little girl, along with the Inspire print from Schoolgirl Style, and the usual desktop supplies.

This 5x7" printable is FREE on TpT and is the perfect size for your teacher desk. Just print, trim, and frame in a 5x7" frame to add a little style to your work area. I love that this reminds me of all the joy and goodness in my life (even on a particularly rough day in the classroom). 

Although you can't see it well in the photos, my classroom number line is available in my TpT store. 

Student computers, typewriters, and toys occupy the back corner of my classroom. 

Wooden cabinets and bathroom door all display decorative accents that coordinate with my classroom theme. Not a single surface was left untouched in this room. 

So many people had a hand in the creation of this classroom, I'm not sure who to thank first! There would be no wonderful school or classroom without my pastor, principal or school custodian. Thank you to Father Mike, Maureen, and Mario for all you did to get things off the ground. A huge thank-you also goes out to Loveann (a school parent that helped me day in and day out to get all of the details just right). Thanks also to my Mom & Dad, Danielle, Meggan, and Jane. 

Thank you to Melanie for all of your wonderful ideas and resources. I am in LOVE with your Rainbow Chalkboard collection and I can't wait to see it pop up in classrooms across the country. I couldn't have asked for a better person to collaborate with. Our creative juices were flowing together every step of the way and this was such an exciting partnership. 

These photos were captured with the help of Brian from BTW Photography. He made two trips into school to shoot photos for me and had to witness the horror of me ugly-crying during a major meltdown. (Trust me, it was bad.) I was nearly defeated by technical difficulties after Brian's second trip into my classroom. But even in the absence of his own photos, Brian was able to save the day. Fortunately, he taught me the ins and outs of my Canon DSLR during one of BTW Photography's Summer Workshops and I was able to give a last-ditch effort to capturing photos of my classroom. He spared all of you from seeing my classroom via the lens of the camera on my iPhone. Thank you Brian!