July 29, 2009

holy math manipulatives!

I got into my classroom for the first time today! In trying not to overwhelm myself too much, I brought my friend Miss R for support and ideas. I also brought only two tiny crates of supplies, putting off the big hauling of my books as long as possible.

The Good: My room is big! It's bigger than I remembered from when I visited the school in May, and has tons of space. It has two windows that are in little "nook" alcoves that will look awesome with some pillows on the floor and posters--perfect places to read, work independently, or just take a break (or a nap after school if you're me...). I also have every math manipulative imaginable, including a class set of fraction circles! Good thing my mom talked me out of buying the big bucket at Lakeshore for $30! (I also have about 10,000 unifix cubes, not even exaggerating) Miss R and I agreed my room is Math Manipulative Mecca. I have a gigantic white board and plenty of cabinet storage.

The Bad: No bulletin boards. I mean I quite possibly have the only elementary classroom with no bulletin boards. I have two cork "strips" on the wall outside my room, but that's it! If you know me, you know that I pretty much breath arts and crafts, and I have been planning cute bulletin boards in my head pretty much since I decided to be a teacher, so this is a bummer. My room does have two chalk boards in addition to the white board, which I think I'll cover with paper and make a magnet board of sorts... Anyways, I also have a whole bunch of big pieces of furniture for which I can't seem to figure out a functional arrangement...I'm bringing in my mom Friday and crossing my fingers her incredibly high spatial skills will see the room and instantly have a floor plan in mind (complete with accents, decor, and a color scheme. if only I could paint :) )

The Ugly: Huge file cabinets, this really ugly book storage contraption (picture to come) that I can't make sense of, and orangey-brown carpeting.

The Wonderful: It's my real classroom and I'm going to be a real teacher very, very soon!

The Terrifying: See above.

I will post pictures tomorrow :)

Back to School Countdown: 27 Days (yiiiikes!)

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