To shop my classroom 👉🏼 click here!
This summer my classroom got a HUGE makeover. From black, white and brights to a more calming color palette. Believe me, I loved the pops of neon in my classroom for 3 years, but it was time for a change! Check out this before picture…
This “during” picture is a reminder that teachers work REALLY hard to make our classroom a special place for our students. 🙈 It was a ton of work but designing and decorating my classroom is truly one of my favorite things to do!
Now, the space has a calming vibe with light grays and touches of aqua!
*This blog post includes some sponsored content from educational brands/companies who partnered with me for this classroom makeover. However, all opinions and images are my own.
I am so thankful for my mom’s help. Without her, this classroom wouldn’t look the way it does today. She’s a hard worker and she’s super creative! Those flowers on the bulletin boards? She made all of them! Plus she was with me 100% when we decided to paint the icky yellow walls a peaceful light gray. #Trooper
Classroom Decor: I used two different types of bulletin board paper this year. The solid gray is Pacon Fadeless Designs in the color Pewter. Click here to grab it on Amazon! The shiplap-looking paper is the Better Than Paper line by Teacher Created Resources in the color White Wood. Click here to grab it on Amazon! I purchased my borders from Oriental Trading and needed a TON of them because every wall in my room has a bulletin board, which is awesome, but also time consuming when revamping your classroom theme!
Meeting Area: This area is our meeting space. The carpet is a new addition to our room this year, it’s called Circles Grey and White manufactured by Flagship Carpets, size 7’6″ x 12′. *You can find it on Amazon here! I love this carpet because it provides a visual for personal space. Students sit in their own circle and know that is their space to stay in–they must keep hands feet and objects inside the circle at all times 😉.
I have to brag about Flagship Carpets for a minute because they’re a brand I trust and have had a great experience with since my first year of teaching. Their carpets are treated with a protectant for soil resistance and a permanent anti-microbial agent to guard against odor, mildew and mold. I also love that each carpet has a Class I Flammability Rating for those of us with frequent fire marshal visits!
The Library: The cursive carpet in my library (below) is also from Flagship Carpets. It’s called the Handwriting Sampler carpet size 6′ x 8’4″ and it is amazing! *You can find it on Amazon here! I’ve received so many compliments on this rug, from adults and kids alike. I love it for its quality and durability, and of course it’s cuteness! The bookshelves are all from Walmart. I attached 3 tension rods onto my whiteboard using command hooks and curtain rings. They will display anchor charts for reading, math and science soon! The adorable book character posters are from The Book Wrangler. I use these library labels to organize my library, you can read all about it here!
*Click the picture below to view the Handwriting Sampler rug on Amazon
Flexible Seating: Another new addition to the classroom this year are these yellow KidsErgo active seating stools shown below… and let me tell you, they are a HIT! These stools were immediately coveted by my kiddos. They provide an opportunity for movement and stability at the same time, promoting good posture and increasing focus. I’d love to get rid of all of my standard classroom chairs and replace them with these KidsErgo stools–maybe next year!
Grab the quotes “Don’t Stop Until You’re Proud” and “Read What You Love” in my TpT Store here!
I don’t like to keep my students at their tables for long, so it’s important to me to have plenty of places for them to find a good spot to work, where they will feel comfortable and able to concentrate. That’s why I am so excited to give these pieces from Academia Furniture a great home in my classroom this year! Academia Furniture completely outdid themselves with their Mods series and I’m obsessed!
Academia Furniture has tons of unique flexible seating options that are extremely high quality and super creative. They bring a lounge vibe to the classroom that I totally love! The Mods soft seating stools are on wheels making them easy to move around the classroom and put back together at the end of the day. My students have gravitated to this area of the room and it makes me so happy to see them hard at work on these innovative and functional pieces! And yes, that is faux marble on the cafe table. 😍
I know back to school is a crazy time for all of us, so check out my blog posts about the major components to a successful school year! You can read all about my tips for classroom organization, classroom management, and keeping students engaged!
Small Group Area: Our small group table is one of my favorite places to be. Soon, that chart will be filled with all of our centers and we’ll be on our way to smooth Reading and Math workshops!
The RACE reading response poster is from my TpT store and so are the Genre Posters. The great Jen Jones created the reading-related speech bubbles found here. The black stools are from Amazon, and they’re super affordable. Grab them here!
Classroom Organization: All of our math manipulatives and task cards live here. The labels for the manipulative bins are from Teach Create Motivate on TpT. In the background are our science centers… well, they will be our science centers! I stuck dry erase Wall Pops to the cabinets so I can easily write and change assignments for each center.
I was fully committed to having a pegboard somewhere in the classroom this year, and as luck would have it, the back of that bookshelf is totally a pegboard! We painted it white and used S-hooks to hang some extra manipulatives and math extension activities. On the tall cabinet in the background, there is another pegboard mounted to the door. This one is from Amazon and is really sturdy. I’m using it to hold supplies for our writing center.
Word Wall: This area will soon be filled with our vocabulary words! I am loving these gray stools from Otto Storage because they’re sturdy, lightweight so my kiddos can move them around the room, AND they provide extra storage! They’re a perfect fit for this little desk that once lived in my apartment several years ago. I can’t wait to fill this little area with new words and put extra pillows and cushions in these Otto Storage stools for additional flexible seating!
Student Work Display: This “Light Bulb Moments” board will display student work throughout the year. I was inspired by the Target dollar spot when I found that large light bulb… then even more inspired when I went back 2 days later (Target addiction) and found the little battery operated light bulb string lights! That’s when I had MY light bulb moment. The pillows, in what’s supposed to be a place to hang backpacks, are from Five Below. The two rectangles are Think-Board dry erase boards. They’ve held up so well over the years and my kiddos love using this flexible seating option to do their work!
I am loving the big changes in my classroom this year! From black and neon to calming grays, this is a space my students and I both want to be. Thank you to the amazing companies who partnered with me to help make this classroom makeover something magical! Academia Furniture, Otto Storage, Flagship Carpets, ErgoErgo Inc. 💕
If you have any questions about my classroom feel free to message me on Instagram! I hope you have a GREAT start to the school year, teacher friends!!
To shop my classroom 👉🏼 click here!
-Courtney 💕
*Some links in this blog post are affiliate links. If you purchase through these links you will not pay any extra, but I will receive a small stipend from Amazon!
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