Fitting New School Methods into an Old School Building

I finally got into my classroom! I had been waiting because my furniture is on order, so not much to do in the room. I went yesterday to drop off some books only to find all the extra furniture in my room. My furniture is supposed to arrive the day before school starts-yikes...stressful! So, I played around with the miscellaneous furniture and actually found a set up I can live with. What I'm really missing is bookshelves.  I now feel like I have a lot more I can do in my classroom. Professional Development starts next week, so I'll be using all the spare hours I can get to bring my classroom together. It's exciting to be setting up my very first classroom!

Here is what I walked into yesterday.

That set up of the desks was taking up way too much space!  And all those tables shoved in the corner sure seemed like an excess of tables.

Here is what the classroom looked like when Ieft. All of the tables have found a home! I can't wait to get some rugs in there to make it more cozy. I also need those large pieces of furniture moved. It's a work in progress!

I just love my classroom! Look at those beautiful wood floors! And the large windows give so much natural light. They also look out across the street to the community garden! Those new blue chairs and the grouped seating are the signs of modern educational thought in this depression era room.  Something has to happen to those chalkboards because they are in poor condition and not even magnetic!  I do love the old feel of this classroom. I can imagine my grandparents teaching in a room much like this. 

Here is one last photo for you: our coat closet! It's behind the wall to the right in the photo above. It has two entrances, one at the front of the classroom and one at the back.

Many more photos to come in the next two weeks!