Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits

Teaching with Heart and Creativity

Classroom Tour 2012-2013

It’s time for the reveal of the new classroom theme!
Chevron Floral Mix!
The goal was to modernize my existing colors while calming the environment and making it feel like a home.

Classroom Library
Meeting Place
Meeting place from the back of the room
 Standing at the door looking in
 From door (again)
 small group area and classroom library
 computer area
 computer area again
 
quiet phones 
(broken headphones that block out extra noise for those who need it)
     
                      left side of word wall with newly covered chevron ottoman                    
    
   teacher/small group area
 Closer view of the library 
(my mom covered all my pillows with the new fabric and made my curtains!!)
 I had planned to frame some corkboard myself and paint it black. 
 I found this framed corkboard at hobby lobby in the 50% off section!
It was cheaper to get it than make it myself!
 Back of the room from the door
Opposite wall of the classroom library 
Our Daily 5 book boxes will go above the cubbies
I usually put our anchor charts and units of study info on the blank wall. 
First up will be our beginning of school anchor charts.
 standing at the cubbies looking at the rest of the room
 Opposite wall of the library
 reference wall and backpack hooks
Back wall with new lamps on sale for $5! hooray!
  View from my teacher table at the back counter

I am sorry if some of these pictures got redundant!  I tried to get every angle around the room.

I am so excited about the makeover!  I was overwhelmed and unsure as it began, and with the help of my mom, it started to really take shape and look the way I had envisioned.

Thanks for being such inspiring teachers, friends, and colleagues!
I love looking into everyone’s classrooms!

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    Comments

    31. REALLY???? I am so envious! I want to be in your class. You accomplished your goal of making feel like home. The colors, furnishings, and arrangement are -OMG!!! Words can't describe it.

      Reply

    38. Oh my goodness, I LOVE your classroom! I want to go back to school and learn there! The colors and organization are wonderful…I'd say you definitely achieved your goal of calming and feeling like a home.

      Kara
      Spedventures

      Reply

    45. What a beautiful makeover! I'm jealous you're allowed to use fabric, and have lamps, and well . . . don't get me started. Just wanted to say you did an AMAZING JOB!

      Reply

    56. It does feel super homey! I love your small group area! I wish I had a window to put a curtain on, no windows in my room. 🙁 Your room looks fabulous! Great job!

      Reply

    62. Oh my! I absolutely L.O.V.E. your room! It is so calm and inviting! You are SO organized. =) The chevron really gives the room a clean, crisp look. And, I really like how you used the computer backgrounds to label your computers…what an excellent idea! Your students are going to have a wonderful learning environment this year!

      Sarah
      First Class First Grade

      Reply

    67. Sooo I have a crush on your classroom…It is Ah-may-zing!!!I can look and feel just at home and safe and I'm sure that is the feeling you are looking for! I just had to follow you so that some of your great ideas can rub off on me 🙂
      BTW, I love your the brown and turquoise colors of your blog, they are may fav!

      Miss Milton's Memoirs

      Reply

    71. It is so cozy and inviting!! I love it. I also love all the lamps. We aren't allowed to have lamps anymore because of trying to save money on electricity. Seriously ridiculous!! 🙁

      Jodi

      Reply

    78. MyMyMyOhMy.
      It looks extraordinary! (We have got to find a magazine to feature you!)
      You know what makes this gorgeous room even better? YOU teach in it! You put your heart and soul into teaching your (incredibly lucky) students in this beautiful classroom every single day. Your skill and talent make this a beautiful space in which kids can learn and feel welcomed, happy, and successful…

      Kim
      Finding JOY in 6th Grade

      Reply

    85. Looks good! You have a lot of space and nice storage, too. Just wondering where you got your number posters with ten frames?

      Reply

    92. Incredible!!! I love to make my room over every year but this truly fabulous!!! I'm sure the children will love it!!!

      Reply

    96. What a wonderful room! You have a touch!
      One question for you -the book boxes that you are going to put on top of the cubbies- where did you purchase them?
      Also, do you have on your TPT site the Daily 5 posters for sell?
      Thanks and I am glad I purchased your binder pages and spine covers!!
      Have a good start!
      Maryann
      brennemm@carlisleschools.org

      Reply

    102. I absolutely LOVE your classroom! It would make me excited to go to work everyday! I wish I didn't have to move out of my classroom every 9 weeks so I could attempt a room as wonderful as yours!!

      Amanda

      Reply

    106. Congratulations on getting it done! I still have a lot to do, but I am making good progress. I just haven't photographed in a few days… 🙂 You definitely made it feel like a home! — Victoria

      Reply

    109. Lord have mercy girl….I was talking about you to a different teacher, who just started back in the classroom ….I sent a link to this post. But when your loan your mom out just come with her, and you can decorate our buildings room. We will call it professional development. LOL….LOVE THIS ROOM…..thanks for sharing 🙂

      Reply

    117. Beautiful room!!! Did you make the ten frames, and all the letters etc with the chevron background? Is it in your tpt store? If you can please link it, I would like to purchase those for my classroom.

      Reply

    119. This classroom is AMAZING! This is the room I want to walk in with my daughter on meet the teacher day!

      Reply

    120. You're classroom is amazing and it is quite obvious the passion you have for teaching. I would love to use your Daily Five posters in my classroom;however I can seem locate them. I have tried a couple of the links that you suggested and still have been unsuccessful. Can you help me? I've included my email address, if needed.

      Thank you for sharing your room with me. It truly is an inspiration. 🙂

      Lisa
      Lisa.iten@owasso.k12.ok.us

      Reply

    122. I was hoping to leave you a special note – but everyone has already said it! 🙂 Your room is amazing! and you are so lucky you could paint walls!
      wow – I'm definitely pinning this to gaze upon for inspirations!
      Jo

      Reply

    126. I have a question though,on your Daily 5 charts, how did you print them out with the color and the font? Did you design them yourself? If so..HOW did you do it? I really liked them.

      Reply

    127. Your room is so very inspiring! I have been trying to figure out where in the world to put my Math tubs and my back counter is completely empty and looks much like yours…perfect!! Thank you!

      Reply

    135. Beautiful! What I would give for a big classroom and stores to shop at! Living on a TINY island in the Caribbean makes that really hard, as done at 19'X14' classroom!

      Reply

    136. This is not only beautiful but inspiring to a 2nd year Kindergarten teacher like myself. 🙂 One of my goals for this year is to have a better system for my library. I love yours! Would you mind sharing where you purchased the shelving and bins? Thank you!

      Reply

    137. Wow! I have been teaching for MANY years and I know first hand how much time all of this must have taken you to do. It is such a welcoming and wonderful environment. I even called my 8th grade daughter to come and look at your pictures. Thanks for the inspiration as I return to school next week to set up my new room!

      Reply

    139. Your classroom looks amazing! I'm loving that fabric for your pillow and curtains. Where did you find it? I've been searching for something similar to tie in the orange , green and yellow 70's theme in my classroom! Great job!

      Reply

    142. WOW!!! Your room looks like it is from an up-scale magazine!!! Can I be in your class??? I am inspired to go into my room to work now!!! Love your ideas!

      Reply

    143. I am sooo in LOVE with your classroom decoration and organization! It's simply amazing…immensly SUPERB. Bravo for doing such an amazing job. You are a true inspiration. 🙂

      Reply

    146. Love the use of the trapezoid tables. I have rectangular tables and they take up so much space. I am going to put out an email to my fellow teachers and see if I can bargain and swap tables.

      Reply

    150. Please, please, PLEASE tell me where you got your chevron word wall decor? I am also doing my room in a chevron theme (though I could only dream of it being this cozy and beautiful;) and I have found several chevron word walls but not in the particular colors I am looking for, and these are PERFECT!! I would really appreciate it!! Your room is gorgeous!! Your students will definitely feel at home!

      -Rachel Elder
      rachelkelder@gmail.com

      Reply

    151. Your classroom is very stylish… wonderful color combination, a reading area is warm and inviting, a carpet that is in front of the board at the meeting place, looks so nice and modern…. your classroom looks like HoME, so cosy and warm! thank you for posting pictures and sharing your ideas. First time I see a different kind of a word wall, by the way:)

      Reply

    154. This room is absolutely gorgeous!! you did a really nice job!
      Your room looks so big and roomy. I envy you!
      I am just starting my own blog. Maybe you can check it out.
      Again, great job!

      The "feisty" classroom.blogspot.com

      Reply

    155. So clean and crisp! I would love to know where you got the Daily 5 posters. LOVE LOVE LOVE them! If you made them, would you be willing to share? Thank you and have a fabulous year!

      Reply

    156. This is a simply outstanding classroom set-up. I'm a high school teacher at an alternative school and I'd love to have such a calm, welcoming environment. Looking at your room it's like walking into a home – a living room. It's simply awesome. I congratulate you on your makeover. Minus the elementary school environment, I'd love to make my room so calming. I have lamps, a lava lamp, and a candle wax burner. Kids love it, but the walls need to be repainted and it's just so crowded and busy. Your room isn't like that. It looks roomy and all.

      Reply

    160. I just found this post via Pinterest and just wanted to tell you – THIS ROOM IS BEAUTIFUL! I love how it's set up, and I think kids would be lucky to learn in an environment like this. 🙂

      Reply

    161. Love everything. The details are amazing. My room is about half this size. I was drooling over your space. Truly wonderful. I love your items in teacher store, too! Would love to have your Daily 5 posters. Thanks for being such an inspiration!

      Reply

    168. i am an English teacher from Jordan in the middle east,,i just bumped into ur blog and im absolutely amazed,,,u are really a great teacher,,,i wish we had same wide class rooms like urs. keep it up.

      Reply

    169. Wow! I am in loooove with the chevron.. I also am in love with the computer backgrounds. Cutest idea ever! I will use this.

      Reply

    172. Your room looks very inviting and calm. Awesome job, I am ready to start next year so I can redo my room. I am loving the ideas.

      Reply

    175. At what age did the higher-ups determine children no longer learn well in this type of environment and should be switched to wood and metal desks lined up in a row? I am a new teacher and am trying – slowly – to make my room feel like home away from home.

      Great job…this is my goal!! Thanks for posting.

      Reply

    176. I am in hte process of redecorating and reaarranging my room with the help of my room mother. She has been great. My colors are primary green (our school colors), Robins egg blue and brown. Your room is beautiful. I wish mine could be like that. We have no storage space in our rooms. Oh what I would give to have cabinets to store things out of sight. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

      Reply

    177. I am currently a stay at home mom, but taught for 8 years before this. I have a son with Sensory Processing Disorder and he struggles in a typically decorated classroom. He is overwhelmed by how busy EVERYTHING is. Your room is so soothing and perfect for a kid with his sensory issues. What a great place of learning you have created. Kudos to you and I will be stealing your decorating pallet when I go back into the classroom 😉

      Reply

    179. The only thing I didn't see is where the students put their book bags. I am simply in awe of how warm and charming the room feels. Well done!

      Reply

    180. I graduated 4 months after my first son was born. I had planned on teaching for a while before we had kids, but God showed us his plan 🙂 After seeing your room, it makes me excited about teaching again! Maybe one day, God will put me back in the classroom, but for now I am content and happy that there are teachers who clearly still care about their kids!!! No one who didn't care, would put this much effort into their room.

      Reply

    181. Oh my word, this is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. You are very organized and have an eye for all things lovely. Enjoy the rest of your year.

      Reply

    185. I agree….I could live in your room! The colors are beautiful. Did you paint it? I'm getting so inspired seeing everyone's rooms. Mine is so plain but that is how the school was when I came. We couldn't use bright colors or fancy borders. Everything had to be muted tones. I love your color scheme. Warm without being plain! It also makes me crazy that I have really no bulletin boards! My room is getting a makeover this summer!! THANKS for sharing!!
      Gina
      Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

      Reply

    189. What kind of software did you use to do the computers' background and all the "fun" labels around the room? Where did you get the software?
      Your room looks amazing! I love the colors!

      Reply

    194. Oh my goodness! I absolutely love your classroom!! It's amazingly organized!! Any teacher's dream!! 🙂

      Reply

    196. LOVE YOUR CLASSROOM! Where did you find the rugs and the cute chairs? Also, where did you find the cute pictures you have on your writing board… about list, book, etc?

      LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR ROOM!

      Reply

    198. I love the look, but I am discouraged as I think about my own room. I have 37 students so it's mostly desks with bookcases, file cabinets and a small amount of built-in storage around the perimeter. Plus we have a host of rules about fabric, paper, furniture placement near doors/windows, and objects stored up high. Sigh. I would like to tone down some of the busy-ness that I ended up with this year, so I guess that will be the direction to go for next year!

      Reply

    201. Wow you have such a beautiful room. I am a first year teacher and I my room is ever changing. I have about 30 days left and I am still buying things and bringing them in the room. Organization is my biggest battle and I have picked up so many ideas from blogs. I am waiting on my toolbox to come in the mail!!!!! I can't believe I didn't see this sooner. Also, I have a question for you. You have bins on top of your shelving unit. Do you have a blog on how those are organized? I would love, love, love to learn what you put in those and how you keep the things in them organized.

      Thanks so much for working hard and sharing your ideas with us.

      Reply

    203. I am a teacher in Sydney, Australia and I have NEVER seen any classroom like yours in any school I have ever taught in! Wow! What an incredible environment for your students to come to everyday and for you to work in. I am very curious how you paid for all the furnishings. Do you get a budget for classroom improvements? We do not! I get frustrated as we do not have a very good cleaner at the moment and sometimes my classroom is a very uninspiring place to be 🙁 I am keen to show my colleagues some of the beautiful things you have done. Thank you for sharing

      Reply

    209. So great that you still get to keep lamps in your classroom. We had to take our out last year. I love trying to make my classroom feel like a home. So many of our kids don't have a warm, cozy home atmosphere where they live. Beautiful room!

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    211. Where did you get the metal bins for your big books and pillows?? I want to get some for my room and I'm quite sure where to get them. Btw, AMAZING CLASSROOM!!!!!!!! 🙂

      Reply

    213. Is your small group table considered a horseshoe table? Can you tell me the dimensions? If it is considered a different type of table, can you let me know the name? I want to change out my bean-shaped table and your table looks perfect.

      Reply

    216. I just found your blog and am amazed at your classroom! Wow! What a work of art. Do you mind sharing your paint colors? I want to repaint my room and love the homey warm colors. Thank you!

      Reply

    218. Your room is wonderful. We are not allowed to paint our walls. County maintenance has to do it and all walls have to be stark white. I did paint one wall as a log cabin and 2 walls with blue before this new "rule". I would love to have advice on how to make my smaller room without storage more cozy for my country camping kinders.

      Reply

    219. An amazing learning environment! I have a few questions for you, I am moving from desks to tables this year. What materials are in the baskets on each table and where do your students keep their materials?

      Reply

    227. Wow!! I cannot even put into words how absolutely BEAUTIFUL and well put together your classroom is!! You are such an inspiration to teachers everywhere!! Keep up the EXCEPTIONAL work!!!;)

      Reply

    228. Holy Schmokes! This is the most beautiful, peaceful. serene classroom I have ever seen. Found this link through cybraryman.com. We are working on a teachers' tool kit for Maine Education Association and this is one of the links in that document. WOW! I am trying to think of how to make my classroom/resource room, more like this.

      Reply

    230. W-O-W!!!! It is so neat, well organized. Very conducive to learning!!!
      It's no longer a classroom but a CLASSHOME! LOVE IT!!!

      Reply

    231. Absolutely great. I love it that it's both cosy with the colours and every detail so carefully looked after and yet neutral. Warm and uncluttered.Roomy unlike many classrooms. Very clearly organized and yet not rigid. Very inspirational, thank you… Francine (France)

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    232. Love your organization ideas!!! Do you recall where you got your bookshelves for your class library? Did they come with your room? Tks. :O) Happy Summer!

      Reply

    234. I love how your classroom came out. I am looking at doing a makeover on my room and I wanted to know how it went with your children this past year. I am looking at the dates and it seems like you did this last year so any ideas? Things you would have done different.

      Reply

    236. This classroom is absolutely adorable! So welcoming and calm…My question is what state is this in? Is there a fire marshall? I had the hooks under my bulletin board a few years ago and was told to take them down because there were children in the room and they could get hurt; although, I personally tripped over 2 backpacks when they were hung on the back of the chairs, instead of the hooks…Our school district follows all rules to the letter and we can't have beanbags, lights, anything that doesn't have a non-flammable sticker on it, etc. Your room is so incredible! I'd be willing to move to another state, just to be able to give kids this type of learning environment. 🙂

      Reply

    237. I may be a little bit late on this, but I'm just having a look around and I am a little bit obsessed with the fact that your blog background matches your rug! Haha! Love it! 🙂

      Reply

    238. Beautiful combination of self-regulating (calming) and stimulating. A perfect classroom environment! Well done!

      Reply

    240. I would LOVE to know where you got your book box labels!!! I have been searching everywhere for something similar, with the small simple pictures to go with. Can you share? 🙂

      Reply

    242. I'm wondering where you got your alphabet cards above your SMARTboard? I'm having a hard time finding neutral ones that aren't too busy or silly.

      Reply

    243. You have an amazing, ORGANIZED and comfortable classroom. Can I just ask what the overall cost of your "re-create" was…? I am getting ready to re-do my own school age classroom and want it to be perfect so wondering how much "out of pocket" I should expect. Also, looking back, was it worth the time and effort?

      Reply

    244. This is so beautiful! I would love to have such a nice classroom here in France! It must be very big! How many square feet is your classroom (or better how many m²?). Here in France, our classrooms, especially mine, are so sad compared to yours across the ocean!!

      Reply

    245. Your room looks awesome. We are not allowed to paint ours! I wish we could because I would love to learn in such a homey atmosphere too! Where did you get your Daily 5 charts made up? I love them!

      Reply

    249. Loved it! Congratulations for such a beautiful work 🙂
      I'm a teacher in Mexico, you gave me the inspiration I needed to start decorating my classroom!

      Reply

    250. This is the post with the chevron desktop backgrounds. Did you design these ? Would you be willing to share your design? I am sure you have something new by now!!

      Reply

    251. I love the organization of your classroom! I read through all the posts and a LOT of people asked where you got several of your items. It would be so great if you would share where you bought these items to help people that might need the same things as you´ve chosen. For instance, I am sitting here searching for gray area rugs and your blog came up; but alas, no listing of where you purchased it, and no replies anywhere in the questions addressing the same. I would love to see where you bought it. Just an idea…….

      Reply

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