Classroom Environment

The classroom environment is crucial to student learning.  You know, you are a teacher!  I love a classroom that is welcoming, soft or natural lighting, clean, wide walk ways, bright colors and a nice smell.  Extra homey touches really add to a welcoming room, door mats, pillows, curtains and other soft fabric items that coordinate.  I also find a clean and well organized classroom to be appealing because it doesn't feel chaotic.

Classrooms that expose a lot of the very necessary storage items can feel chaotic.  A quick fix is curtains over the shelves.  I am huge fan of the cheap tension rods that fit in just about any shelf.  I made several really simple, gathered-at-the-top, curtains 8 years ago, extra long and wide.  In my 8 years of teaching I have had 8 different classrooms. (teacher = flexible!) I still use the same curtains every year with my friendly tool the Stapler!  I just hang the curtain, rods and staple to 'hem' the curtains to the perfect size.  Voila!

Think about when you go to a doctor's office.  Have you ever been to a doctor's office that had stacks and stacks of papers on the receptionist's desk, dark lighting or too bright of lighting then the patient rooms had a stale smell and lumpy or hard chairs?  Yuck!  Environments like that can be distracting.  Now, think about a doctor's office you have been to that has an organized receptionist's desk, soft or natural lighting, smooth chairs and a clean smell....Ahhhhh....much better!  For me being at that kind of a doctor's office gives my brain a calmer sense.  I do not think of all the the uncomfortable or unpleasant stimulants and am able to focus on why I am truly at the doctors!

Now think of a fellow teacher's room that every time you walk into it you feel calm, more relaxed and welcomed!  Take a look a round and piggie back on some of their ideas to create the perfect classroom environment.