Where do I start when planning for a classroom (and how can Pinterest help)?
Planning your classroom is a special thing in the teacher profession - a lot of us have been dreaming about our classroom for years, maybe even a decade or two. And thanks to the glorious invention that is Pinterest, a lot of us have multiple boards and hundreds of pins dedicated to these dream classrooms.
Let me first be your cheerleader: it truly is going to be SO fun having your own room and making it your style. It’s like an extension of yourself that you get to share with your students and change it up from year to year. I like decorating my classroom more than my house, ha.
Now… I won’t be the grumpy old teacher that’s like “You young-uns care too much about what it looks like. Your room will be trashed by these hooligans in a day.” (Prepare yourself, there will be curmudgeons in your building that may think you care too much about your room. That’s ok. They find value elsewhere and that doesn’t have to change what you value and love. They don’t spend all day in your room - you do).
I won’t be that teacher, but I will be the mildly-old-but-not-too-old-and-not-grumpy teacher that wants to remind you that social media can show us the dream, but it can also be a filtered, expensive, hard-worked-for dream.
So, I’m here to help you figure out how you can make a classroom you love while still maintaining a realistic vision and a healthy bank account.
Pinning Your Classroom
Pinterest, here we come.
Pinterest is a popular tool for a reason. It truly is a treasure trove of ideas, but it can also be super overwhelming.
So, whether you have a board (or five) of your #ClassroomGoals or you haven’t started yet, I want you to:
Create a new board specific to THIS year. Consider even labeling it something like “Classroom Plan 2023” so you can track ideas over the years.
Only pin things that you actually want and can make happen in your room THIS year. Edit as you go. Remove pins when you change your mind or realize they aren’t a good fit once you’ve assessed the cost. You could even create a “Classroom Maybe’s” board to save pins that don’t quite make the cut this year, but you might revisit at a later time.
If you don’t use Pinterest, you can still apply this plan to Instagram/TikTok/Facebook. Just create a group in your saved content or even screenshot what you like and create an album in your photos or a google doc. The important thing is to have one place to collect your ideas.
So…what exactly are we looking for?
We are going to do *focused* dreaming. We know social media can be a rabbit hole so here are some specific things you will want to look for as you narrow down your vision.
Classroom Theme - What do you want as the overall theme for the classroom? You can do a theme like beach, safari, beehive, etc. or select colors (rainbow, neutrals, teal). If you’re not sure, search “classrooms” and pin the rooms you like on your “Maybe” board (almost like a mood or vision board) and see if you notice any trends in what you gravitate toward. Then, move your favorite examples to your focused dreaming board.
Classroom Walls - How would you like to decorate the walls? Start slow. Remember that you will have learnin’ and curriculum to also display so maybe think about a couple statement pieces or areas of the room (like this pool noodle rainbow, those framed book characters, the pillow/decor in this reading area, or even just a print you love).
Classroom Lighting - Do you want any special accent lighting like lamps or twinkle lights? (Be sure to check with your building principal for guidelines before purchasing!)
Teacher Desk - YOUR space… an oasis in the classroom. How would you like your teacher desk to look? Do you want a certain pen organizer? An actual desk or a small group table/organizer combo? A photo of your family? Plants? Your name somewhere?
Bulletin boards - Think basic for now - Backgrounds, Boarders, and Titles. What colors do you want for the backgrounds? All the same boarders or different by bulletin board? Do you know how many bulletin boards you will need to decorate? (This is a great question to ask your team if you’ve been able to connect with them.) Even if you don’t know for sure, you can still pin a few examples of the style you’d like to go for. Head HERE for how I like to designate bulletin boards based on subjects.
Classroom Organization - How do you want your papers/supplies to be organized? My personal favorites are: this cart, this toolbox-turned-teacher-supply-station, and a book hospital like the examples below. (But, hello new world - a Sanitation Station is a great idea!)
That’s a lot, but remember… this is the fun week! We are focused dreaming. This is a great time to give yourself the freedom to get out there and really narrow down what you’d like your room to look and feel like. Do you want a calm, nurturing room or a bright, cheerful room? Eclectic or traditional? There are so many options and there is no one right way to do it!
If you’d like a place to start on Pinterest with these and other examples: Check out my Pinterest boards here:
Next week we will talk about how to actually budget and start purchasing things for your room. I know it’s tempting to hit up the Target Dollar spot like… yesterday… but trust me - taking time to really think about your plan is worth it in the long run. Like teaching the writing process, we start with mind-mapping and drafts before we ever use the fancy paper :). Use this week to make as many changes and ideas as you want so you’ll be ready to publish soon!
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I do not own these images. Links are provided on each image if you’d like to see more! You can also check out my Classroom Inspiration Pinterest board to see the original pins as well as many other ideas to get your thinking juices flowing!
Looking for more tips? Check out these posts!
