Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Teacher Week: Where?

Today I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week Day 2: Where?   


Since I teach at four elementary schools, I have four classrooms to decorate. Yes..you heard me! Four! Good thing decorating is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Nothing is better than crafting in my book! I love that I can change things up at each school to make each one unique.  Even though I share two of my classrooms with art, I still try to keep it cute! 

But don't worry, I am not going to show you ALL of my schools! :) So for today, I am going to be showing my largest classroom (biggest school).  It is the one I spent the majority of my time getting ready during the summer. I have actually already done my classroom reveal in the music world, but I would love to show you, too! 

Here are pictures of my classroom before I added my personal touch.  These photos were actually taken two years ago, but I really didn't change much during my first two years of teaching. I knew it was time for an extreme makeover, the Jena way! 





So after many, many hours and lots of helping hands from my hubs and my teacher BFF, Lindsey, here is the NEW and IMPROVED music room!!!! 



I am very lucky to work in a supportive school district! They allowed us to paint our classrooms this year, and the school has totally transformed! I first got rid of the 20 year old wallpaper and added a splash of paint! Ok...maybe a little more than a splash...I painted my front wall a sky blue, while the side and back walls are painted a light green.  It has definitely brightened up my dingy room and created a cheery learning and creating musical environment.  

In my classroom, I have a songbird theme.  My students are referred to as songbirds in our newsletters and social media outlets! They love it :)  My bestie, Lindsey, also incorporated a bird theme in her classroom this year.  As a result, we created the silhouette birds to 'fly' around our classrooms and tissue poms to serve as clouds.  She also inspired me to purchase and incorporate the School Girl Style silhouettes around my classroom.  The package came with a swinging girl that fit perfectly with my corner tree that my mother-in-law painted.  Check out the silhouettes and all the other adorableness in Lindsey's kindergarten classroom.  


This adorable boy silhouette was created to hold balloons, but what better way to incorporate a musical theme with a recorder in hand! I think it worked out perfectly and is placed by my door as my students say goodbye in music class.  


After searching on Pinterest, I found this silhouette girl with recorder balloons and knew I HAD to incorporate it into my music classroom! I found some old records, which happened to be kid themed, and placed the beauty on a large empty wall! I am in LOVE with the way it turned out! 


Here is another view of the balloon girl! I also painted my doors and windowsills, then added some cute curtains! 

On my other LARGE blank and boring wall, I added a display of Boomwhackers, practical and pretty! 



I simply added a strip of velcro to the wall and a small piece on the tube.  Now, students can quickly grab the Boomwhacker they need instead of me digging through a laundry basket! 





On my last wall, I cut out letters for the above picture on my Cricut machine! It is in the perfect view spot in my room for my administrators and other teachers to see the cross curricular connections of music! 



I wanted a tree in my classroom to enhance my classroom theme, but also to give the students a whimsical atmosphere.  So I added the tissue poms for leaves and created an instrument paradise :) All of my Orff instruments are placed in this corner. 



  I also added an updated bookcase with labeled containers for smaller percussion instruments.  I painted the bookshelf and added contact paper to the back. All my other instruments are stored in a closet. 



Underneath my dry erase board, I placed recorder fingering posters.  This placement is easy for students to see and provide a quick reference if need be.  

I also made seat crates that are stored underneath my dry erase board.  I created labels to attach with binder rings.  For these crates, I stored movement props, such as parachutes and scarves, puppets, and masks.  By having them in the front of the room, they are easy to access.  Not only are my items neatly organized, but I can pull these crates out for a quick spot to sit for story telling or role playing. 


Next to my board, I have a set of Solfege hand signs and my classroom rules! These are easy to see from any angle in the classroom, especially for those little troublemakers.  

To create more room for movement, I got rid of my big, hunk of metal desk and computer table.  I was thrilled to get rid of my desktop and the table with it!  After getting rid of both, I then had a minor freak out moment of "Where will I put all the little things?"  As a result, I found an adorable table/desk at Office Depot that solved my problems. 


I moved my desk to a corner of my room, and viola, here is my small, but perfect, workspace!  I gave my filing cabinets a makeover, added a homey lamp, and reupholstered my desk chair (mother-in-law to the rescue again!). 


Added some Washi tape to take this plain desk organizer to a cute desk organizer! I also added a touch of Washi tape to the edge of my desk for some cohesion :) 

For all the 'tiny' things,  I made a Teacher Toolbox on top of my bookcase!
 You can also see some more Washi tape ;) Want these labels?! There are editable ones on my TPT store here.  



Here is my new corner! Still need to add a cork board above my desk and finish that bulletin board :) 


I also have two bulletin boards completed: one is in the hallway and one is used for our class rewards system.  Found out more about them here



Thanks for taking a step into my music classroom! 








8 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! Your room is AMAZING! I love it so much! I want to take music class with you ALL THE TIME! I love your Silhouettes! LOVE them!

    Happy Back to School!

    Blessings,
    Carmen
    Exploring Elementary

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  2. Your room is BEAUTIFUL! The walls are perfect and they really do make everything pop! It's so organized too, your students are VERY lucky to learn there :o)
    Emily
    Munchkins Inc.

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  3. What a neat place you've created! I love your theme- so appropriate for a music room. I bet your students just love coming to music!
    Kelli
    Tales of a Teacher

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  4. Your room looks great!!! I love the girl with the record balloons how absolutely perfect for your music room! It is amazing what paint can do to transform a space! Enjoyed "touring" your class. :)
    Emily
    Love and the Librarian

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  5. I LOVE how colorful your classroom is. It makes me wish that I could be in your room. I also love your reward boards for piano and recorder. Is that class behavior or for something else?

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    Replies
    1. The piano is for classroom behavior incentive. Each class competes against the other classes in their grade level. The recorder board is for the Recorder Karate series. When students pass their "belt" music, they move their music note to their current belt. You can read more on it if you follow the link by those pictures in this post. And thank you for the sweet comments!

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  6. You have great style and organization, Jena! Thank you so much for sharing- your room is an inspiration! (And I love that your silhouette recorder boy is holding the recorder with his left hand!)

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