A Room with a View

I love this time of day in my classroom - all alone with my thoughts, my ideas, my plans. Usually I blog from my house in the evening but today I'm still here in this cheery spot. Let me take you on a tour.
Chairs are up on all the desks and I can see inside them - surprisingly neat and tidy for some (most!). There on the far wall are our books - our special treasures in which a child can get lost, go on an adventure, learn new facts, solve a mystery. Nearby in the corner are the bean bags - they love to get enveloped in those chairs, like a hug from mom or dad. They do their best reading in them. On top of the bookshelf are their book bins, colorful bins overflowing with books they are reading, notes they are taking, strategies they are learning.
Over there in the other corner is our math area - games, dice, blocks, cubes, coins, and so much more. The world of numbers opens up to them! They are learning more than they realize and enjoying the process. Above there is the Word Wall, almost filled by this time of year with juicy words they have learned and use in their writing. It's hard to believe that wall was almost empty 120 days ago when the school year began.
Posters cover every available inch of wall space. They hang above the cubbies. They remind us all how much we've learned - capital letters, spelling patters, how to hook your reader...
I love this room. It is my home. But it's not complete without my students.