I am so excited to finally reveal my 2016-2017 classroom!! I had teased about a change in our theme…and I go so many concerned messages that the mustaches were going away. Have no fear! i am not abandoning the mustaches! Just changing them up a bit…
This year I wanted a tiki hut in my classroom so we went with a Mustache Island theme! We went with some neon colors that match my blog and give the room a more island feel!
So, WELCOME TO MUSTACHE ISLAND!
And guess what?! This isn’t a Pinterest worthy room where everything is coordinated and matching. Our library boxes are mismatched…our word wall is missing 2 letters (but it’s fixed now!)…our supplies are in random baskets. Things aren’t perfect. AND THAT IS OK! Please don’t put pressure on yourself to have a Pinterest perfect classroom. Make it work for you and THE KIDS! And remember to leave lots of space for their work and give them the chance to put their touches on the room!
When you first enter our classroom we have a hallway leading into our space. This summer the mister came in and painted the wall black. We added vinyl mustaches and clothespins. This wall will be where we display our work! Also along this hallway are our math and reading baskets (centers) and write the room supplies!
This is our whole group area. One thing I want to point out is that our circle carpet for whole group time is in the center of our classroom. This is a very deliberate decision. I want my ‘staches to know that they are at THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING WE DO IN OUR CLASSROOM and placing them in the center of the room makes that a concrete idea!
We have our easel which holds all of the supplies and materials we need for whole group lessons. You also see our stage and smartboard!
Click the image of the stage to see exactly how my dad and I built this stage!!
Also in this area are our class cheers, our whiteboards and our name chart!
Click the image to see more about our class cheers!
Here is our small group area!
Our magnetic and interactive word wall. The ‘staches actually take the words from the word wall and use them during writing workshop and centers.
Let’s call this THE HIPPOPOTAMUS COMMAND CENTER!
These are the center wheels which are the heartbeat of our center based classroom! Also here are the center baskets for unfinished work. This is a new location for this shelf this year. I wanted all of the center materials in one area so I moved this shelf to the same wall with the center wheels which will make center time even more smooth!
We are sticking with our no tables and no desks classroom so we still have all of our community supplies and our bath mats and clipboards!
click the image to read all about our community supplies!
Click the image to read all about how we go about no tables and no desks in our classroom!
This year I added a tiki hut to our classroom library to give my kids a fun place to read and enjoy books! So here is our tiki hut reading area!! I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!!!!!
Our Instagram bulletin board returns! I come up with fun hashtags and post pictures of the ‘staches every couple of weeks! Stay tuned….this is another way to make the students feel that they are part of a family and a community in our classroom.
(Our sensory bin is now under this board….new home, same great sensory bin!)
(Our senThis is our anchor chart display area. As we create anchor charts, they will be displayed in these awesome frames made by my friend Jenny at Jen Hart Design!
The lightbox now has a table and chairs and a permanent home! This will make this amazing center even more usable and fun!
And yes, I bought a Heidi Swapp lightbox and am excited to use it as a learning tool in our classroom! But for now, it’s welcoming my new ‘staches into our classroom!
And here is a video tour of mustache island!
AND A HUGE HUGE HUGE THANK YOU TO THE MISTER AND MY TBFF JENNY! THEY CAME IN AND DID A LOT OF THE PREP WORK IN THE CLASSROOM SINCE I WAS TRAVELLING ALL SUMMER! THIS CLASSROOM WOULD NOT LOOK LIKE THIS IF IT WEREN’T FOR THOSE TWO!!!!!!!!
#BLESSED
Join Our Newsletter
Subscribe to get our latest content by email.
25 comments
Greg!
LOVE IT! The Tiki Hut is such a cute addition to your classroom. Your students are going to love it.
I hope you have an amazing 2016-2017 school year!
Jennifer <3
Buzzin Bees of Learning
Ha ha I love it. When you said you had an island theme I just thought it fit perfectly. Love how you say it isn't a perfect room. Hate the pressure others feel to have every thing perfect. What I have learned through the years if even when I think it is perfect my room is a work in progress.
<3 M
I use a magnetic word wall & love how interactive it is! Although last year I my magnets kept falling off & were not strong enough. What type of magnets do you use?
I use a magnetic word wall & love how interactive it is! Although last year I my magnets kept falling off & were not strong enough. What type of magnets do you use?
I bought magnet sheets at Michaels and hot glued the magnets to the clothespins!
Wow…your room is so big with lots of wall space. How many kids will you have?
So excited to try some of your ideas in my classroom. Is your magnetic word wall just paper over a white board? If so, how did you get the paper to stay on the white board. I can't get it to stay once I have it up.
Love your room! Where do you get the colorful carpet squares
Love your room! Where do you get the colorful carpet squares
Love the framed area for the charts! Great idea that I might have to use this year!
Absolutely Amazing! I can't even describe my favorite part! I LOVE everything! Your structure and positive charisma clearly outlines a friendly and loving environment for your students. You are truly dynamic! Thank you for helping to change the world and bringing love everyday!
~Elizabeth
Love it! Where did you get your chart stand?
I love your center wheels for this year with the ABC and 123. what are you rotations for your math center wheel?
Beautiful room! Is your dramatic play area/block area just not in the pics? Just curious. Love looking for new ideas for those areas. Love the trampoline!!!
Love your room! Do you have a dramatic play area?
Target and WalMart
The 3 sided chart stand…I made it using PVC pipe. You can search the blog for “3 sided chart stand” and you'll find the directions!
Ten frames and graphing….math the room….math baskets….technology!
We're not allowed to have those in kindergarten. Just academic centers.
So awesome! Thanks!
I love all your PVC creations, but I was actually asking about the large one with chart paper on it for writing with the bins that look like they slide out. 🙂
How did you made the children’s names on sentence strips — that are next to your smartboard?
I love your easel! Where did you purchase that one?!
I am curious-when do you let students use the trampoline?
Hi Alexis! You can find my blog post about how I use the trampoline by typing “trampoline” in the search!