Click the pictures to see a larger view. I used smaller pictures on this page so that the page would load quickly!

"Whole Room" Views

This is the view as you walk into my room from the hallway. You can see writing center in the distance and ABC center in the foreground.

This is the view from the same door but looking further to the right. You can see the ABC Center in the left corner. The group teaching area and puzzles/games shelf are in the middle. The science center is just barely visible in the bottom right corner. My desk area is way in the back.

This is the final view from the hallway door. This is the view looking to the right. Science center is in the foreground. The door to the playground is in the back. You can also see the puzzles/games shelf and table.

This is the view from the opposite corner of the room (standing behind my desk). Directly ahead you can see the table I use for small group instruction. The brown door in back leads to a huge closet. You can also see our cubbies in the upper right hand corner.

This is also from behind my desk look further to the right. Our teaching area is in the bottom right corner. Our dollhouse and puzzles/games shelf is in the middle. You can see the door to our bathroom (middle) and the door to the hallway (right).

This is the last view from my desk. This is our teaching area. Behind that is our computer center.

This is the view from the door to the playground (seen Picture #3). The Math Center is in the bottom left corner with Science Center behind that. The table that goes to Puzzles/Games is in the bottom right corner and the table for ABC center is in the middle.

This is also from the playground door but looking further right. You can see the Puzzles/Games Center with our teaching area behind that.

This is the final view from the playground door. I'm standing in block area (you can't see this in the picture). My small group teaching table is right in front with the Library behind that and my desk all the way in the back.

Centers

This is our computer center. It's rather pathetic if you ask me. We have one school computer (the black one) and one of my OLD computers from my house. We do have internet connections and a decent selection of software.

I'm really excited about our Doll House. I bought it this summer at a yard sale for $10. I bought a ton of accessories at yard sales and on Ebay. Most of it is Fisher Price Loving Family or Little Tikes. All of the pieces are stored in the top blue drawer to the left (Mr. Potato Head is in the bottom drawer). I know my kids will love this!

This is our new Dramatic Play Center. We can't have "housekeeping" so I improvised with this. I bought a small stove/sink set online. The table and stools are from IKEA. For now it is set up like a kitchen but soon it will turn into a variety of areas:

Vet's Office, Farm Stand, Bakery, Grocery Store, Pizza Hut, Flower Shop, etc.

*Check out my new Dramatic Play printables!

This is our Easel Center and behind that is our Lego Table. I usually start the year with watercolors at the easel to make clean up easier.

The small red table with green and blue chairs is our listening center. I use the $5 Walkman players from Walmart. They aren't perfect but they are better than my big tape player. I like that they allow me to put out 3 choices of books/tapes. The large gray board to the right is magnetic for our magnetic letters. I bought it at IKEA and used pegboard hooks to hang it.

This is our Math Center. We have so many math manipulatives that I am running out of room for them. The manipulatives in the bins in the shelf holes are available to the kids at all times. Those in the plastic containers on top came with our Investigations program. They are duplicates of the ones in the bottom bins so I keep them in the original containers so they are organized for math lessons. I use the small bins next to them to put them on tables for the students.

Our Writing Center is always one of the most popular! It has stamps, markers, colored pencils, crayons, fancy pencils/pens, stencils, cards, envelopes (a big hit), MagnaDoodles, picture dictionaries, etc. The yellow drawers to the left hold all types of paper--construction paper, plain paper, and extras of worksheets.

Our Science Center is also a popular choice. I change the materials available throughout the year but I always have the following available: rocks, shells, color paddles, locks, magnifying glasses, discovery bottles, Gears, magnets, and View Masters. I add different "units" during the year: dinosaurs, seeds, flowers, zoo animals, farm animals, ocean animals, etc.

Our Puzzles and Games shelf actually holds several centers: Puzzles, Games, Bucket Blocks, and Playdough. We have lots of floor puzzles, regular puzzles, and games (I buy most of these at yard sales). Bucket Blocks are bins of magnet blocks, Bristle Blocks, Lincoln Logs, and small wood blocks. Our Playdough Center also changes during the year. I add seasonal cookie cutters, letter/number cookie cutters, and laminated cards that students use with the playdough.

Miscellaneous

Each year I make one "special" bulletin board (I previously made a 3D Chicka Chicka Boom Boom one). This one was made with small stuffed sea creatures and a net from IKEA. The sand is actually sandpaper to give the board texture. I hang the "action shots" I take of my students on this board.

This disaster zone is also known as my desk. Actually this looks pretty good right now. In a few weeks there will surely be a pile of papers balanced on my desk. One very helpful thing is the set of letter sized plastic envelopes hanging on the bulletin board. They are great for holding attendance cards, notes, etc.