Sweet 'N' Sauer Firsties

  • Sweet 'N' Sauer Firsties
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Course
  • Freebies
  • Contact

Setting Up Your Classroom for Success

Setting up your classroom is one of the first things that takes place at the beginning of each new school year. Some teachers love it and some teachers dread it. No matter how you feel about setting up your classroom, it’s important to take this time to create a well organized space for you and your students. 

Setting up your classroom for success

This room will ultimately become a safe and welcoming space for our STUDENTS for the next 180 days. I emphasize the word students because isn’t that what should be at the forefront when we begin to plan setting up our classroom? Of course we want our room to be aesthetically pleasing, but while we walk through tips for setting up and organizing areas, we are going to plan with our students in mind. Let’s get into some ways on how to make it a breeze for you! 

Bring It ALL In

Whether you’ve been storing things at home over the summer, you’re moving into a brand new room, or all of your things were hidden away in cubbies and cabinets, get it ALL out and bring it in the classroom. This might seem overwhelming but it’s a big first step! 

classroom setup tips classroom setup ideas setting up your classroom at the beginning of the year

While these pictures are pretty silly and there’s obviously a ridiculous amount of stuff, this system of having it all right there can help when getting ready to plan the classroom layout, as well as how things will get organized. 

Visualize the Classroom Layout

After you’ve brought in all the stuff you may be thinking…. Where in the heck do I start? Visualize and start making a plan is what I suggest. I find that sitting down and creating a map is a great way to help me see the space as a whole so I can place things where they make the most sense. Having a layout that you can erase and redo can help to determine where everything will go and how best to arrange seats, centers, and things of that nature. 

Some considerations for your layout: 

  • Take time to think through high traffic areas and spaces that need a large amount of real estate, like where you will host whole group time, your small groups, centers, classroom library, etc. It’s important to think through where these spaces will be so that they are not too close to desks or student work areas where students can get distracted. For example, I have our buddy centers near my whole group space so that it is not too close to where students may work independently. 
  • Visualize where your small group space is going to be. This is a place we spend a lot of time throughout the day so I try to ensure that it’s not too close to a doorway where students can get distracted. I also make sure that I’m the one facing the door so I can see who is entering the classroom. 
  • A really big consideration that will impact your layout is whether or not you will have traditional or flexible seating. Check out this post HERE to dive deeper into all things flexible seating! 
  • These are just a few of the considerations we work through with the Back to School Teacher Survival Guide. In this guide, I will walk you through every step of the way to successfully plan out your classroom setup and all other things back to school!

Beginning of the Year Teacher Survival Guide

Back to School Survival Guide

When you’ve got a plan you’re satisfied with, start moving around big things like furniture. Arrange the desks and/or tables how you want them and walk around. This will give you a better feel about if what you’ve plotted out will work for you and your students. With a student centered classroom, students will have access to ALMOST everything. What they won’t have access to will be your teacher space that you create to keep your personal belongings and teacher materials. Think about where you want this area and how it will be organized. Take a look at some teacher spaces below. 

setting up your classroom for students student centered classroom ideas

In the past I’ve had my teacher area behind my small group table in lieu of a teacher desk. I spend much of the day here with small groups so it made sense to keep most of my materials in this area. Learn more about setting up centers HERE!

Sort Your Piles

After setting up the layout and planning for big spaces, your classroom should begin to look like a tornado ripped through. Guess what? That’s OK! It’s part of the process. Your one massive pile will soon become lots of little piles in the area they should go and you’ll start to feel accomplished. I promise. Begin to categorize and sort your piles based on the space they will occupy. For example, everything that you’ll need to set up your classroom library should be in that space. Do that for each space and you’ll start to see how that giant pile in the middle becomes smaller and smaller. Things become more manageable! 

Once everything is sorted, you can then decide what area you’d like to begin organizing and setting up first. I’ve found that completing an area before moving on to the next is helpful and makes me feel productive. Maybe you’ll want to accomplish a few things in each area until you’re done with everything. Organize using your strengths. Sometimes you’ll notice yourself walking from one part of the room to another not sure where to start or what to do. If you find that this happens, stop, take a break, and recompose your plan. It can be helpful to write your plan on a whiteboard so you can see it no matter where you are in the room. It’ll help you stay on track and if you add checkmarks to this plan you’ll have a great visual on your progress. I know this step of the process can be really overwhelming, but this is where the classroom will really start to come together. 

Plan for Students in Mind

After you have spent the time organizing your spaces, it’s time to tackle student spaces so they have access to materials. This part of the process needs to be really well thought out for students. When planning I like to think about it not only from the student lens, but also by what makes sense in the flow and traffic of the classroom. For example: I’m not going to put a lunch tub all the way across from where students hang their backpacks. That would waste time and allow for unneeded disruptions. Here are some guiding questions to ask yourself as you begin to organize: 

  • Where will student materials such as pencils, crayons, scissors, etc., be housed?
  • Where will they turn in papers? 
  • What will be the procedure for how they get new pencils if needed? What about the broken pencils? 
  • Where will broken pencils go? 
  • Will students have a desk where their personal materials are stored or will you have flexible seating? If it’s flexible, where will their personal items go? 
  • Where will students store lunch boxes, backpacks, and coats?

Take a look at some example student spaces below. Notice how students have access to ALL the things they may need so that they can meet their own needs. 

classroom organization tips classroom library organization organizing student materials

Let us not underestimate the power of BINS! Bins are a great tool to have on hand in the classroom. Bins for student materials, bins for excess school supplies, bins for books! Chances are if you have something needing to be organized, a bin works great! 

Label Everything

There is a secret key that helps not only your students access their own material, but also helps your classroom *almost* run itself. The KEY: 

allowing students to have the power and autonomy to do it all. 

Sounds scary huh? It absolutely is! But one SUPER simple way to empower students to have more ownership of the classroom, is by labeling absolutely everything. Not only is this a great way to develop more natural ‘sight words’ for their classroom, it creates the autonomy for students to be able to navigate and learn independently. You’ll be amazed to simply watch the shift!! Don’t be afraid to spruce up your labels with visuals AND words! Organizing spaces FOR students is one of the most crucial things you can do to start having your classroom *almost* run itself. 

Let me paint a picture. Imagine you have a classroom, beautifully labeled in every way, and your students can use those labels to freely get what they need. This means, no more getting crayons or Band-Aids for them, no more whole group instruction interruptions for a broken pencil, or students wasting time because they can’t find something. Why? Because their classroom is set up for THEM! They can do it! Let them step into their power! With THESE editable labels, you can design and organize your space so that your students own the room. 

editable classroom labels

Editable Classroom Labels

To Decorate or Not to Decorate?

The last piece of the classroom setup puzzle is decorating the classroom. While it can be so fun to scroll ALL the Pinterest ready classrooms on Instagram with all the fun bulletin boards, it’s also important to keep students in mind and not overwhelm them. A few tips I’ve learned through the years are:

  • Use natural light when possible – those fluorescent lights can be a lot for some students. Open the windows for students if you have them and bring in your own lighting. I’ve often dimmed the lights as students work too to soften the space and give students a better work environment. 
  • Less is more – there is a lot of research out there that having too much stuff on the walls or too many colors can overstimulate students. If you want to use bright colors, use some but don’t cover the entire room with rainbows. 
  • Leave blank spaces – this is THEIR space too right? So let them help fill up the spaces on the walls. Leave room for anchor charts and student work. Build the walls together. Check out this giant wall below that started blank at the beginning of the year and later was filled with anchor charts and student learning. 

student learning wall anchor chart wall ideas displaying student learning

While we want our spaces to be completely organized, clean, and cute for meet the teacher, the classroom does NOT have to be finished. This is important to keep in mind because I know all the pressure of feeling like you need a “Pinterest Ready” classroom. As long as you have an inviting space where students feel welcome and safe, that’s all that matters. 

If you take the time to plan for your students, I promise you will have a warm, welcoming, successful classroom. Your students will not only love to come to school everyday, but they will THRIVE for the rest of the year. If you haven’t seen the FREE Classroom Set Up Checklist, I would highly recommend starting there. It covers everything you could possibly need when planning out your classroom set up. And of course I have to give you a freebie! Get yourself set and ready to set up your classroom and think through ALL the plans with my back to school teaching timeline. Grab yours below! 

beginning of the year teaching timeline checklist freebie

Love this FREE resource?

Sign up now and get exclusive access to this freebie and many more in the continuously growing freebie library!

Classroom setup, introducing rules, routines, and procedures, and more including are all covered in depth in my Back to School Teacher Guide. This guide takes you through ALL the things that need to be thought through in order to have a smoothly running classroom and it’s a great resource for new AND veteran teachers. I’ve had multiple principals tell me that my classroom runs like a well oiled machine. The way I facilitate that is by all the things explained in the guide. 

I hope that you walk away after reading this with some great ideas to get you started planning out your classroom set up. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Back to School Teaching Timeline FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me  @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.

To follow me on TPT and get all the latest updates on HALF OFF new products, click HERE!

sweetnsauerfirsties

Love these ideas but don’t want to lose them? Don’t forget it, PIN it below!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

«
»

Back to School, Classroom Community, Classroom Management, Classroom Organization 0

Newsletter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe via Email

About This Site

A fun place to be apart of the educational journey. Full of all things teaching! The good, the bad, and even the ugly. Join my experiences and subscribe to my email list to get the most up to date tips and tricks.

Search

Categories

Latest on Instagram

Cheers to the weekend! 🥂 What are you looking Cheers to the weekend! 🥂

What are you looking forward to this weekend?
•
•
•

#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #disneyteacher 
 #igconnect4edu #teacherssupportteachers #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherstyle #teachermomlife #teachertravels #teacherweekend #teachermom
One of my favorite tips from @missingtoothgrins 😂

What candy is your favorite to collect this time of year? 
•
•
•
•

#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips 
 #igconnect4edu #teachermemes #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherhacks #classroomfun #teacherhumor #teacherquotes #classroomcommunity
It’s World Read Aloud Day! 📖 @scholasticinc It’s World Read Aloud Day! 📖 

@scholasticinc has live read alouds ALL DAY!! 👏

Check them all out now with the link on my profile. 

What are you reading aloud today to your students?
•
•
•
•

#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips 
 #igconnect4edu #worldreadaloudday #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #scholastic #classroomfun #makelearningfun #readaloud #classroomcommunity
At the happiest place on Earth! 😍 What’s mak At the happiest place on Earth! 😍

What’s making you happy this week?
•
•
•
•
#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips 
 #igconnect4edu #teacherstyle #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teachertravels #teacherinspiration #teachershare #teachermomlife #teachermom
I mean.. it’s not wrong. 🤷‍♀️😂
•
•
•
•
#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips 
 #igconnect4edu #teacherssupportteachers #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherhacks #teachermemes #teachertruth #teacherquotes #teachershare
The 100th day of school is HUGE! It’s a time t The 100th day of school is HUGE! 

It’s a time to celebrate all the hard work and learning done together. It marks an important time that signals that we’ve spent more than half the year together! 

There are so many fun, engaging, and simple ways to celebrate that make it a memorable experience for students. 

Swipe left to see some of the fun ways we’ve celebrated together and learn easy and engaging ways now with the link on my profile or drop a 🤩 and I’ll share the link!
•
•
•
•
•
#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers #teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofig #igteachers #iteach #iteachfirst #kindergarten #igconnect4edu #teachershare #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #makelearningfun #100thdayofschool #teachertips #classroomfun #100daysofschool #100thday
Save this for easy and fun 100th day ideas! The 1 Save this for easy and fun 100th day ideas!

The 100th day doesn’t have to be overwhelming, there are TONS of easy and low prep ideas to help your students have a blast and make it easy to plan for YOU.

🌟 Have a scavenger hunt for 100 items (erasers, candy, etc).
🌟Stations are my favorite management hack for the 100th day. They rotate through fun activities all day while you get to spend more time with each group.
🌟 Pocket chart games are easy and engaging. Students work together to hunt for the special item while practicing number sense, recognition, and patterns.
🌟 Would you rather is an easy way to get kiddos up and moving while connecting. This is a great no prep time filler!
🌟 Crowns are the perfect and quiet activity to show off all their learning and make a great keepsake. 

Learn about these activities and more with the link on my profile! You can also drop a 🥳 and I’ll share the link!
•
•
•
•
#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers #teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #teacherhacks #studentengagement #kindergarten #makelearningfun #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #classroomcommunity #100thday #100daysofschool #teachershare #classroommanagement #100thdayofschool
Well this should be fun! 😝 What is something yo Well this should be fun! 😝 What is something you say 2451 times a day as a teacher? Let us know below! ⬇️
•
•
•
•
#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo
 #igconnect4edu #teacherfunny #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teachergram #teachershare #teacherquotes #teacherhumor  #teacherfun #teacherweekend
It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳 Grab thi It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳

Grab this adorable and no prep color by code activity.

It’s an easy and engaging QUIET activity that students can enjoy as morning work, a time filler, fast finisher, or even as homework!

Grab your FREEBIE now with the link on my profile or drop a 🤩 and I’ll share the link!

When is your 100th day? Let us know below! ⬇️
•
•
•
•
#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers
#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teacherhacks
 #numbersense #makelearningfun #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #colorbycode #teachershare #teacherinspiration  #100thday #100thdayofschool

Latest on Facebook

Lindsay Sauer

13 hours ago

Lindsay Sauer
Cheers to the weekend! 🥂What are you looking forward to this weekend?•••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #disneyteacher #igconnect4edu #teacherssupportteachers #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherstyle #teachermomlife #teachertravels #teacherweekend #teachermom ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Lindsay Sauer

2 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
One of my favorite tips from @missingtoothgrins 😂What candy is your favorite to collect this time of year? ••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips #igconnect4edu #teachermemes #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherhacks #classroomfun #teacherhumor #teacherquotes #classroomcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Lindsay Sauer

3 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
It’s World Read Aloud Day! 📖 @scholasticinc has live read alouds ALL DAY!! 👏Check them all out now with the link on my profile. What are you reading aloud today to your students?••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips #igconnect4edu #worldreadaloudday #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #scholastic #classroomfun #makelearningfun #readaloud #classroomcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Lindsay Sauer

6 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
I mean.. it’s not wrong. 🤷‍♀️😂••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips #igconnect4edu #teacherssupportteachers #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherhacks #teachermemes #teachertruth #teacherquotes #teachershare ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Lindsay Sauer

6 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
The 100th day of school is HUGE! It’s a time to celebrate all the hard work and learning done together. It marks an important time that signals that we’ve spent more than half the year together! There are so many fun, engaging, and simple ways to celebrate that make it a memorable experience for students. Swipe left to see some of the fun ways we’ve celebrated together and learn easy and engaging ways now with the link on my profile or drop a 🤩 and I’ll share the link!•••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers #teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofig #igteachers #iteach #iteachfirst #kindergarten #igconnect4edu #teachershare #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #makelearningfun #100thdayofschool #teachertips #classroomfun #100daysofschool #100thday ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Latest on Pinterest

  • Are you looking for ways to teach kindness to kids in the classroom? Today, I’m sharing my favorite teacher tips on helping your early elementary students understand kindness in the classroom. Some of my favorite kindness activities for kids is setting expectations and modeling kindness. We love reading, How Full Is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and more. It’s important to role play ideas for kids in the classroom. Kindness anchor charts are great to create during whole group and small group lessons.
  • Do you need some ideas about teaching money to your first grade students? Check out my favorite teaching tips on money for kids. First, have your students watch some BrainPop Jr. videos and books about money for kids. Money anchor charts are fantastic to use during math whole group to better K-2 students' understanding. The CRA Math Model is perfect for understanding money for kids. I also share my favorite math centers like money puzzles, money bingo, and math money games!
  • Have you been looking for end of year classroom community activities? These classroom community building activities are perfect for your K-2 classroom! I love creating an end of year anchor chart so students can write down their favorite memories of first grade. K-2 students will love the balloon bulletin board countdown with themes. Early elementary students enjoy creating a reflection writing craft, first grade end of year memories, would you rather end of school year game, and much more!
  • Have you been wondering what the benefits of reading aloud to children are? Today, I will share why reading aloud to children is important. Reading aloud increases children's vocabulary, building fluency, and reading comprehension. It’s important to teach elementary students how to choose the just right book. I love doing interactive read alouds and think alouds during my picture book reading. Check out how I incorporate writing about reading, building my classroom library, and reading at home.
  • Do you need some ideas about teaching money to your first grade students? Check out my favorite teaching tips on money for kids. First, have your students watch some BrainPop Jr. videos and books about money for kids. Money anchor charts are fantastic to use during math whole group to better K-2 students' understanding. The CRA Math Model is perfect for understanding money for kids. I also share my favorite math centers like money puzzles, money bingo, and math money games!
  • Have you been wondering what the benefits of reading aloud to children are? Today, I will share why reading aloud to children is important. Reading aloud increases children's vocabulary, building fluency, and reading comprehension. It’s important to teach elementary students how to choose the just right book. I love doing interactive read alouds and think alouds during my picture book reading. Check out how I incorporate writing about reading, building my classroom library, and reading at home.
  • Are you looking for ways to teach kindness to kids in the classroom? Today, I’m sharing my favorite teacher tips on helping your early elementary students understand kindness in the classroom. Some of my favorite kindness activities for kids is setting expectations and modeling kindness. We love reading, How Full Is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and more. It’s important to role play ideas for kids in the classroom. Kindness anchor charts are great to create during whole group and small group lessons.
  • Have you been looking for end of year classroom community activities? These classroom community building activities are perfect for your K-2 classroom! I love creating an end of year anchor chart so students can write down their favorite memories of first grade. K-2 students will love the balloon bulletin board countdown with themes. Early elementary students enjoy creating a reflection writing craft, first grade end of year memories, would you rather end of school year game, and much more!
  • If you want to know more about the science of reading, now is your chance. Today, I will share why the science of reading is important to learn and understand for our elementary students. The 5 essential components that make up reading instruction are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. For K-2 students it is important to spend approximately 40% of your instructional block focusing on phonemic awareness skills and phonics skills.

Copyright © 2023 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs

 

Loading Comments...