Room Set-up - Where I started 2011-2012 - notes for next year

I found these pictures the other day and realized that they were from the beginning of this year.  I enjoyed looking at how my room started at the beginning of the year.  I can look back now and make notes about what worked well and what I ended up changing mid year.  Due to my developing interest in blogs and pinterest, I've got LOADS of ideas for this coming year.  I hope this post helps me to keep track of what I've decided to change.

This bulletin board worked great all year!  I was able to use the schedule
and the "secret song" cards were great puzzles for students who were waiting to come into music.

I don't have much wall space in my room, so I decided to put my musical elements just outside
the door.  This actually worked better than I thought it would.  My students waiting to come in or waiting to be picked up regularly referenced the material and it wasn't prohibitive to have students reference this material as needed during class. 

"cool off spot" and student stash area.  My students are often coming to and from lunch or library, so it is nice to have an area for them to stash their stuff. 

This area didn't really work at all because this is where my students line up to leave.  I need a different adhesive if I intend to use this area as a display area.  I'm thinking about pocket charts on over the door hooks for next year.... we'll see... I'm still planning

Since this picture was taken I got even more books from donorschoose.org AND organizational stuff from  LAKESHORE.... my library is a work in progress that I hope will be a more involved post very soon.  I also have VERY little board space, so I experimented with ways to best utilize the space.... stay tuned for new and improved ways to use the space.   The pocket chart was used all year. 

Ultimately this area ended up being my "real" desk.  I ended up moving my "real" desk into this corner by October

This desk area has become the "student traffic" area. I want to organize it differently, but it has turned out to be the best area for things like recorders and pencils and other student materials. 

I didn't end up keeping my chairs there. for very long.  This corner still needs lots of work.  It's my "I don't know" corner.  I'm hoping that I'll be struck by inspiration this summer. 

This is my "real" desk.  Ultimately I put this desk under my computer and then I put a long table in it's place because I still needed the desk space to work.  

I have a centers chart and a job chart.  I experimented with different ways to use these charts and I think I've finally gotten a handle on how to use them.  I look forward to a future post that includes an improved way of mounting these charts in a way that they aren't so easily disturbed..... maybe hot glue..... :)