designing your classroom. {there's an app for that}

I got in my brand new classroom in my brand new school for the first time on Friday.  There were some good surprises {no teacher desk & no housekeeping furniture} some not so fun realizations {no filing cabinets & an icky brown remnant carpet} and a lot of differences to adjust to. Isn't it funny how the tiniest things can throw off your whole plan?! no circle tables?! how on earth will I survive?! Luckily! I had been planning to start from square one & revamp it all so I was beyond thrilled when I left. {knowing my filing cabinet & carpet issues were being resolved was a major bonus...love a supportive admin!!}

I did go ahead & move the furniture around so I'd be more ready to "move in" next week and unload allllll of the goodies from my home office. :)

That notebook you see in the 2nd picture has all of my notes, lists & reminders so I tried to sketch my classroom floor plan there as well. Not so much. Remember my lack of artistic ability?  Yeah, apparently I'm also not great at spatial vizualtion because I couldn't get the sizing of anything right. I said "I wish I could just draw on top of my photos" and {bam!} it hit me.  Educreations.

Educreations is a great app that I use on my iPad all of the time. Kids can draw & write but there's also a record button so you can not only hear the child verbally process as they work but you can also watch their movements in real time. {like when you're guessing on DrawSomething}

So here are my new & improved before photos with plans...that will probably change...but it's a start!

{view from front door}

{front wall.  to the right of the front door.}

{back wall. to the left of the front door.}

{cubby wall & front door}

SO much better right?!  Plus I can go in and add more when I change my mind - like decided to scrap the little shelves in front of my "desk" and putting the filing cabinets there instead to make a magnet station.  {so exited!!!}

Plus one little video of Huxtable because he's so darn cute so you can see how the record feature works. ;)

{click on Huxtable to see a video example of the app!}

You can record yourself giving directions & email it home to a student who was out sick. You can demonstrate how to spell phonetically or work through a specific math process & upload it to your website for parents to access at home. You can upload various pictures for kindergarteners to practice labeling.  The possibilities of the app are almost endless.

I have a 4 day math training next week so I'll only get to work in my room for about an hour each day. But I'll keep you posted as things progress along!