Preparing the environment

As much as I miss working with the children during the morning work cycle, I'm super excited to be setting up my new classroom! I've been waiting for this chance for several months now and am finally getting a couple hours each day to begin setting up. My first task was actually to remove everything that didn't actually belong in the classroom. Between using the space for daycare all last school year, then moving other things for safe keeping over the summer there was quite a bit of extra furniture and miscellaneous objects in there!

Second order of business was setting up the basic layout of my room. In a Montessori classroom it's important that there be room for the children to move about and work on the floor if they want. I tried to place the small work tables in quieter areas so they can develop concentration. And of course there's dealing with the physical limitations of the room, like the location of the sink and doors. I'm pretty excited with how it's turning out, and cannot wait until some parent volunteers finish building the new shelves that will be going in my classroom.

It feels like the countdown to starting my own room has really begun!

After having most of the extra things cleared out...
we still have a ways to go!