Today I have put together some top tips to keep in mind when setting up your new early learning classroom. These are all things I have picked up through my years of teaching young learners and I now think about every year when I set up my new room! I hope you find these tips useful. If you would like to check out my video all about my classroom setup tips you can watch that here!
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Set up from a child's eye level
When you are setting up your areas or wall displays actually get down on your knees and think about what your learners will actually see! Think about what they will find engaging and useful. Consider hanging or displaying things lower and keep higher areas for you to display prompts or information for yourself. For example, you could use higher areas to display Bloom's Questioning prompts!
Don't be afraid to display resources or learning prompts on lower pieces of wall or even furniture like the backs of bookcases (ensure you have permission first from your school!)
Do a clear out!
Take this opportunity to get rid of old pieces of artwork, out of date resources and all those broken staplers!
Once your classroom is cleared give all those hard to reach places a good clean.
Choose a theme/color scheme
Think about what colour scheme best suits your personality and your young learners!
Will you go for rainbow, pastels or more neutral?
Consider ensuring your class does not look too bright or chaotic as this may be over-stimulating for some children. You can learn more about how to decorate your classroom in my blog post How to Decorate My Classroom.
If you are looking to create a fresh and fun environment in your early learning classroom this pastel themed classroom decor pack does just the thing!
You can actually grab this classroom decor pack for FREE by clicking the link below!
Don't worry about filling up the walls
Don't feel like you need to fill your walls or display boards at the start of the year.
Of course put up things that will help your learners such as phonics prompts, number lines etc.
Leave the rest of your wall space to display your learner's work. They will feel so proud and it will give them a sense of ownership.
Create break out spaces
Consider creating a break out space for your young learners to work, read or relax in if they find things tricky in a whole class environment or even if they just need some quiet time.
You could make this very inviting by adding cushions, throws or even some fairy lights.
Include organisational space for you
Create a space for you to organise your daily resources. This could be behind your desk or a cupboard in your classroom.
It's a great idea to have days of the week boxes/trays. This ensures you have a central place where all your daily resources are and it saves you scrambling around looking for things. If you would like to learn more about organising your resources then you can check out my blog post How Do Teachers Stay Organised?
Ask your learners what they would like
Ask the children in your new class what types of areas, resources etc they would like in their classroom.
This is another chance to give them ownership of their new learning environment. They may even come up with ideas you never thought of!
Ensure access to resources
Ensure your learners have easy access to resources they will need to use daily eg: pencils, scissors, glue etc.
A great way to encourage independence within your young learners is to store all these resources in central places such as baskets or trays and encourage your class to help themselves when they need them.
I have personally tried having a basket/tray of resources at each table, however, I found this seemed to reduce my learner's independence as they would then ask for a pencil etc if there wasn't one at their table instead of looking for one! However, this may work for you and your class!