CLASSROOM SET UP 2022 | DAY 5 

You could do a "mobile" calm down space. Keep all your tools, resources, and a mat (yoga mat cut in half, a comfy pillow, or a fluffy rug rolled up) in a bucket/basket in a designated spot. Then teach the students that when they need to use the calm down space they can grab the materials and find a space that works for them. Of course you would designate appropriate spaces so they are not a distraction to others but I think Kindergarten students could handle that! By the way, Love your classroom and your joyful and encouraging spirit!

I’m a a little sad that this is the last classroom set up. I’ve enjoyed these videos so much. I’m currently a sophomore in college working on my bachelors in education. And these videos get me through my homework.

First I love you channel! Thanks for sharing so many tips & tricks! I’m an elementary school counselor & you mentioned modeling calming/ emotional regulation techniques. I think the best way to do that is to model that you can get control of your emotions anywhere. Having a basket of tools is a great way to do so. Sometimes students will need to calm down in the library, on the carpet, or even at their desks. If a situation has a student experiencing such large emotions that they need to be away from other students, they probably need additional support at that time and may need to be removed from the classroom to be assisted in calming down & processing the emotions with the counselor.

Your room turned out great! I just love your excitement. Your students are super lucky to have such a warm and dedicated teacher to start their elementary years!

I am a big supporter of having the calming/quiet space separate from the library or other big traffic areas, I feel it's just so important at this age! I am also wondering about your library if you are on another side of the room, it might be difficult to see the whole space and could become a hiding spot!

Your room looks so welcoming and pretty! You are ready for the year to start! Your students are lucky to have you as their teacher!

🥰Yeah!! Love how everything has come together! Your space is ready to welcome your Kinders 😍 For the anchor chart bulletin space - what if you hot glue two clips for each chart paper at the top? When it’s time to put up a new one, just pinch the clip and add the new anchor chart. This way there’s less disruption of the actual board? That’s how I display my student writing samples. 😍

Seeing your classroom like this is making me want to change directions on how I decorate my room ;) I absolutely love it Lauren, you did an amazing job 💖 I am sad that this might be the last dedicated classroom setup video, but excited for vlogs! My 10 year old daughter was watching this with me and when you said you got "Starbies" she replied "She's my girl" haha 😂 Love the idea with the stuffed animals, I have a bunch too and I like the idea to "Showcase" 2 at a time while you explicitly teach how to handle them.

Oh my goodness! I'm obsessed with your classroom, Lauren! Such a cute and functional space!!!

Your room is super cute!! One of my team teachers last year had a large blank wall at the back of her classroom without any bulletin boards. She put anchor charts on dowel rods, and she had ribbon attached to the dowel rod to hang it on command hooks. It looked good in her room.

When it comes to your calm down center . When I was being trained in teaching, we kept the calming center near the entrance this way if a kid gets upset when they come to school and are having separation anxiety and stuff we would have the calming center near the door so they can sit down and calm done before starting there day. It worked well for us especially for our students that had separation anxiety or behavioral problems.

It looks wonderful! I teach k, too. I think you will LOVE it. Calm corner idea- put it close to your desk. It’s out of the main area and you can still monitor the student. Conscious Discipline is a great resource for calm corner.

I absolutely love how your classroom turned out! 💛 I’m the same way about buying things, I always buy in even numbers. If there is something that I want that I can’t find enough of I will search high and low to find an even amount so that it doesn’t drive me insane.

You have taken a classroom space and made it inviting and fun! Your students are going to love it! I love how your energy is reflected in the way the room is set up and decorated. Praying for you, your new school year in K, and your students! 🙏🏻💕

I love your classroom and it’s so fun to listen to you and your thoughts. I feel like I am with a good friend when I listen to your vlogs. It lifts my spirits to hear you and I love your ideas relating to all the teaching things. Insightful and helpful information. Thank you for being a bright light in everyone’s lives. Your kids are so blessed to have you as their teacher. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. So fun!

Hi! School counselor here. Lovely classroom! I would place the calm down corner in the back of the room behind those desks/shelves. It allows privacy. I do have a lesson plan for calm down corners and how to model them for your students to properly use them. But chat with your school counselor too :)

Our safe place is in the back of the classroom to prevent distractions & allow the student to truly step away and reset. Conscious discipline has great free printable resources for a safe place (feeling posters, breathing strategies)!

The way I screamed when I saw this on my feed!! I was looking for something to watch while I plan and here you are!!

Wow! Your classroom is gorgeous. The size of the room and your storage options are incredible. What a dream work space!

Your room is beautiful. Any child would be lucky to be in your class. You are so positive and a ray of sunshine. I look forward to seeing more of what you do in your classroom. Have a magnificent year!

I love you Lauren!!! You made my day again! ❤️

I'm a school social worker! I would put the calm down corner/space away from where most of your instruction happens if possible so it's a little more private for the student. One of the kindergarten teachers I worked with last year had hers near her desk! She also put tape down on the floor to create a boundary for the space since it wasn't in a corner. I would introduce the tools for them and do a lot of explicit modeling for them. I think also explaining that they are "tools not toys" helps too. I also LOVE LOVE visual timers like the sand timers or bubble timers for calming corners/spots.

Michael’s also has TINY clothespins in a million colors. You could do white in the tiny ones!

I use those baskets in my classroom. I love them.

For your anchor charts do the border to the wall, glue some of the clothes pins to hold up the anchor cherts you could also glue the to the better than paper

For anyone who doesn’t have that wall scrapper tool you showed, you can also use dental floss to wiggle behind broken command strips to pop them off the wall. They also loosen if you blast them with a hair dryer for a few seconds. Great video! Love your use of color in the classroom.

Lauren, It looks AMAZING!!

Hi, I love our classroom peace place. The goal is eventually for students to be able to signal to you they need a break and go to the peace place on their own. I’ve taught my students to do a peace sign the number two sign on their fingers when they feel like they need a break. Of course, sometimes as an adult I have to make the choice for them that in order to be safe they need to go to the peace place. I leave a bucket of fidgets there and a timer for them To use. They use an hour glass timer and when it goes off we can talk and then can rejoin or they can chose to set it for another minute. Hope this helps.

WIshing you the best for this new adventure in kindergarten! Congratulations!!

Your vlogs just make me so happy!

Cutenesses! Love the rug and the buddies

I used conscious discipline resources for my calm down area. I introduced it during circle time and had a bucket with a timer , a mirror, a few books (social emotional) . My room was very small so the “corner” was not too far from our circle area. For behavior I use green/red choices from pocket of preschool, she has wonderful resources. Your room is looking amazing!! ❤️

Your room looks so beautiful! I love finding inherited classroom 'treasure' in the cupboards, the manipulatives will be so useful! You did an awesome job, and as a fellow practitioner, I have really enjoyed following along with your classroom set-up :)

You’re room is absolutely beautiful. I think a little pop up tent near your desk might work for your calm down corner.

I love how your classroom looks! It looks so organized and calm! You seem so excited, and that's the best way to walk into the school year!

You’re classroom turned out amazing. Well thought out, well done! Would you be able to give tips on classroom management and what you’ve learned over the years for a video?

Your room is awesome! I would probablyy put the calm down space in a "less public" space-- those students sometimes get triggered if they feel like other students are looking at them (or keep going for the attention 😬).

You rock girl! Your room is amazing!

You did a fantastic job 👏 You spent a lot of money, but it was money well spent! I would love to see how your students work in the centers while you are working with a group. Have a great school year and Happy First Time teaching Kindergarten! Your Kinders are going to love their class and you ❤️

Your kids (and their parents!) are going to LOVE THIS ROOM!! ❤️

Obsessed with how cute your space turned out and I’ve loved watching all your set up videos! Could you do a first week of school plan with me? Currently trying to plan out my first week in kindergarten 🤩

When I taught kinder the past two years, I did a basket with handle called the "Calm-Down Kit." Students knew where the kit was located and would go and grab it and take it to a private space in the room when they needed it. I had a timer in there that they would set, and they could use the kit until the timer went off. Then, they would put the kit back and return to learning. It worked wonders for my kiddos!

I've really enjoyed your classroom set up series this year

Your room is so, so cute and I love it. That book area is really cute.

So happy for you and your students! This is going to be a great learning space for them! Can't wait to follow along on your new adventure in kinder! 💛💛

Your room is adorable! Love the library space you created.

Your classroom is amazing. Those little kindergartners are going to love it and you!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I just helped my best friend set up her first classroom, and seeing your videos gave us so much inspiration! Love these videos every year!!

Your classroom always is so organized! I would love to see how you organize your materials for math and reading groups! Good luck this year!

Your classroom looks amazing!!! Love your 8 cube organizer and how you will be using it…. Your littles are going to love your classroom!!! ❤️👏👏👏

Queen!! 42 minutes!? Thank you!! I just sat down with brunch 😋

It looks SO beautiful! You are right, it’s a great room. Good luck!

Buckets on the metal shelf! Good idea! 👍.

Your room looks so amazing! Awesome job!

Putting up a border on a blank wall is a great idea. Try clipping binder clips to the top border to hold the anchor charts. That is what I did last year and it worked great.

I love these classroom setup videos. Even though I'm teaching 5th grade this year I can still get some good tips from these

Your room look awesome! You have such a positive outlook. Have a great year in kinder, I’m gonna miss your first grade ideas.

I teach 2nd, but I have a calm down corner under an open cabinet so it’s more like under the counter. I took some fabric and tied it opened. In the inside I bought a cute doggie bed at TJMaxx (but it doesn’t look liked a dog bed) I added some pillows and a bucket with calming and sensory toys. When my students need a minute we set a timer and when the timer goes off I check to see if they are ready to return to class. I have been using a calm down corner for a few years and I have had some really major behavior issues, but I have found most of them just want a place where they can isolate themselves and it helps get them back before anymore disruption occurs

You are amazing!! So kind and inspiring!! Looking forward to your videos once your students begin!💗

Your room looks amazing! Those kindergarteners are so lucky to have you and such a beautiful, bright, and friendly looking room to work/learn in!!

If you're interested in keeping a portfolio of work, use brads instead of sticky clips. Sticky clips is a great idea though! Hot glue the back of the brads to the paper and you'll have to hole punch student work. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Teddy looked like he was ready for the day in the classroom! 😆 I so wish I could bring my pup on days like these.

I love your videos... you're inspired me a lot... keep the energy out children need it!

It's so stinkin cute in there... I'm excited for you!

Greetings and blessings for this upcoming year Ms.

Your room looks beautiful 😍

I have loved this series! Looking forward to your daily vlogs too!

I have a similar wow work display. I use binder clips to hold the student work.

I love your calendar setup. You may want to add a day count in that area with base ten cubes

YES SAVE SPACE!!! I’m starting at a new school this year as well. For our meet the teacher night I received soooo many supplies!!! Clorox wipes were tumbling out of the cabinets on top of me lol.

It looks so good! 💖💖💖

To keep your anchor chart space from coming apart, you might consider putting up 2 command hooks to hang your charts up with, use rings to hang your charts rather than using sticky charts.

When it comes to the pencil sharpeners, I quit getting the ones with just two little blades in them, I like the ones that has the old fashioned thick sharpening blades in them.

Love it and watching classroom set up video lots of fun things on RU-vid video

I absolutely love how the room has turned out. I wish I could do a wow work wall like that but with 40 kids I just don’t have the space. My calm down corner is near my cubbies. What are the two shelves facing the back wall for?

I love your classroom! I just wish you would have shown us it all one last time now that it was finished.

I’ve also seen teacher use those cute paper clips on the wow work colorful papers, that way the paper clips don’t take away any space

Good Morning Lauren and Teddy! You room looks soooooo good Lauren! I am so excited for you... I know you will have an amazing school year. You should be able to put the big boxes in the hallway and the custodians can take them... there is always big big big trash bins by the cafeteria that is for all school trash... if you want to throw them away yourself find the bins ...(less work) ;0) Make sure you ask your school principal or the lead secretary about yearly teacher funding.... There is always an allotment budgeted every year for teachers to use to purchase supplies and such. Normally the purchase requests are turned in at the end of the year... however, they accommodate for new teachers coming in.. The school will have a company they work with (ours is Staples) You make a list...copy or print it off and give to the office...Also... don't feel intimidated to ask for any furniture that you need for the room... they also budget for that as well... especially since you are teaching Kindi... you spend a lot of your own money throughout the year with all the activities, celebrations, and such.... My Kindi year - I spent $3000+ ..... YES GIRL!! So don't be afraid to ask - even if you are new....... xoxo Michelle

I store my teacher read alouds like you. I made vinyl apples to put on the bins so my students would know the books in those bins were teacher books.

School social worker here- keep the items simple, your ideas are great! The biggest tip is expect when you introduce the calm corner for students to over use it, the novelty of it will eventually wear off eventually and it will be used for students who truly need it.

I use bucket fillers in prek! My students count them themself. Great math practice for little ones! I also have a calm down corner that works wonders!!! They can access it throughout the day anytime they need it, except in a lesson time. One child at a time. We have a timer- when the timer is out, they clean up and come see me so I can make sure they are feeling better. I have a photo album with some students family pictures. Sometimes they are still sad and may want to keep a picture with them. I also have a fish tank in mine; they can set our fish timer if they just want to watch fish but aren’t needing to calm down- that timer is 1 minute; the other is 5 minutes. They don’t have to stay the entire time, but they can. We have squeeze toys, fidget toys, sensory bottles, and emotion books (with the photo album), but I never call them toys, everything there is a calm down tool- a tool that helps us learn to manage our emotions in a healthy way.

Nice Job!

Your classroom is a dream! I love the space behind your desk!! Could you put your own refrigerator and microwave or is that not allowed?

Maybe you could have the calm down space back by your teacher desk? Room looks so good! Hope to see one more final room tour before school starts!

Your read alouds might do well in that bench cubby, but be aware that they might get beat up a little. I have cube organizers in mine and when the kids sit there, their feet swing or bump whatever is being stored in there. They actually rubbed the cubes so much that I had to turn them around to another side because they looked so beat up.

Aww, no more videos of set up. I enjoyed your process very much. The room looks 👌!

I absolutely love your classroom!!!! Are you going to be doing a word wall, as well?

One more...... ;0) Ask one of your teammates how to get the "Teacher Handbook" that each school should have that outlines all the expectations for teachers at that particular school...It should answer a lot of your questions (what to do with trash etc) Ours in online and I always print it off and put it in a binder. It is one of those "bathroom reading materials" that you highlight LOL! Michelle

I LOVE your classroom!! This will be my eleventh year teaching but my first year teaching at the elementary level. I’ve been watching your videos for inspo and I absolutely love them. Quick question, Where are your desk flowers from??

Hi I love your videos and the way your classroom flows. I was wondering if you can put the calm down corner where you have that small table where you were talking about a writing center in the beginning of your videos

Your room look so beautiful! Lol also me thinking “just use boarder, no paper” and then you deciding you will probably do that. Great minds think alike lol

Your room looks absolutely amazing!! Your kinders are going to grow so much! I had one question, where are the folder storage things from that are on your smal group cart?

Is that first book in your SEL bin The Invisible String? I love that book. I’m finishing my thesis on using literature to help students through grief caused by death. I’m using that as one of my examples in my presentation this Wednesday. Teaching kids that we are connected to our loved ones even when we are separated is so important for littles! ❤️❤️❤️

Hi. I am in love with your classroom. Can you please let me know where you got your pillows in the library

You could still have your background paper and possibly have clips that you put the anchor charts on the clips.

Your room is adorable. You might want to reconsider the white bench in your calm down corner or keep the bottom empty. From past experience sometimes kids go there because they are angry and ripping books wouldn't be out of the realm. (If you know Teeny Tiny Teacher, this happened to her last year...) Also without the bench the kids could use the corner and be more "hidden" while they calm down.

Our kids use the zen zone most often after specials our only issue was we did have some problems with some of our things wondering off…

Do you think that bucket fillers would work well for fourth grade? I love the idea!

Your room looks amazing!! Where did you get the paper fans on your bulletin boards? What do you use to hang them up?

What’s going in the back on the tiles? Love the classroom is so cosy!