To Theme or Not To Theme?


Does your classroom have a theme? I'm not sure which came first, Pinterest or the classroom theme but I remember the summer I discovered that classrooms were supposed to have themes. I had just been hired for my first teaching position (thankfully at a school I have loved so much that I've never left). I was hired in June and of course I didn't begin until August so I had one long summer to collect supplies and prepare for my first classroom ever, my very own space.

Having never set up my own classroom before, I began spending hours on Pinterest looking at classroom furniture, set ups, decorations, etc. It became painfully obvious that classrooms were meant to have themes. I immediately texted my girl friends from grad school wondering what their themes would be? Camping theme, woodland creatures, etc. were the responses I got. No wonder, those were all things I had seen on Pinterest.

Being the San Antonio transplant that I am, I settled on a Texas/Fiesta theme and I went wild. I grabbed papel picado banners from the downtown Mexican Market. I purchased colorful paper flowers, floral fabric, you name it, I bought it. And of course, this was before I received a single paycheck. Then I got into that room and meticulously set up my library and began decorating. Did my room look great? I think so. Was it necessary? Absolutely not.

In the years since I have always enjoyed decorating my room and using the summer time to scour Instagram (not so much a Pinterest girl anymore) to gather new inspiration and ideas for my room. I have however begun to prioritize purchases around something other than a than an explicit theme and instead focused more on creating an inviting space that 1. I love and 2. will make room to develop a loving classroom community.

If you're debating whether or not to theme or not to theme this year, here are some things to consider:



I'll admit, when I am asked about my classroom, I often explain my theme as Mexican Fiesta, but truthfully it's transformed into more of what I would call a bright, inviting space. I've kept some decorations over the years and I've purged some decorations. As I embark on my fourth year of teaching and shop for things I know I'll need for my room, I have shifted my obsession with a theme to a focus on creating an inviting space. This year, I'll set up some fiesta decorations and use bright colors, but all in an effort to create an inviting space!
Theme or no theme, shift your focus from a room that exudes Pinterest or Instagram beauty to creating a space that fosters community with your kids. In the end, you and your students will remember the fun and learning and laughter you share together, not the fact that the alphabet on the wall matched the labels on their book boxes.

Good luck! I can't wait to hear about and see the beautiful spaces you create!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have You Read Teal?

Image
I am always looking for new back to school read alouds. In the past I have read Chrysanthemum , A Bad Case of Stripes , and Pout Pout Fish Goes to School , among others. This year especially I have been looking because I am about to have a "new" batch of kids, many of whom I taught two years ago in 2nd grade. Honestly, I have probably been too worried about this for too long until I found the book Teal  by Renee Galvin. This book is about a beautiful, confident teal crayon. He knows his worth and is generally a happy guy until it comes time to clean up. As all of the crayons go back to their labeled boxes, he feels alone. He's not quite blue and not quite green so he doesn't know where he belongs. After much thought and hard work, he finds a solution to bring all of his crayon friends together! I absolutely love this book for a number of reasons: 1. It's so relatable. After all,  everyone  has felt left out at one point in their life, even if they ge
Read more

Start Your Year with Kahoot

Image
A few years ago, I was introduced to Kahoot during a staff training. If you have never used it before, it's a free website where you can make different quizzes and games that your class or group of teachers can interact with on their laptops, iPads, or phones. Since learning about it, I have used it with second graders to create end of unit, group review quizzes. This summer though, I have been thinking about what a fun tool it would be at the beginning of the year. My disclaimer is this: I haven't actually tried  any of these ideas, because they are just that, ideas. So here they are and if you take any of them and run with them please  let me know how it goes for you! 1. Two Truths and a Lie Have all of your students write down two true facts and one "alternative fact" about him or herself on the first day of school. After school or on your planning plug them all into a Kahoot quiz. Have your students guess the "lies" by taking the quiz in gro
Read more

Flexible Seating Series Part 3

Image
Hopefully by now some of you have read my posts about considering flexible seating and gathering flexible seating options . If you're new to flexible seating, you're probably asking, "yeah, so how do I do  it?" I know I've mentioned this before, but it's so important that I want to mention it again: Flexible seating is about meeting your students' needs. I first implemented it because as I was teaching whole group lessons two years ago, I would look out at my class and notice that almost all of my boys were practically falling out of their seats because of their need to move. When given the choice to sit at their desks or lay on the floor during independent work time, one  of them stayed at his desk and the rest of my class was on the floor. We expect so much from kids academically, I believe that it is essential  to meet them where they are in terms of seating. So if all you have is the furniture your classroom came with, start there. A
Read more