Monday 14 January 2013

Reggio Emilia Inspired Classroom for Pre-Primary/Year 1

Reggio Emilia Inspired Classroom for Pre-Primary/Year 1

 The mat area doubles as a stage and puppet area. Cushions are used during reading quiet reading time on the mat. Very few 'props' were provided other than scarves.
 Science table area. This was changed frequently.
 The Block area is a room. It was set up with materials such as blocks, plastic balls, pool hose and carboard rolls. The mat was provided to soften the noise. The light projector was included but was really ignored.
 Storage area.
 Writing/publishing/maths area.
 Entrance - this stopped the students running straight through to the back door.
 Art area.
 The pigeon holes are located behind the couch.

 The students were provided with materials to make simple electric circuits.
 Classroom storage.
 

 Maths manipulative storage - easily accessible by students.







Classroom setup for my gorgeous Year 4 2013 girls

Classroom setup for my gorgeous Year 4 2013 girls!

This year I moved into a new classroom and it gave me an opportunity to 'start from scratch'. This classroom is smaller, older and darker than my previous one but has a storeroom so I had to adjust my thinking. I  decided to try and limit plastic and use natural materials and colours instead.
This is the view from the front door. The chairs are not at the desks yet as the carpets have to be cleaned. I did lots of research on colour and layouts and as I came from a school with a Reggio focus I brought that knowledge into the layout and design as well. I have had many positive comments and I really don't think the photos do the class justice.



I bought these peg tags on ebay and have used them on the front door attached to tulle. It looks great.

 
I have some windows that are at a difficult height - when others go by you feel as though you are in a fishbowl so I got these blinds which still allow the light in but block out the gazes. Later on in the year I will let them down and tie the ribbons around the middle so that the class develops a bit.

 
For the main bulletin boards which go across the back wall I used a large piece of fabric in sky blue. I tried as much as possible to use neutral or natural colours.
In one corner of the room I added organza curtains to represent a rainbow. I looks great and is just hung by an embroidery hoop and pins.
I used tulle as a border by knotting it gently every 30cm and pinning it. Trying to represent clouds.
I have put some lights up in a corner to distract attention from the printer and modem. Again I have tried to keep the colours natural and the shapes match my bigger lanterns.
 
I am going to use brass keys to make my bulletin board headings rather than paper or plastic letters. I can't wait to see how it turns out - but first I have to figure out how to do it. 
 
I used calico for the side bulletin board and have used bamboo as a rod for the Aboriginal inspired fabric. The fabric will be replaced by the girls' work on Aboriginal People.
I found this idea on Pinterest and modified it a little. We had an Orientation Day last year and the girls traced their left and right hands which I glued onto a black piece of card. They will come in on the first day and have something to remind them of our last meeting. I also took loads of photos and have had it made into a photobook which I will display outside the classroom.

For my teacher bulletin board which is at the front on one side of the interactive whiteboard I used yellow gingham checked fabric as lots of research suggests a bright yellow at the front will stimulate. I am going to use the clipboards for my notices instead of pinning as it will be quicker and look better.
I used matching gingham check for the bulletin board on the other side of the interactive whiteboard but softened it with a piece of curtain. The boarder is actually printed but I turned it round and used it white instead - it looks wonderful.
The table at the front has the timetables, message boxes, first aid kit etc in a basket. The boxes are taken by parent volunteers.The magazine rack is for extra notes that go home (they often get lost and need replacing) - they are easily accessible and parents can just pick them up quickly from the same spot.
 
 
 
I decided to have two mat areas. The girls love to sit on a couch with me when we are reading a novel or doing group work.
 The second mat area is at the front near the whiteboard.
I am trialling this storage chest under the whiteboard and have put cushions on it so that the girls can sit on it at times. This was one of my ebay treasures.
I found these magnetic storage containers and am using them to store my magnets at the top of the board. It makes it so much neater.
This whiteboard is used for smaller group demonstrations. I got the easel from ebay. Behind it is my desk - that is still a work in progress.
I have been quite creative with storage this year and used some wire that I found together with Ikea hooks and pots to create wall storage. It looks amazing. I am going to get some more wire. The wire frame is hooked over the windows.
 
 
I added a little red via the pots - I thought it  looked great. The girls will be able to access these materials as well.
I have put some wicker baskets together and intend to use this to display books, realia, object and 'stuff' relating to our current curriculum focus.
We are going to use the birdcage for goal setting - the girls will revisit them at different times.
Some of the doors were removed from the cupboards so I used wicker baskets again. This can be seen as you enter the class so I wanted it to look great but still be functional. Again I have tried to use natural materials such as wicker and terracotta pots for the interdepence part of the science curriculum. I am really attempting to steer clear of plastic as I wanted the class to feel like a home.
 
Each of the girls will get a cupboard to share with another girl to store all of their belongings and they will also have a chairbag. This works really well and avoids me having to store all their books in piles. I do collect all of their clipboards as it is easy to take the box when we leave the classroom.
 To store things that we will need for planting I used glass jars and kept them together with a cheap plastic mirror that I found in a Red Dot Shop.
 
 
I have stored extra pencils and textas on the shelves under the windows where it is not feasible to store tall objects.
I stored my house point cards in wooden boxes and used them as part of a display.
 
This is another one of my ebay treasures and it stores a lot of the stones and rocks for a particular science unit.
 I sources some wooden in trays for teacher storage. It is very functional and it looks great. I am trying to keep clutter to a minimum.
 
I have marking and handing out baskets. I have used the same marbled paper to make the signs as I used for the girls' name tags for their lockers, bag rack and cards.

 
 Inside each locker I have put up two hooks for the girls to hang their thumb drives and house point bags on.
I have storage for all of the atlases, dictionaries and guided reading books as well as the class library under the windows.
 
I use these drawers (plastic unfortunatly) to store mental maths games, calculators etc. They do work as the girls take the entire drawer out when they use them and this ensures that everything is kept tidy.
 
I store some of the reference books in baskets so the girls can access them.
I have provided each table with a mirror and pots to keep all of their stationery in. The mirror keeps everything together and reflects the light.
I bought a cheap tea trolley from ebay and this lives in my storeroom with craft supplies. When I want the girls to use it - it gets wheeled out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I found this hexagonal table on ebay and the girls can use it with the tracing table on top to complete maps, diagrams etc.

 
 
 

  


 
Really happy with how this part has turned out but I really have to focus now on my desk area and my storage cupboard.