Wednesday 24 September 2014

Room Tour - now on Twitter!

I realized when going through pictures on my phone that a lot of the shots I took after my classroom set up were finished have never been uploaded!

If you're interested, head on over to my professional learning Twitter account (https://twitter.com/JoelSeaman) for a partial tour of our space!

I will take some additional pictures in the coming days - as I look at these few pictures it's remarkable how the space has already transformed now that the students have entered the space! A huge part of my philosophy is that the students should be reflected in the space, with their work covering the walls (rather than pre-made commercial posters). It's just as much their space as mine. I've found this helps to build community, and also ensures that students have connection and context for what is displayed around them. Starting the year in a relatively blank space invites the students to make decisions about what should be displayed and how and shows them that you value and cherish their work.

At the end of the last school year, I had a very rewarding chat with a parent who remarked "When you explained at the start of the year that the walls were blank because you wanted the students to fill it, I wasn't sure...but looking around this room now, I get it!". Last year we made number panels out of found natural materials, photographed and displayed alphabet letters found in our Island community (inspired by the book City ABC), and filled our Art Studio wall with colour word collages created by the students. These were all things that I could have purchased and displayed on my own, but having the students be the ones to create them built such a strong level of pride in the room, and students and parents alike saw this.

Already this year my fabulous ECE partner Shelagh worked with our new community members to create a stunning name mural to be displayed later this week. Stay tuned for more pictures!

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