Friday, July 13, 2012

Problem Solved...At Last!

My classroom is itty bitty. 

Teeny tiny.

Seriously.

Hanging up my word wall has been a struggle for me.  Honestly, since I'm so tight on space, I hated giving up so much real estate for Word Wall Words.  I ended up putting them on four of my closet doors which frustrated me beyond belief.

FOUR doors. 

Do you know what I could have done with that space?  (and they aren't even big doors!)

My colleagues put them across their white boards.  Didn''t work for me since I used them for Boggle and such.

I saw a great pic showing them UNDER the white board.  I really love this! 




But again, after much thought, that really wouldn't be ideal either since I have book bins, carts, etc. that have to be against the wall.  (If I had the space, I would so do that!)   I saw portable ones and all sorts of clever "walls."  But my search is over and it's not rocket science. I just had a Responsive Classroom workshop a few days ago in a room with the words posted ABOVE the boards in that empty space. 


One of my pet peeves has always been when I see things hung up high with such tiny writing that it's useless and certainly not going to help/benefit the kids.  But the words above uses a  HUGE font.  This room is way, way, way bigger than mine and I was standing at the back and, even with my oh, so terrible eyes, I could easily see/read every word. They may not look big or words that can be easily read in the pic but they are.

So, this is my new plan and I am happy.
And relieved.
And did I mention happy?

One Drawback:  Since I add only 5 words weekly, this will require a ladder each week.  Since I am under 5 foot, I guess I'm used to that!

I always think meetings should be rotated to different classrooms so we get to peek inside.  Yes, we go to each other's rooms but when you are sitting in a long meeting, you really get to "see" the room, you know?

Other news:

1. My husband and I just handed in our first historical fiction novel today for ABDO.  A fun project and it was great working with John.  He's a fellow teacher having taught Middle School English for 15 years before becoming a media specialist in same district last year.  He's a HUGE history buff so he made it all run smoothly!

2. Heading to Maine for vacation tomorrow and so looking forward to it. 

3. I just ate a gallon, quart, pint teaspoon of Turkey Hill Yankee Brownie Sundae ice cream and wish I could have shared it with you!

Have a great day!

4 comments:

  1. Finding the perfect Word Wall spot is always an experience isn't it? Glad you found yours. Have fun in Maine and congrats on the book!
    ❀ Tammy
    Forever in First

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am glad your found a good place for your word wall. I have to climb on stuff to hang things up too!

    I hope you have a great vacation. =)

    Heather
    Heather's Heart

    ReplyDelete
  3. I nominated you for an award!! Visit my blog to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm your 100th follower!!! Harrison isn't that close to me, otherwise I'd make you visit me. :)

    ✰ Kimberley ✰
    First in Maine

    ReplyDelete

Let's chat!