La Reina Del Castillo

Earlier today, I had an hour to spare because my car was in the garage for its annual MOT. I had the option of sitting in the windowless waiting area, which consisted of a smoke enveloped greying leather sofa and one of those Nescafe drinks machine that produce a tepid milky liquid you wouldn’t pour on your Dahlias,  or to venture across the road into the retail park consisting of DIY stores and desperate sofa sales persons who are sweating over their next commision. Neither sofa experience appealed to me very much so I marched on, past the greasy, leering car mechanics and the perspiring, twinkly eyed sales letches* and arrived at the gates of TK Maxx. A bit of window shopping couldn’t do me any harm and it smelled significantly fresher than grease and leather.

What did I discover? Well, once I had managed to bypass the clothing section (I am still surviving on the last dregs of my student loan, and do not yet have the luxury of purchasing pretty summer dresses) I found myself in the Homeware section. All I can say is that it felt as though I had entered a teachers’ Aladdin’s cave. At first, all I noticed was some charming crockery and bizarrely scented candles (honeyed fig?). But then, I turned a corner and one item struck me:

I looked at it, and at first I simply admired it as a brightly coloured plant holder that could be used indoors or outside any home. I carried on, but I kept thinking about the object. How could I use it in my classroom? I went back again, looked at the price tag, thought about my student loan and then walked off again. I located the stationery section and selected a new academic diary and planner for myself. All teachers need to be organised, I thought, and I could justify this purchase as an investment for my NQT year:

The plant holder kept calling to me. I walked along the clearance aisle, looking at all the various gadgets that I could turn into table stationery holders, or storage solutions. Eventually, I gave in. I just knew I had to buy the plant holder, and that it would become an important feature in my classroom.It is now sitting with a pile of books that I have collected ready to be transferred into my classroom over the summer! I may use it as a stationary holder, I may use it to keep plants in to brighten the room. Whatever its use, I found it for a reason.

The point of my ramblings is that one of the many joys of being an NQT, and indeed a veteran teacher, is that you can take as much or as little pride in your classroom as you like, and essentially you become your own boss. I have never been in job where I have had my own desk, let alone a whole room, so the experience of making it my own is extremely exciting and filling me with pride. If you have the time and money, I would certainly recommend a trip to stores such as TK Maxx. It is enjoyable to sit and trawl through sites such as Ebay and Pinterest, but you will get the most inspiration from exploring. My next stop is going to be local charity shops; cheap and diverse!

In terms of my actual classroom, Miss Gregory is now in residence. It was the final day of term yesterday and the current Year 3 teacher ‘handed over’ the helm. I spent the day with my TA preparing the remaining wall resources, and ensuring all the little jobs are done such as peg and tray labels for the new class. As you can see from the following images, it is no longer a blank canvas, but I am chomping at the bit to get it finished off over the summer. This first image is from MY desk. This will be where I spend my first year of teaching:

Welcome to Castle Class!

The next few photos are from different points around the room:

I wasn’t keen on using ‘Numeracy’ and ‘Literacy’ on my displays due to the new Curriculum, but the school seemed to be in agreement that they should remain and I did not want to cause an uproar!

The reading corner

Finally, here are images of my maths trolley (I am proud of this idea), and the gorgeous World Map rug where the children will be sitting with me.

I am really hyped for September now. I will try to spend some time relaxing and forgetting about school for a bit, but I don’t want to get complacent. September is going to be one of the toughest challenges yet and I need to be prepared. If all else fails, I will just keep using my laminator that I received as a gift from my first placement back in February. I am having far too much fun with it:

I will also spend some time re-reading my NQT bible – a must for all teachers out there!

Happy summer everyone!

*To all mechanics and furniture sales persons, I apologise if my words offended you. I am sure there are many of you out there who do not fit the stereotype, and I used them purely for writing effect 🙂