Love this one! The design idea credit totally goes to my husband. Without his help this poster would just be the 'no Can't' sign in the center.
I finished two more posters in the last 2 days ANNNDDD I was able to get into my room today finally! I have a new arrangement for my tables that didn't quite fit as good as I was hoping.
Last year's arrangement was 10 tables pushed together to make five big ones so I decided to break it up a bit and have 3 rows of 3 tables for 9 total. Unfortunately it didn't fit! One of the tables is practically touching my drying rack so that's a no go. My solution (not sure if I like it yet) is to push the three center tables together creating one large one and having the outside rows stay the same.
This would leave me with 6 square tables on the sides of the room (seats 4 students) and one very long one right down the middle (seats 6-8 students). Part of me thinks this will be great. I love the idea of the long table for murals, group projects, large demonstrations, etc and I also like having the small tables for a more intimate working experience.
I'm also hoping that it will offer two different seating environments for different student needs. Some students work fine in larger groups while others do better working with just one or two other students.
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| Blue squares are my art tables... |
What do you think of an arrangement like this? Has anyone had experience setting up different types of seating areas in their classroom? What were your success or un-success with it?
Thanks!!
I want to change up the table arrangement in my 3-5 grade school this year. Have to wait until school starts as I share the room with the music teacher( we alternate days) I'm sure he will be fine with it but still... I grouped my tables together like your center section one year and didn't care for it. I felt like I lost room on the ends and it was hard to separate certain students that should not be near each other. I did not like working around the long sections. It was good for group projects though. Try it and see how you like it. :)
ReplyDeleteMrs. C, thanks for your response! I can see now how it would be tough to get across the room quickly and how the back ends of the room would be possibly more difficult to manage. Perhaps I'll try it for the first trimester and try to plan some collaborative work so we can get some real use out of the long table. And then evaluate how it's working after that. I appreciate your feedback! I am horrible at making decisions- especially these kind that I can't 'picture' until I have a room full of kids! ;)
DeleteI'm going into a new classroom and the previous teacher had it in 3 long rows. When I went in to visit last year, I couldn't stand having to go up and down the long aisles to get to the other side of the room. I was originally thinking 6 small tables, but I think your idea has great possibilities. I am wondering if maybe the long table should be on one side of the room instead of the center, so I doesn't create a traffic problem?? I can't get into my room until next week, so I'm hoping the ideas in my head will work. :)
ReplyDeleteJamieSarra thanks! I was wondering that also if I moved the long table to the back of the room so I wouldn't have to 'get around it'. I'll have to decide if I want to make the custodians move the tables once more before school or not! :) (I want to keep them on my 'good' side!)
DeleteGood luck with your classroom next week! Going into mine was both reassuring (because I had been waiting so long) and stressful (because there is a ton to be done!).
Do you have a TPT site where I can download your prints?
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm sorry Cara I don't. I just made them by hand. They've never been scanned and uploaded in a digital format... It might be something I'd consider in the future.
ReplyDeleteI love the CAN poster......I know you are going to say that I CAN download it to put in my kindergarten classroom!!.......am I right?
ReplyDelete