Pinterest Worthy Classrooms……or NOT

So I've decided a good way to begin my blog is by letting you take a peek at my classroom.  I took a bunch of pictures at the beginning of the school year…some before and after shots.  Do you think I can find my “before” shots….nope. But my “after” looked pretty darned amazing, if I do say so myself………and then I got to thinking.  How many of you browse Pinterest, like me, and feel like you are just “not good enough”?  I like to sit down on a Saturday morning with a cup of tea and look at all the amazing classrooms on Pinterest for inspiration….and although I do get inspired, sometimes I begin to feel overwhelmed too.  “Why doesn't my room look like that?”  “Oh my gosh, I am not organized enough!” “Why aren't all my stations color coordinated in cute matching boxes???????” The list goes on and on.

 Well I'm here to tell you that none of that really matters.  I mean, sure, I love all that cute stuff too and I strive to make my room as fun and learning centered as I can for my fab firsties.  But don't stress yourself out over it all.  If you are a new teacher, it's really enough just to get to know your students and the curriculum you are teaching. The best teachers really are the ones who know their students and strive to meet their needs, wherever they are.  These teachers take the time to modify their curriculum, sit with kids and really work with them and try to help them make progress.  They treat their students kindly and really listen to them.  In short, they focus on the child……not the classroom decor.

It takes time to build up that inventory of “cute stuff”.  It doesn't happen over night…..like the magic Pinterest fairy comes and “sparkles” up every thing in your room and it's just perfect.  Nope…..if you are like many of us you are teaching in an older building with older furniture.  People who have been there the longest have all the “good” stuff…..you know how it goes.

But over time, you begin to gather a few of your own pieces.  Pick stuff up at garage sales….grab a can of spray paint…..and voila that ratty old shelf becomes this really cute piece that looks like it came straight off the pages of Pinterest!! Suddenly you have this really cute corner in your room and you love it!!! And so it goes, year after year until suddenly….your room is Pinterest worthy!!!!

So…..if you aren't there yet, don't let it stress you out.  Take it one shelf at a time.  You'll get there. And in the mean time, keep doing what really matters.  Really teaching your heart out.