Back to School!

In case you've never walked into a classroom after summer break, here is what you will find.

View from the door

 

View from a corner

It's pretty wild! But at least it's just furniture- last year I moved to a different classroom so all my worldly possessions were stacked up in the middle of the room.

Now THAT was intimidating!

This year I am in the same classroom, so all my cabinets and closets were intact without my having to unpack anything. Since I simply love to compulsively organize, I still spent an afternoon moving materials around, sorting through them, and putting them in "just right" containers. My fiance mocks me for this but when it's Friday afternoon and you need to change up center activities and also leave before midnight, it's a lifesaver. In all my setting up and organizing I found some interesting things. First, I discovered that last year someone took our Michaelangelo discussion a bit too far:

 A masterpiece on the bottom of a table.

I also learned a puzzle I bought last year is actually not a puzzle at all. Looks like a puzzle, doesn't it?

After taking it out of the packaging, I learned it is in fact a set of magnetic letters and the yellow background is meant to be thrown away. My bad. On the other hand, maybe I can somehow merge its original intent with my own ideas...

Up on a white board

It does work! So now I have a magnetic puzzle, when I thought I was just going to have a cheapie ABC puzzle to send home in an activity kit. 

Tomorrow begins our week-long professional development before we welcome students, so I'm looking forward to getting some great ideas and learning about some exciting changes for the upcoming school year!