Room Arrangement Craziness

I went to work on Monday and Tuesday and put in a few hours working on arranging the room and decorating it. I have to say that I am struggling a bit with the set up in my room. Like so many other teachers, when I set up the room I want it to look a certain way. I know this is true because I popped into five classrooms that were already set up and saw neatly formed desk groups.

What always makes me laugh is watching commercials or movies where the classrooms are always set up in neat rows. I remember neat rows when I was in school, but you don't find many elementary classes set up like that anymore. For awhile now, groupings of desks are what are found in most classrooms because of cooperative learning. So here I go and try to break the current mold, and I'm not really liking it.

I like my room to be set up with zones. The classroom library zone. The teacher desk zone. The table for groups zone. The students' desks all-neatly-grouped zone. Trying to set up a classroom that allows students to sit in groups, pairs, or by themselves is making me crazy. I want to put those desks in neat little groups so badly. On Tuesday when I went in I didn't touch a single desk. I wanted to but I didn't. The room just felt full of desks.

I have been trying to think of different ways of doing it without it feeling like a desk warehouse but still give them the freedom to sit in the arrangements that work best. That hasn't been easy. When I go back to school again I have a few minor changes that I think I'll make. One thing is to cut my carpet into two pieces. I have a very long carpet and it takes up quite a bit of room. I think that if I cut it and make the main section of carpet smaller I can move some desks closer to my Promethean Board and they won't seem to stretch from the front of the room to the back. Then I can use the smaller piece of carpet for a work area for small groups. Today I decided to hang out in my PJ's rather than work, so in my mind it should work, but I'll have to see it if it works next time I go in.

The next change is making one the pairs and one of lone desks into a group of three. I currently have five sets of pairs and five lone desks. I think going from five of each to four still works. I have no idea how many students will want regular solo work desks, but five does seem like a lot to me. Of course, desks are just one option for working alone or with groups. I do have four comfy nooks set up in the room so a desk isn't always necessary.

I really hope these changes help my craziness and still work well for the atmosphere that I am trying to create. Some might wonder why I don't just set it up the way that I want, but it isn't about me. It drives me crazy when teachers say they won't do something because it is inconvenient for them. Um, it's not about them. It's about the kids. Okay, mini rant is over. :)