Desks vs. Tables

This year was the first year I haven’t used desks, and I absolutely LOVED it!  I know the table setup doesn’t work for everyone, but it is perfect for my classroom!  Now… that’s not to say that some of my precious kiddos don’t become “islands” at some point and have a desk to themselves until they can earn their way back to a table. So why do tables work so much better for me?

Here's a picture of what one of my tables and the bookshelf look like:

So what do you think?  Desks or tables?

Classroom Layout

Can y’all believe it?  I go back to work in less than 4 weeks!  This summer has gone by so fast!  I do have to say, at the moment, I’m kind of looking forward to going back to work though.  This year is going to be very different.  While I am staying in third grade, my ENTIRE third grade team is new.  One fourth grade teacher is moving down to third grade, one of our paras that did Tier 3 pull outs is coming to the team, and then 3 teachers from a neighboring school are joining us!  Two taught third grade in our district last year, and the other taught fourth.  We are definitely not lacking experience, which is wonderful!  I feel like a little kid again, excited for school to start, and not really knowing completely what to expect!

So, since I’m already gearing up for back to school… the first thing I always think about is my classroom layout/setup.  Luckily, this year I’ve decided to keep my same layout from last year.  All I’ll have to do is take all of my personal furniture and decorations out of the back closet and put them back where they go. 

I’ve been at my school for 6 years now and the classrooms are all set up pretty much the same way, so I’ve been able to perfect the layout that works for me.  Below is a graphic of the layout of my classroom.  I didn’t put in all of my personal bookshelves (there’s one at the front of each student table and several around my reading area and behind the horseshoe table).  Also, this is absolutely NOT to scale!!

The day of orientation I like to walk through all the classrooms at school to see how each teacher has set their room up for the year, it never ceases to amaze me how different each classroom is, even with the same layout and permanent fixtures.  This layout works for me, but it’s really all about finding out what works best for you. 

I’m going to continue a series of blog posts this week about my classroom layout/setup and how I use different parts of my room.  I’d love to hear about what your classroom layout looks like!  Is there something you like about mine?  Something you’d change?  Comment below!