I recently posted a link on my Facebook page that sent more views to a website than ever before.
Often, teachers feel the classroom decor is an extension of who they are as teachers. Organized, bright, calm, or comfortable. The classroom environment we create does tell a bit about who we are as teachers. However, it does not tell everything.
I’ll go ahead and say that the validity is of the study is questionable, but it does bring up a good question. How much is too much?
Although I’m a fairly disorganized person when it comes to physical space, I’m fussy about my classroom. In a room where sixty-eight fifth graders come in my room every day, I set myself up for failure if I’m too decorative.
Here are some questions with my responses regarding classroom decoration and organization.
Does form follow function?
This is definitely more important when designing buildings, but there’s something to think about here. The function of the trays in the photo above is to collect papers from 3 different classes. The trays are metal and awesome and lasted all year. They will last many more years. The paper on the bottoms of each tray did fine. The letters…not so much. I made them on my Silhouette and while I loved them, they did not serve the function intended.
What has got to go?
One of my favorite things to say is, “It gots to go.” The photo above shows my classroom when I arrived. It’s a combination of my stuff and things that were left in the room. I almost crapped my pants when I walked in and saw the room. In my opinion, if you aren’t using it or didn’t know you had it, get rid of it. Now.
How long will is last?
The ribbons on the notebook baskets were a nice touch. How long did it last? Well, out of 15 notebook baskets, 3 still have the ribbon and card. It’s a lot of work to make something that won’t last.
How much print is too much print?
This photo is of my front bulletin board. This is the most “print rich” area in my room. Usually, there are 2 anchor charts on the bulletin board at any given time. Is there sensory overload? Probably not. I keep the same color families, it’s 2 dimensional, and everything there is relevant to instruction.
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6 thoughts on “The Classroom Decor Dilemma: How Much is Too Much?”
I’ve been cleaning and organizing for the end of the year/beginning of next year. I decided lots of stuff needed to go — if I didn’t use it this year, will I use it next? Ended up taking a box of stuff to my local Goodwill store; perhaps some other teacher will jump on it, but I needed space for the boxes that hold the materials for each science unit 🙂
Julie
Math is Elementary
I think teachers tend to decorate for themselves and not for students. We rationalize it by saying that we need to be comfortable in our rooms since we spend so much time there. The advent of Pinterest and teacher blogs have also created a competition to have the cutest room. I know my kids used the academic posters we created and posted and the word walls (I could see them looking at where they used to hang during state testing). We talked about the objectives every day. I had a color scheme for bulletin boards but nothing other than that. My room was attractive and functional but would not have won a teacher decorating contest. Shrug. OK by me.
Krazy Town
I so needed to see this post! I’m working on detoxing my classroom and this gives me the guts to throw away! My classroom is decorated in owls, but I try to keep it reasonable. The kids enjoy having that theme 🙂 I need to remember function!!!
Haley
Following Optimism in 2nd Grade
I teach sixth grade English in a middle school, so I see 125 students per day. I’m a minimalist, so I only “decorate” my bulletin boards. One is for classroom rules and the other is a word wall. The anchor charts are used, I take a picture of them and post on my Pinterest account and get rid of them in recycling. Students can copy the charts into their notebooks or they can take a picture. I just need what I need to stay organized. If I try to put frills or things on baskets, they just don’t last.
I have been looking everywhere for those baskets your notebooks are in. Where did you get those jelly baskets?
They were from my local teacher supply store back in 2013.