Catching Students Attention Without Saying a Word

To steal a little bit of an idea from Garnett Hillman, there is nothing more exciting than getting your classroom ready to start the year.  Last year, my wife and I stopped by the school during the summer to check on my room and my mailbox when my wife asked, "How do kids learn in here?  It is so boring!"  Ouch!  That stung a bit because I thought I had done a decent job of decorating.  She then suggested we paint the room and redo it, with the approval of my principal.

After emailing my principal, we got the okay and set for to Walmart to look at paint swatches.  I picked one and she picked one and they looked great together.  The excitement was starting to set in.  I was curious how the room was going to turn out.  Well, here are some before pictures of my room:

Now, after painting my room, I can say that just the feel of the room can set the tone and get students attention.  ALL my students come in are drawn in by the feel of the world around them.  It is different world than all the other rooms they set foot in all day, and I LOVE THAT!

The room sets the tone before I get the chance to speak.  I want my students to realize that the room matches my personality.  I like things that are bright and eye catching.  I cannot wait for the room to match the ideas I have spinning in my head from reading Dave Burgess' Teach Like a Pirate.

This year is going to be an exciting journey that I cannot wait to take off and begin.  The new school year has so many promising things.  I cannot wait to flip my classes, incorporate TLAP in my class and get students involved in the decision making!  It is going to be a great year!  

To all my fellow teachers, I hope you all have a great start to the school year, and I cannot wait to read your blogs and twitter updates as the year progresses seeing what new ideas you have started!

Here are the after pics of my room: