So after what feels like a lifetime of home visits, the classroom is eventually ready for the little cherubs to start on Monday morning!
After completing my first full year of nursery I feel like this year I have an even better understanding of what needs to go in my room and how best to support my kiddos.. so let me walk you through!
This is my teaching area with my teacher shelf that I've tried to organise! My sitspots are serving me well and I got rid of the mat as there wasn't enough space for each of my little ones (and it was covered in wee, sick and god knows what else!!)
I've introduced a linear calendar this year and we will use this every day as part of our morning meetings, as well as looking at the weather each day with the help of my morning meeting pack and my little weather gnomes!
My morning meeting bundle can be found by clicking the photo
I've switched up my snack area by adding a self-registration area where my 'thinking spot' used to be and I LOVE how cute it's turned out!! I'll be teaching my kiddos how to use the snack area with the help of my Snack Time social story bundle.
I've also used these ikea frames to make it easier to display what food is available at the snack table each day - so cute and so simple!
My snack time bundle can be found by clicking the photo
This is my construction/small world/investigation area! I made the car table from a cable reel that I painted with blackboard paint and I LOVE how cute it's turned out - especially with the addition of the super cute wooden road signs.
I also added some 'I can build' STEM cards that I put on to binding rings so the kiddos who need support with ideas on what to create can access this independently. You can get them from TPT from Pocket of Preschool here;
Last year I had a 'thinking spot' which was established before I
even became the nursery teacher.. my kiddos LOVED the thinking spot. It
had the best view in the room so they could sit in front of their
friends smiling and they'd constantly mess around there. This year we've
introduced a 'Calm Down Corner' with stress relievers for children who
need them, or for those who want to mess around then these will be
removed and they won't be able to sit in front of their friends smiling
from the best view in the classroom anymore!
The home corner has also had a makeover and looks much more cosy and organised! I bought some cheap curtains from ikea and hung them up to give it a softer look, as well as adding a throw and cushion that my mom also bought for my from ikea!
I also added some role play necklaces to the role play area to 'limit' the number of children in here. Some people suggested that these could assign gender roles and reinforce stereotypes but I completely disagree! These editable home corner necklaces can completely reflect the make up of your family types - same sex parents, children living with aunts/uncles, various races etc.
My home corner necklace cards can be found by clicking the photo
I've also switched up my creative area a little bit and made these super cute kiddos for my display! I am totally in love with this display and love how easy it is to switch their heads around to customise their art work!
I've added some dinosaurs to our tuff spot for the first week back because who doesn't love giant dinosaurs?!
This is my malleable area where the kiddos get to play with doh, floam, slime - anything messy that helps develop their motor skills!
My children absolutely LOVE dough disco so I added my dough disco move posters and a gorgeous disco ball to the area.
I've also added a finger gym table to support their fine motor development that I will change weekly.
You can purchase my pre-writing skills pack which covers finger gym and dough disco here;
Or the individual dough disco pack here;
The coat area is now de-cluttered thanks to the welly tables being moved outside - once all of the coats are on their pegs I will then push the coat rack to the side as they LOVE to run around it!
My reading area has also had a complete overhaul! A very lovely lady kindly made my reading teepee for me. Initially I had purchased a pop-up tent but then totally changed my mind about it - there are giant donuts for them to sit on and read too!
My story shelves are my absolute FAVOURITE! This horrible set of shelves had been left outside to rot and warp, but after a coat of paint and some love I have turned them into story telling shelves for my little ones to help develop their story telling language. Again, the cable reels at the top were given a bit of a revamp for the children to also use to support their retelling of stories and develop their language.
Finally is my writing area! I bought the arch last year and fancied it up a bit with some flowers - thankfully none of them decided to climb it which I was worried about!
This year we are introducing kinetic letters to the children which makes up part of my display and after the first half term I will then start phonics lessons so this display is ready for that and we will add our sounds as we go along!
These are my pencil grip posters which are included in my pre writing skills pack that I linked above - I add each child's photo to whichever grip they are currently working on.
This is my timetable for the first half term, lots of rules/routines to establish the first few weeks - after the first half term we will then introduce more 'formal' lessons.
Hope you enjoyed my tour and found some things that may be useful!
