What I love about my classroom | Waldorf Grade 3

Well, school has officially started! We’ve had one joyful day and, I have to say, it was fantastic seeing my students again!

Aren’t those end of summer reunions wonderful?!

I just love it when all of the anticipation of the summer prep is over and we finally have our first day back at school.

Don’t get me wrong — it was exhausting. Developing new rhythms and routines takes a lot of energy. And I somehow forgot how many reminders they need about even the old familiar classroom habits. But the energy is well-spent and I’m sure that we’ll be plugging along without a hitch in no time.

As the summer was ending and I was putting the finishing touches on my classroom, I kept remarking to my colleagues about how pleased I am with my classroom this year! Last year’s room was pretty tight for the 29 of us and we didn’t have a lot of extra space for storage, so this year feels like a dream!

Here are a few of my favorite things about my Waldorf 3rd grade classroom.

Countertop

I used to teach at a school where every classroom had a countertop and a sink. At my current school, there is just one room with this luxury — the 3rd grade. It’s just the best! Today we’re painting and I actually feel like I have room to spread out and set up!

I’m also well-aware that this area could end up being the dump zone, so I plan to stay on top of it and I’ve assigned it as a student chore, as well.

Standing Table

Our front office went through some reorganization this summer and as a result they had a couple of standing tables to get rid of. I quickly grabbed one of them when I found it in the hallway and it has quickly become one of my favorite things about my classroom.

I always like to have a table at the front of the room where I can put handouts, as well as my own supplies and resources. And for the past few years I have used a rickety old music stand to hold my lesson book. Now my plan is to put all of those supplies on this tall table. It’s super-accessible and the perfect height for me to write while standing (which, let’s be honest, I’m standing MOST of the time.)

Tall Chair

I got this chair years ago in the as-is section at my local Ikea and it has been my favorite ever since (you can see it in the photo above next to my standing table). Because it is so convenient (and comfy) at the front of the room, I don’t need to force myself to remember to sit down. The subject teachers also compliment me on this chair. I think every classroom should have one.

It’s getting a little rickety and I’ve repaired it several times since I bought it, so I keep checking the as-is section anytime I’m at Ikea these days. You can bet I’ll buy another one when this one bites the dust!

New Desks

The thing I am perhaps MOST grateful for in my new room is the new set of desks that my school purchased. Desks is an annual discussion in our faculty and we are constantly finding that we don’t have the right arrangement for one reason or another. Most recently it has been because our first grade teachers have the freedom to choose whether they want to work with the movable classroom or not. If not, they need a set of tables and chairs.

So this year, we found that we were short a set of desks for the 3rd grade. Last year’s 3rd grade switched to some tall, flip-top desks when the 1st grade transitioned away from movable classroom in January, but it was clear that those desks were just too large for even my tallest students.

So, I asked the faculty to consider purchasing another set, we scrounged around to find money in various leftover budgets, and made it happen.

They are absolutely beautiful and they make the biggest difference for my students. They are heavier than they are used to (last year we worked with really lightweight tables) but definitely lighter than the big flip-top desks and they fit in them perfectly. If you’re interested, these come from Community Playthings. I highly recommend!

Even better, the arrangement (two students per desk) makes the most of our long classroom and we’re LOVING that the students have a little storage cubby of their own (for the very first time!) It’s turning out that this little cubby is providing us with another opportunity for learning. A new rule: supplies stay in the desk and hands stay on top.

New Crayons

I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to taking care of supplies, so this fantastic group of students made the most of their crayons and used them through 1st and 2nd grade. This year, though, I bought brand new sets!

I knew that I wanted to give each child their own crayon roll, with their own name on it, so they could take care of them and be the one responsible for the condition of their own crayons. In previous years we had a set of crayon rolls and students just got whichever one was handed to them. It worked fine, for the most part, but towards the end of 2nd grade they started to complain if they got the “bad” set of crayons.

Well, yesterday they got their crayon roll with their brand new crayons and, I tell you, it was like Christmas! I heard them say, “I don’t even want to use them, they’re so beautiful!”

There’s nothing I love more than seeing students gush over their supplies. Yay! Tools for learning!

Wondering what supplies to provide your students throughout the grades? Check out this great art supplies list. Just enter your email address and I’ll send it your way.

Supply Organization Shelves

One of the things I’ve found to be really successful with organizing student supplies is having one shelf at the end of the room for each row. You can see in this photo that the students’ crayon rolls, main lesson books, writing folders and each row’s crafty bins stay neatly on the shelf, ready for them to retrieve when necessary.

I love that this means that their lovely supplies are not getting crunched up in their disorganized desks. It also means that I can check their work easily, whenever I want. I’ve been keeping my students’ supplies organized this way for the past two years and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

I hope you’re having a great start to the school year. If you’re looking for a little extra support, you might want to check out my curriculum guides. I’ve got many throughout the grades, including a Basics package that gives you the basic lay of the land for each grade. Lots of people have found them helpful.

Finally, if you’re reading this at the time it’s published, I’m offering a free classroom management workshop. If you want to know the 3 Classroom Management Strategies Every Waldorf Teacher Needs to Know, sign up for this free course. It goes live September 10 and you have to be on the list to get the info. Sign up by following this link.