Setting Up My Classroom, part 1: The "Before" Pictures

Today was my first day back at school I had left for the summer. I am moving classrooms this year (again) and I have 2 weeks to get everything set up the way I want it. That's pretty good, considering that when I first got hired, I only had a few hours to set up my classroom! So I'm really wanting to put some effort into it this year and create a space that the kids and I can keep organized. More importantly (or I guess, just as importantly) I want it to be a place that is inviting and comfortable, and gives students the ability to work in cooperative groups more easily, as well as inquiry-based instruction. So I have been studying Debbie Diller's bookSpaces and Places all summer to get some ideas of where to start.

When I entered my classroom, this is what it looked like:

As you see, it's pretty much a blank slate right now. I have no idea why the custodians decided it was a good idea to leave the tables set up on their ends like that.

I didn't really move any furniture today. I did make an attempt at a floor plan (in crayon):

The blueish-green writing represents things that are in the classroom that will not (and cannot) be moved. In the middle, I listed all other large furniture items that can be moved somewhere. The red writing represents my thoughts on where I might like to have certain areas of my classroom located.

But, as you can see, I am not too good at making floor plans, which is why I am "hiring" Dan to assist me. With his architecture background, he should be able to help me come up with some nifty ideas on how to arrange the furniture.

So instead of moving any furniture today, I worked on organizing and storing some teacher resources. I'll write more about that later.

Does anyone have any useful suggestions for my classroom? Or, more importantly, is there anyone who would like to come help me move things around sometime this week or next week:-)?