Help! I'm stuck in the bathroom!

So the first week of school has come to a close, and it's been pretty fun! The first day was a bit exhausting for me, though, because this is my first year teaching second grade, and it's also the youngest grade-level that I have taught. So while I knew these kids would be different from the third graders that I am used to, and that they would be more needy than the kids I was used to, there were definitely some surprises that kept life interesting for me on Tuesday!

Something I was not anticipating was that using the "big bathrooms" posed more of a challenge for these kids than I had expected. Before 2nd grade, the kids are used to having a bathroom in their classrooms, and so they don't need to use the big bathrooms so much. But once they reach second grade, we no longer have classroom bathrooms, so they have to get used to the big bathrooms. I already had planned to teach and model procedures for going into the bathrooms and washing hands afterwards (only use one squirt of soap; use no more than 2 paper towels; throw away your paper towels by placing them in the trash can), and we discussed behavior expectations during our bathroom breaks. The kids had agreed that the bathroom is not a playground, so instead of climbing on stalls, they knew they were to just go in and go about their business, wash their hands, and exit in a timely manner. They actually did a very nice job going in and out quickly, and not wasting any time. However, we were not without problems.

A few of the girls in my class find the locks on a couple of the stalls rather difficult to unlock, and it has caused for some rather humorous situations. On one occasion, all of my kids were out of the bathroom except for two girls, so I was monitoring my line in the hall. A fifth grade teacher, who was standing in closer proximity to the girls' restroom, informed me that he thought he heard a couple of my students calling my name. So I set off to investigate, thinking one of them was suffering from another stomach ache. When I went in the restroom, I found both of them stuck side-by-side in their respective stalls, unable to get the locks open! All I could really do at the time was just tell them to push on the lock harder, and after a little bit of effort, they were able to get their doors unlocked. These two girls have gotten stuck in their stalls on other occasions as well, but they are getting better at unlocking the stalls now. However, I did recommend to them that they avoid using the two stalls that they find difficult to unlock.

So, sometimes you never know just what skills the kids you teach are going to find the most difficult. Sometimes things that we take for granted as being a simple skill, such as unlocking a door, can actually be very difficult for children. However, I just remind myself that they are still essentially first graders right now, and I know it won't be too long before they have adjusted to being second graders. I am having a lot of fun with this class so far, though. My students are all excited about being in school, they get along well with one another, they are nice to each other, and they share well. I think this is going to be a great year!

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:-)?