Elbow Grease and Jedi Shopping: Room 208 Redesign

Back in August, Jo-Ann Fox and I co-moderated a #caedchat discussion about classroom redesign. At the time, I had just finished redesigning my classroom, and fully intended to blog about the experience.  So imagine my chagrin when I realized that it's been almost two months since that Twitter chat and I have yet to blog it out!  Yikes.

In the interest of "better late than never," here's how my redesign turned out. Oh! And there's a "how to" video to boot...

Inviting Suggestions for Change

Since I wanted to make a change in the design of my classroom in order to better suit student needs, I decided to poll my kids at the end of last year about what aspects of the classroom they enjoyed and what they disliked or would want to change.  We opened a Today's Meet room and they submitted their thoughts. One trend that I noticed is that the kids requested "bigger, better whiteboards" (I had personal size whiteboards for student use) or "whiteboard walls."  They also asked for "more cushy seating" and wanted me to "bring back the twinkle lights from Christmas time."  One kid even commented on the floor, saying, "It smells good in here and there is a couch like at my house which I like. But the carpet is kind of gross to sit on." (Which is true. The carpet in my classroom hasn't been cleaned in forever. I think they stopped doing that when the California budget started suffering.)

Interestingly, a lot of their ideas for what needed to change coincided with some of the thoughts that had been rattling around in my head.  So, I decided to make it official, sit down, and come up with a game plan...

Clearly, several things needed to change: seating, lighting, and creative space. But, where to start?

A Little Elbow Grease and Jedi Shopping

Since collaboration plays such a huge role in the dynamic of my classroom, the 42 desks had to be the first to go.  The only thing stopping me was a lack of anything to replace them with.  I'd always loved Alice and Barton Keeler's classroom renovation video, but never had enough cash to plug into a ton of brand new furniture for such a huge project.  Luckily, a school in my district closed for renovation and its old furniture went up for grabs. I snagged five 4x7' tables, which were kind of beat up but totally perfect. Whiteboard paint, I decided, would be an awesome way to refinish the table tops while giving my kids plenty of space to brainstorm, design, plot, and plan.

Forever ago, I read a blog post by the Nerdy Teacher about how he refinished the desks in his classroom with IdeaPaint.  I have instant gratification issues, so I visited two different local Home Depot stores and bought every last whiteboard paint kit they had in stock, plus a plethora of painting supplies. (Mostly because I just didn't want to wait the amount of time it would take for IdeaPaint process and ship my order.)

Here's how I refinished the tables:

A few tips not included in the video:

• Use foam rollers to ensure an even application of paint.
• Typically, whiteboard paint comes in kits that contain two jars of different chemical components. Once combined, there is usually a time frame in which the paint must be used. If the paint in the tray is expired and you need to open a new kit, change the foam roller and tray liner as well, so as not to spread any "expired" paint.
• Whiteboard paint has even stronger fumes than regular paint, so be sure to apply it in a well ventilated area.
  
• Use plenty of drop cloths and protect the floors/surfaces where you are painting your tables or desks. Spills are difficult to clean up!
  

After painting, the big question was what to do with all of the floor space freed up by having tables.  Since buying additional couches wasn't in my budget, I decided to track down some bean bags on sale. (I pretty much refuse to buy most things unless they're on clearance or heavy discount...my husband and I refer to that as "Jedi-Shopping.")  Since Back to School season is also Back to College season, I lucked out at Big Lots. Lamps, strings of lantern lights, and rugs also made it into my shopping cart.

Over the next year, I would like to add two new couches, donate the old couch to another classroom, and add some low tables for kids to use with the bean bags. I also found out that my classroom is slated to pilot Chromecast and have a couple of flat screen TVs mounted on the wall in order for students to use to collaborate and present.  So far this year,  students have made only positive comments about the room and seem to enjoy the flexible seating option and homey atmosphere the alternative lighting provides.

The Finished Product: Room 208