Classroom Help! What to do? Guys. I NEED your help. I need your creative minds. I need your years of problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking.
I Need Classroom Help!
Look at the panoramic view of my NEW classroom. I am SO SO SO excited to get a beautiful, bare, clean slate to start to transform. I am beyond blessed to dive into this space and make it my dream classroom.
BUT. Isn’t there always a BUT? I have classroom situations I need to problem-solve. Please do not think I am complaining AT ALL. I just want to pick your brains to see what I can do not during classroom set up to work around these issues the best I can.
Classroom Help! I have No Sink or Access to Water.
Because I love to watercolor and paint every day in kindergarten in our learning activities, what can I do?
We also cook biweekly which integrates lots of hand washing and clean up required. I can’t add a sink to this room, so what can I do to help with this obstacle in my classroom? Is there a good solution you know about or have used before in a classroom without water access? I am next to the large bathrooms for all of k, 1, and 2 so that is a HUGE plus.
Classroom Help! I have a storage closet. It is awesome, but it is small.
Since I have no sink, I also have no storage cabinets to go along with them. This leaves me little room to store art supplies, tissue boxes, cleaning wipes, and so on. What are some great ways to utilize this space to its fullest and how can I store those needed supplies?
My first priority is my devices since I lock up my devices in this closet so the bottom shelves will house those without question. I do have a small bookshelf featured behind the teacher’s desk in this picture.
Also, I also have two sets of student cubbies featured on the sides of the smart board.
Classroom Help! And here is the biggie.
I have an INSIDE classroom in a very LARGE school. What does this mean? I have no windows in the hallway or outside. We have no natural light. I am not against using alternative lighting, but that isn’t going to happen this school year.
Should I create a fake window? Should I just roll with the lack if natural lighting? What have you done in your classrooms with the lack of natural light? So back to my classroom help! What to do? What do you suggest?
What did I End up Doing? Here is my Class reveal.
Need some teaching inspiration?
I don’t have a sink. I have cups in the bin and my students just go get water from the bathroom sink. I’ve done it this was for years and it works just fine. Bonus for you since you are next door.
As far as hand washing, I would send to the bathroom to wash or use baby wipes for a time saver.
I love the idea of a “fake window”. I have a room “in the basement”, it isn’t really but the ground outside my window slopes toward the window, so when it snows (live in Ohio), it is at times difficult to see out the window. I think the fake window could be fun for the kids to decorate when learning about seasons too.
As for storage, I have a 7 drawer sterilite container in my tall closet like that where the coat rack is. I keep my art supplies sorted and organized in there. Then, my paint is on a shelf (I have a shelf above the coat rack).
Amanda
You have the same closets that we have. I have a pocket shoe organizer on the back of my door and one on the side wall of my closet. They’re about $10 at Lowe’s. It holds a ton of stuff…..pencils, glue sticks, scissors, etc. I also put one of those white closet cube shelves underneath the hanging area. It has several shelves that I use to store construction paper. I think my hubby added a couple of shelves to it so I have one for the different colors. He also built me a big box with a hinged lid that fits under my Promethean board. Kiddos use it as a step to reach the board. It is perfect for storing tissues, paper towels, and such. You could accomplish the same thing with a toy box. Let me know if you’d like to come by and get a visual. I’ll check to see if I have pictures that I can send.
It’s awful that you don’t have a window! But, since you don’t, I would just accept that and not try to create a fake one that would draw attention to it’s absence and make more work for you. I would instead take advantage of what the room does give you… lots of wall space (!). You can place furniture right up against the walls and then do a lot with the interior space as far as alternative learning spaces. I would work on adding cozy, homey touches that take away the institutional feel of a room without windows. Anytime you can, use multi-purpose furniture (a low table might be a work-space, room divider, and place for storing bins underneath). To maximize space in my own classroom, I started storing boxes of books and materials at home in my basement and bringing them in to school as I needed them monthly or seasonally.
The lack of a sink seems like a pretty big challenge for someone who likes to get messy. Maybe before cooking, the children can visit the bathrooms so they have clean hands. Then, after getting messy from cooking or art, you might have a sudsy tub and a rinsing tub (or two) prepped. And damp cloths for little oopsies while they are working? It could get expensive, but if your school allowed it, perhaps you could use wipes for less spectacular messes. My final suggestion is to allow the children to clean the tables with wet sponges (from the sudsy tub)… that would also get a lot off their hands.
Good luck! Embrace the positives!
Oh no! This isn’t the best situation.
1. For the water: invite children to bring their own reusable waterbottles and Create blank labels for them to decorate. Keep them stores in a crate and allow time for refills at the start of each day. Or you can order really cheap ones online and they can decorate with stickers and craft paint (discount mugs.com) Also ask parents to donate hand wipes and hand sanitizer. For cooking projects buy a Brita water filter thing and fill it when you know you’ll be cooking
2. Storage: IKEA then write it off on your taxes. There are many great storage options that don’t look too homely. Many colors and multiple uses.
3. Lighting: invest in indoor lamps for a softer light. White light is known to cause headaches especially florescent because there’s a slight pulse as they loose power. It’s not noticeable for for ppl like me who are light sensitive those lights are the worst.
Also, I think that, depending where you are, creating a classroom wish list for some of those things is a good idea. At Some schools I’ve gotten everything I asked for and at other I got nothing 🙁 but it never hurts to ask.
I don’t have a sink in my new classroom either, and I really miss it! I don’t have any great suggestions, but I did find it helpful to have a few water bottles stored in the classroom, for emergencies when I had forgotten to get water during my plan! (Like science experiments and watercolor painting!) I’m curious to see what everyone suggests!
You could get a sink made for camping and see if the custodian could empty the bucket during the day. If you google camping sinks, there are a lot of interesting sinks out there, some homemade. The kids would probably love using a camping sink.
1. Buckets – one with clean water, and the other for dumping into. Do the same for hand washing. Baby wipes work wonders!
2. Cooking – don’t do it! Opt for “none-cooking” recipes for snacks (many healthy ones online). Do you have parent helpers? RECRUIT!!!
3. Seasonal Wall – Use a wall as your seasonal wall (i.e. Focus Wall). Use it for your Science/Holiday/Social Studies center. Add vocabulary and student art work, as well as written pieces of student work; poetry; task inst. etc.
4. Fire your Principal! – Who in there right mind puts a Kindergarten class in such a location. The structure of this classroom is designed for Special Education. Have any of your parents complained yet? If not, direct them to go and do so with your admin.
I promise you this has nothing to do with our fabulous admin. The school was built with inside and outside rooms. The outside are coveted of course. None of the inside rooms have windows. Many of the upstairs rooms do not have water or cabinets either. Being the new teacher, this is what I get. 🙂
For water access, you could look into a camping hand wash station. Or have a water cooler from a water company delivered to you.
While I do have a sink in my room, it is too high for the children to use with out a stool but then we end up with a waterfall, too! I have one of those painter’s buckets, from Home depot, and i fill it with water and put dish soap or hand soap in it. When we paint, we scrub our hands in the bucket and then rinse in the sink. I stand by with paper towels for a quick, not dripping all over, hand drying. You could have a second bucket for the rinse, otherwise, invest in LOTS of Handi Wipes or Wet Ones.
As for no window, I’m afraid I would not be able to teach without a window to the outside. I don’t care how big the room is I would be having panic attacks most of the day! :0( I am very claustrophobic! Too bad your door isn’t a half door so you could keep it open on the top. I agree with the previous post that a fake window that is decorated by seasons would be fun for the children. You might also look into those light covers that come in a soft color. We have several students who have to have these over their desk because the lights bother them so much. Good luck and please post pictures with your decorated room! I get so many good ideas by checking out other’s rooms.
I didn’t have a sink and would fill a bucket with hot soapy water in the morning. It was warm by the time we used it. The kids would stick their hands in it after painting and wash the paint off. I’d also wash my brushes in the bucket after we finished painting and dump the water at the end of the day.
What about a mini water cooler with a spout to refil water cups or even over a sudsy bucket for quick hand rinses to get off paint. No sink is tough!
What about a window wall decal? They are not too expensive and they stick to cement block well…I have one!?
Forest View from the Window with Quote Removable Wall Art Decal 35-1/2 by 23-1/2 Inch (90 by 60 Centimeter) Sticker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X8DJITK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_f2oExb3V1T11C
I’m in a similar situation to you. I have a classroom with no outdoor windows (oddly, I do have a wall that’s almost all window but it looks into another (currently empty) room. Luckily the other room has blinds so I just keep them closed and then my kids aren’t distracted. To give the idea of space though I’ve created a tree on that wall and a rainbow with our colour words and shapes. Next year I’m planning to expand things and add on to it each season with student artwork so that it will feel like we have a bit of nature in our room even though we can’t see it. (alternatively, you could put up big pieces of white bulletin board paper and get the kids to paint a huge mural on one wall that depicts an outdoor scene)
I am also short on storage which is unfortunate since our 4 K classes share centres and my room is the one with ALL the art supplies. I have one shelf top put them on so right now I’m actually in the process of reorganising everything into clear, STACKABLE containers so that I can fit more on the shelf but still find and get at what I need quickly.
As for the sink issue, I definitely suggest asking your kids to bring a water bottle to school. I get mine to take it home each night for cleaning and refilling and if they need a refill during the day I let them fill it at the water fountain. Also, since our cubby space is cramped, instead of having them keep water bottles there, or at their tables (since that ALWAYS leads to spills, and also they play with them) I set up 5 buckets at different points around my room with names on them for the kids to put their bottles in. This way there’s never more than 4 kids at one spot for a water break and they all have access when they need it. If buckets won’t work (since you don’t really have shelves to put them on) I saw a pinterest idea a few months ago of using one of those canvas shoe holders for water bottles. You could attach these to the walls at different points so you’d achieve the same thing.
I am lucky enough to have a sink (I’m the only K teacher who does though), but even so, there are lots of times where we’re doing messy art and I don’t want the kids to travel that far with messy hands so I use a bucket (like a dish tray kind) full of warm soapy water and I place a towel next to it for drying. I find this works really well and takes care of most of the mess. If it’s a really messy thing like hand prints, I’ll change the water a few times throughout. For cooking I’d probably do this but use wipes after just to make sure all the germs are gone.
I found this post while searching for tips on brightening a no window classroom. What did you end up doing? I’d love to see pictures!
I visited my new classroom in my new school for the first time earlier this week. I visited my classroom for the first time today. I have a large space: a sink, giant bulletin boards, storage galore, etc. But no windows!
My classroom is empty now–it will be painted before the start of school. What color would be best? I was thinking yellow, but some are gross, a little green, a little brown or else too orangey. A sunny yellow would be good, but I am not sure that is what I will get if I request yellow.
I am on the lookout for other ways to make my classroom peaceful and beautiful. I want to connect to the natural world and be a little Montessori-esque: baskets, wood boxes, large floor pillows! I’m also looking for a floor lamps and a grow light (we need plants!!). Maybe string lights?
Curious about what solutions you have found.