Descriptive Narrative of my Ideal Classroom

I used the Kaplan Classroom Designer Website to design my ideal

kindergarten classroom. Before I began designing my room, I
thought a lot about how I wanted my room to look and feel. There
were a few things I knew from the start I wanted in my room such
as a calm down cubby, a horse shoe table and a smart board. Once
those things were established, I played with the layout and added
many other items to the room. One thing that I went back and
forth on was the existence of a teacher’s desk. I know many
teachers in this day and age do not have desks. Depending on what
grade they teach they just have standing computer desks or
nothing.
I think back to when I was in elementary school and every teacher
had a desk and during the school day they often sat down at their
desk and sometimes even taught from their desk. I do not agree
with that as a teacher. I think that a teacher needs to create a better
sense of community by joining the class and being active in their
learning experience. However, I personally like to have a spot that
is my own. I ultimately decided that I want a desk for the simple
fact of organization. I put the desk facing the room so I can
observe students if I would be sitting there.
The horse shoe table is at the other end of the room with the
teacher chair at an angle to see the classroom. Student’s backs are
to the classroom to prevent distraction. This would be used for
small group instruction. There is a calm down spot in the corner
beside the horse shoe table, I think this is a must in any classroom.
Once I had those areas completed, I started to work on student
seating.
I chose work tables instead of individual desks because I feel like
at that age it is more about connecting students and creating a
space for everyone and you do not have the same problems such as
cheating with older students. The tables each fit 4 students and
they are placed in the center of the room. Beside the student tables
is an I Pad station, I chose these over computers because again at
this age they will be using technology more as a supplement to
lessons than to type out documents. For both the student tables
and the iPad station I used stools instead of chairs for easy
portability. I did put chairs with backs at the horse shoe table to
prevent distracted students from turning around. Beside the sink in
the classroom is a trash can, art cart and 2 drying racks for art
work. On the other side of the sink is a cozy student area with a
small chair, couch, pillows and book shelf separated by a partition.

I decided to have a portable white board on wheels instead of

mounted to the wall so we are not limited in our seating
arrangement. Another item that I took some time to consider was
putting a gliding rocking chair in the room. It seemed too juvenile
at first for a kindergarten room but when I thought more about it, I
decided to put one in my reading area. My thinking behind this
was based off of the fact that even though you are not going to be
rocking your students to sleep, your students still want to feel
comforted. It adds a sense of comfort and also solidifies that area
as a reading area when you sit there to read your class a book.

I put cubbies outside the classroom in the hall way to eliminate

students trying to go through their backpacks in the middle of a
lesson. I also put a small seating area in the hall way near the
cubbies because I know what it is like being a parent and trying to
hold a baby, a back pack, a lunch box, and who knows what else
while trying to help your child get their coat off. Ample storage
and organizational closets are also a part of the classroom. Once
all the big items found their place in the room, I used rugs to
separate the areas and added plants.

I am happy with the way my classroom turned out and I would

love to see how this arrangement would work in action. An
interesting side note about the web site I used is they compile a list
of the items you used in your design as well as price. My rooms
total came out to be $15,709, with the biggest expense being the
white board at $7,000.