I must admit I am guilty of not being fully invested in the physical environments of past classrooms. To be honest, when I was in the classroom, the décor wasn’t a major priority point for me. Within five years of teaching, I taught at two schools. I always felt like I was just getting my feet wet before I moved. I’ve been out of the classroom a few years now serving as a literacy coach, and decorating my office has never crossed my mind. Until now.
After reading several professional development books this summer, mostly from Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc., I feel convicted to change my physical space. I also honestly feel compelled to apologize to all my former students for the hodgepodge mess they endured, but hey, I’ll choose to focus on what I can control right now.
Decorating my coaching space may seem like a selfish endeavor, but after reading The Wild Card, Kids Deserve It!, The Limitless School, and Lead with Literacy, I know that my physical space sends a message. The physical environment sends a message about our passions and our values. Your physical surroundings have the power to refuel you and inspire you. As Hope and Wade King describe in The Wild Card, it’s not selfish to infuse your personal interests and passions into your space. You spend more waking time in your school space than at home most days, so make it a place you love!
As a coach, I try to spend more time in classrooms and with teachers than in my office, but there are times I have students visit or meetings with teachers in my little space. My environment this year, I hope, will be appealing to me and welcoming to the teachers and students I serve. I also hope my environment sends a message about the things I value.
The theme: shabby-chic beach.
The inspiration: The Pink House by Kate Salley Palmer.
I’ve always loved Kate Salley Palmer’s work, and The Pink House brings back so many happy beach vacation memories from the South Carolina Lowcountry. If you’ve never been, Edisto is one of the most peaceful, beautiful places in the world. GO!
Table goals:
Found this cute table on Pinterest! The vibrant colors take me to warm, southern coast breezes. I already have an oval table in my office, but it needs a makeover.
A colleague had some wooden chairs on the cheap, so I bought these beauties and sprayed them with bright colors. The yellow spray paint was not my friend. Two cans later, there are still areas that need another coat. I hope to get this finished this week.
A few of my finds...
Target and Hobby Lobby are danger zones for my wallet, but I found all of this on sale. Apparently, retailers need to make space for Christmas decorations in July. :)
These LED string lights are adorable, and they have a built-in, 4 hour timer. I'm pineapple obsessed, and the cactus is just cute. I know I won't find a cactus growing in the wild on Edisto, but I needed a color pop, okay?
To close, I have seen a lot of posts on social media from teachers about the guilt of not spending money and time decorating your classroom, especially in the summer. I’m not shaming anybody here, just sharing what I have felt inspired to do. Like I said in the first paragraph, I never felt the need to embrace a theme in my physical environment aside from my Clemson rocking chair and purple and orange book bins those first few years because.
Just make sure your space includes something you love.
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