This school year Jee Young and I found ourselves going in completely different directions.  I am extremely excited and happy for her every time she talks about the resources she is enjoying at her new school in Singapore (and I am sure we will receive amazing blog posts about how to use these resources in our own classrooms!).

Whereas, this year I get to foster my creativity in a different way. My school is small, with a mission’s mindset. Almost everything the school makes they give away in scholarships to allow students the chance to an education they otherwise would not be able to afford (I know, so awesome!).

I was actually pleasantly surprised at the size of my classroom, it is a lot bigger than I imagined. The wall space is pretty great, but I was sad to discover that I didn’t have any large bulletin boards… so I made one! And by made one, I mean I taped up borders onto my walls and separated a space for my students’ work. Another way to display their work is to hang strings from the ceiling. When the strings are full the room looks so cosy and bright.

I also ran out of shelves for the books I brought with me, so I used baskets. I still need to organize them, but for now… it works!

I don’t have any rugs on my floors (yet, I am totally saving up or continuing to petition for them) so we are using nap time mats. They work out pretty well. I love how they are easy to move, but at the same time I wish they would stay put. Can’t have everything I guess.

What kind of international school are you at? If you have any ways to make something out of nothing you should TOTALLY share. Or what is something common for a school to have that you can use in a new way? Let us know!