Back to School Ideas

     One of my favorite things that I used for my kindergarten and first grade classrooms was a wooden divider panel.  The wooden panel I bought from Home Depot, and I asked them to cut into the sizes I needed.  Each panel is 46 inches wide and 34 inches tall. Once they are finished cutting, I had 4 panels and two smaller panels that I used for my literacy centers and play centers chart.  I placed the panels in between two tables like the pictures shown or two individual desks on each side.   The bendable wooden panel was one big sheet from Home Depot before cutting into the sizes I needed.

     One of the greatest things about the panel is that it really cuts down on the noise level in the classroom.  The students tend to talk to the students next to them instead of in front of them.  Also, the panels are a great tool for centers.  On each side of the board I laminated the longer sheets of construction paper and taped them on each board.  Then I took one strip of the alphabet border and taped it on top.  I made some center labels and taped them to the board too.  Each side of the board is a different color.  For example, in the picture I have purple and pink, green and blue, orange and yellow, and brown and red.

     The students looked at the Literacy Centers Board to see what center or color they were going to for centers.  Each group went to three different centers a day.  By the end of the week, the students went to every center.

     Another perk is that I use the board color for table points.  At the end of the week, the table color with the most points got a extra treasure box prize.

     These panels are very durable.  I've had these for the last 9 years.  Over time, the construction paper does need to be changed due to students writing on it or fading.  To keep the color looking new, I did wipe off pencil and crayon marks every single year. 

Pictures of my kindergarten and first grade classrooms over the years.

 In this picture, you can see the Literacy Center Board in the background.  Half of the board is cut off in the picture by the cart in front of it.   Unfortunately, this is the best picture I have of the Literacy Board.