Life After the Desk

   It's been awhile since I've posted. Natasha and I started the school year full throttle so blogging fell by the wayside. One way I started things off was by finally getting rid of my desk. The first few weeks of school I confess that I did keep my desk around, although it did seem to stare at me accusingly as I went about my day. Then,  I finally dragged the thing out. It was strange, it felt like I was doing it on a whim, but the act was a culmination of months of thought and realigning how I see my room. I think the longer you let things incubate in your head, the easier it is to finally follow through on those big sweeping changes you want to do.
   As soon as my desk was gone, all of the positive things I was hoping for quickly popped up. I was naturally circulating around the room more often. Also, I was firing through paperwork a lot more efficiently....funny how that happens when you have no large place to stack marking and admin work!  More importantly, the space left from my desk is now filled by an inviting reading nook. My room has started to look a lot more student-centred and spacious, it is by no means perfect but I am quite pleased with it, take a look!

     Another side effect of my desk getting pitched was I felt I was finally practicing what I preach to my students about how we share the classroom. I always told my students that we share the room and each other. There are no desks that belong to anyone, because we say be sitting with different people on any given day. No such thing as "my chair" or "my desk". They do have a personal drawer to keep their belongings but I have tried to keep the majority of the classroom space a completely shared environment. With my desk gone, it is even more so! I know work on the same chairs and tables where everyone else works. I even curl up on the couch in our reading nook!
   Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the window into my classroom. I do enjoy coming into it everyday. I was a bit nervous posting pictures of it...I underestimated how personal it is. I think I would be more comfortable posting pictures of my home!