Classroom

Over the past week I have been working in my classroom, organizing cupboards, washing windows, and decorating bulletin boards.  I never knew how hard a decision it was to decide what vibe you want represented in your classroom.  I know that I want my students to feel that this is their space and everything in it is for their use.  Can you picture a classroom from your childhood that felt like everything in the room belonged to the teacher and you weren't allowed to touch it?  I can, and I hope my students do not experience any of those feelings while being a member of our classroom.
Decorating a classroom that has been gutted and stripped down has been a challenge for me.  So far, I have made a big paper tree with colorful leaves on one and a tissue paper flower border for the birthday bulletin board.  I have two more to decorate, and I think that I want one to be dedicated for student work, and the other for pictures of my students' families.  I'm still deciding what cute yet cheesy one liner I want outside my classroom to welcome students on the first day of school.  My coworkers have each picked a theme for the walls outside their classroom, and I am having a hard time coming up with what I want to do.  Eventually it will come to me, and you can count on it being cliche yet cute.