Our Environment.

Kids spend the majority of the first 18 years of their lives inside the 4 walls of a classroom. A great deal of who they are, what they like, where they are going, who they will become is formed inside those walls. I am a small part of it. The P.E. teacher, the music teacher, their coaches, their friends, the principal, the art teacher... We are all a small part of it. I think about this every morning when I walk into my classroom. How does it feel to walk through that door. Welcoming? Warm? Inviting? Organized? Ready? Cozy? I hope every single one of those are a resounding "YES". I know that for me, walking into a warm, welcoming, organized environment just makes me feel more at ease, and I would assume the same is true for many of my littles who step foot inside my classroom each day.

For that reason I want the learning environment I create to be one that is all of those things. I want the room to feel more like a living room where we gather together for family meetings and reading stories together. I want it to feel like home. A place of solace, comfort, ease. A place where we can grow, laugh and learn together.

There are many things that make a classroom feel like home. The physical setting, the emotional climate, the people whom we share it with... Each of these factors make a huge contribution to the feeling we get when we enter a room. All of these pieces are major factors on how a student will succeed in school.

Enter the physical learning environment. It would be easy to say that students are not affected by what surrounds them physically, day in and day out, but to say that would be inaccurate. Children thrive on learning environments that are efficient, predictable, and comfortable.

I introduce you to Mrs. Remark's learning environment. One I hope is warm, safe, cozy and comfortable. One I hope students will look back at with fond memories of a home away from home- if only for one year of their lives.