Teachers use strategy, creativity and hundreds of dollars to design their classrooms
Sara Moser, a third grade teacher at Ben Chambers Elementary School, has spent 18 hours and a few paychecks to get her classroom ready for the start of school. Ashley Books, Public Opinion
CHAMBERSBURG - A few paychecks, 18 hours and some hard work.
That's what it took for Sara Moser, a third-grade teacher at Benjamin Chambers Elementary School, to get her classroom ready for the start of the school year.
And it shows.
The classroom is covered with every color of the rainbow, three libraries with books from a variety of genres, wooden recliners with furry pillows and an emoji light which changes colors. Inspirational sayings can be found on the walls, along with Play-Doh and empty binders waiting for the new students on the tables.
"I have an eye for it, I think," Moser, who has been teaching for the past 16 years, said. "I've always been this way with my classrooms. I'm just really good, spatially, as far as rooms go."
But Moser's had some help. Her husband, who is also a teacher in the Chambersburg Area School District and is interested in woodworking, contributed handmade benches, chairs and the wooden buses to hold pens.
Up the stairs from Moser's classroom, first-year kindergarten teacher Sharon Juarez is also in the process of getting her classroom ready.
"It's a lot to think about," Juarez said about her first year prepping. As of Monday, there was nothing on the walls and the furniture was still being set up. Regardless, she's decided not to pick a theme yet, because she wants to work on bringing the children's interests into the classroom. So, she'll spend some time learning about what her students like, making setting up her room a year-long process, she said.
"They'll be excited to come to a place where they helped create and helped build," Juarez added.
But the classroom also needs to be fun. In order to do this, Juarez plans to create an upbeat environment filled with dancing and hip-hop and rap music.
"I see it as a place where they're able to express themselves in that format," she said.
Because she is new this year, Juarez has been collaborating with other teachers to learn about what they've done with their rooms. Even though the process can be overwhelming at times, Juarez said she has a good team and is getting excited thinking about the children on their first day back.
"I want to make it a place where they can take charge of their learning, and that they feel welcomed and are having fun," she said.
Like Juarez, Moser also spent some time planning before getting to work. After deciding what she wanted to do with her room this year, she searched Amazon, Wal-Mart and the Dollar Tree for deals on school supplies.
In fact, her classroom's current color scheme came from the book baskets she bought this year at the Dollar Tree.
"Schools should be very colorful," Moser said. "It should be a very happy environment for students, a very safe environment for students to come to."
But the fun classroom doesn't come without a price. Moser spent a few of her paychecks getting supplies for the children.
"It's a lot of time and it's a lot of money," she said. "I feel like I buy more for my students than I buy for myself."
Ever year, she tells parents her students only need to come to school with a backpack - everything else is provided for them.
"I know for me, I would just rather have everything because you're going to have students that have things, you're going to have students that don't," she said. "So, that way they don't have to worry about it. It's just a backpack."
Moser's dedication is paying off for her students. She said because she has so many books, she has found the third-graders are more excited about reading.
"Every year, you have students that like different things - it would be like a Minecraft craze or just something," she said. "As long as they have access to those books, I've found they're really excited about reading. I have yet, in my 16 years, had a student tell me they absolutely hated reading in my classroom."
And even though Moser admits she might go a little overboard with shopping for her students, at the end of the day it's just part of the job for her.
"A wise person once said to me, it's either your passion or a paycheck," she said. "If it's your passion, then you're doing the right thing, but if you're looking at it for just a paycheck, then probably you should find another career."
When does your child go back to school?
Chambersburg: Thursday, Aug. 17
Fannett-Metal: Wednesday, Aug. 23
Greencastle: Monday, Aug. 21
Shippensburg: Thursday, Aug. 17
Tuscarora: Thursday, Aug. 17
Waynesboro: Monday, Aug. 21
All dates are from school districts' websites.
Ashley Books, 717-377-4512