The craziness has begun!
I have been in my classroom all week getting ready for my sweet students who will be coming on Monday! I have made several changes this year and I am loving how it is looking! I still have some finishing touches, so I won’t be posting pictures for a classroom tour YET, but I do want to show off part of my classroom library! That is, the fiction section!
I posted a picture on Instagram earlier this week of the {very} beginning stages of my new, color-coded library!
I have arranged a large portion of my classroom library using book baskets and labels, however I like having a large number of my fiction books arranged in alphabetical order. I like to prepare my kiddos for experiences with books outside the classroom, and let’s face it, bookstores and libraries don’t have all their books arranged in nice, neat little labeled book baskets. Most of the books (especially fiction) are arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, which is how I have always had the majority of my fiction books.
However, keeping them in alphabetical order has always been a struggle. Even with the most amazing class librarians, there always seem to be books by authors with ‘M’ last names mixed in the ‘A’ section and everything in between!
Then I saw a pin on Pinterest and immediately knew I had to incorporate the idea in my classroom!
(Here is the source of inspiration from Valerie… not classroom related but I was super excited about the possibility!)
So I got to work making color coded labels, and here is the finished product!
I am bringing some black into my multi-colored classroom this year with my chalkboard theme, and I absolutely adore this rug I found at IKEA! I love how it looks with the rainbow of colors!
The way I arranged the colors, each letter of the alphabet is color coded.
The A’s are green
B’s are lime green
etc.
(I combined a few letters together that I only have a couple books for. For example, XYZ are all the same color)
The colors flow smoothly from one color to the next. When my kiddos go to put their books back they can check the author and then match the color on the spine to the color on the shelf! Some of the colors are close to each other, so I will tell them to always double check the author’s last name and make sure they are putting it in the right place, but I think this is going to be super helpful in preventing those way-out-of-order situations!
I also decided this year that I’m not going to worry about them being in perfect alphabetical order. As long as all the A’s are together (and B’s, and C’s, etc.) I am going to be one happy teacher!
One last picture of the books! I can not stop staring at them! By far my most favorite part of the classroom! (Of course I say that every year about my classroom library!)
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I’ll be working away all day tomorrow putting the final touches on my classroom! New student day is Monday so I will have a few students for a couple hours, and then Tuesday is the first day with all my new kiddos!
UPDATE:
You can get the labels in my TPT store by clicking here!
I love this idea for the books in your library area. I was thinking about getting my books out of the genre bins this summer too! I feel like my kiddos only look at the books on the top shelf (Realistic Fiction) and I wanted them to explore beyond that shelf. This is definitely something that I'm going to consider.
Thanks,
Amy
Turtley Loving Teaching
It looks so beautiful! This must have taken you lots of work but will pay off. LOVE that Ikea rug. The colors and then the black looks great! Your classroom decor is always so inspiring and beautiful! Can't wait to see your tour!
-She
SprinkleTeachingMagicBlog
Take a tour of my classroom!
Absolutely gorgeous!!!!! Happy first day of school my friend!!!
Ooh, Aww, The colors! Beautifully done!!
Kayla
Rooting for Third Grade
What did you use to get those fab colors?
It looks amazing!!! Did you use duct tape or labels? Where did you purchase all of those wonderful colors?
I'm dying to know what tape you used and how well it's holding up! I'm looking to level my classroom library and haven't been able to find labels that will last.
Where did you find those labels?
Like many others I am wondering where you got the beautiful colored labels? I have a few hundred books that need the same treatment!
I too would love to know where you got those absolutely wonderfully colorful labels. I would love to redo my book corner this summer. Would you please share with all of us? Thanks!
She made the colored labels and has the product for sale on TPT. Here is the link:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Library-Rainbow-Book-Spine-Labels-1002546
What a fun blog, and thanks for making your tags available for free on tpt!
Here is a thought: I teach Kinder, what if I used different Washi tape and put it on the spines according to subjects? I could then put a strip of the Washi tape on the tag as a tie for the basket to house the books! Just a thought!
I like the idea of washi tape. I have icecube bins from walmart, so I can simply run a strip of tape on each bin!
this is how i have my library organized… like a real library! I try not to worry about putting them in EXACT order as long as they're in the same "alphabet" bin lol
♥ Jen
Teacher by the Beach
A Splash of Life Blog
I’ve started this process, but I’m not sure I’ll finish! The ink is wearing off the labels after just the first read by students! I may have to recover some with new labels and then add a layer of clear tape to protect the ink. Just wondering if you had any tips about the disappearing ink problem!