As some of you may know, I am going to Illinois State University to study Special Education. I have always had a passion for teaching others, and even have gotten to explore the career early by being a part of the Intro To Teaching classes here at North. I am super excited to start studying education because not only does ISU have an amazing program, but I get to buy all the cute teacher stuff. By cute teacher stuff I mean the outfits, decorations, and cheesy posters to put up in the classroom. However, I always resist the urge to get something I would love to see in my future classroom considering I still have to go through college. I know sometimes students think that some teachers are over the top, but a super excited teacher who likes to decorate is so much better than a boring teacher. Because of my passion for educating the youth and buying almost every decoration I see in Target, I’ve decided to share with you the top things I will be implementing into my future special education classroom!
- Anchor charts and GOOD poster markers
Everyone loves a good anchor chart. Whether it is to introduce new vocabulary words, the rules of the classroom,or some SEL terms, I will 100% be having these in my classroom. I love to draw so this will be a great opportunity for me to create some of my own decorations in the classroom. But for the chart to be good, I MUST have the best poster markers. I’m talking about the thick sharpies that come in like 20 different colors. If the sharpies are out, I wouldn’t mind settling for the Mr.Sketch smelly markers.
2. Flexible seating
When working in special education, it’s important to accommodate all of your students’ needs, even when it comes to how they will sit (or stand) in class. I will absolutely have a variety of bouncy seats, seats that turn, seats that rock, bean bags, and even a standing desk in order to make sure that all of my students feel supported.
3. Personal Laminator 
You would have no idea how much things need to be laminated when working in a classroom, especially if you are teaching younger children. Laminating paper is so helpful in the sense that students cannot rip it up, you can use a dry erase marker and draw on it, or you could even use it as a schedule to tape onto a student’s desk. The possibilities are endless, and it truly keeps it looking like you have everything under control (even if you don’t).
4. Punch Cards
This is something I would use as a classroom management tool. Lots of students with special needs will do a task to work toward something they enjoy. This form of positive reinforcement usually comes in a type of visual chart that adds a certain amount of marks by the teacher in order to reach the reward. I think that these punch cards are super cute and I could customize them for every single student.
5. White board calendar 
I really do love those cute pocket charts that have all the different cards with the day of the week and month, but I just know for a fact that I would lose every single one of those cards. Using a white board calendar would allow me or a student to easily change the date and add events for the whole class to see. This is also a great excuse for me to buy the cool colored dry erase markers I always wanted when I was little.
6. LED Push Lights and disco light
I have to be honest, I did get the idea for the LED lights from TikTok. However, I would use them in my classroom as another classroom management tool. When I write the agenda for the day on the whiteboard, I would have one push light next to each task. If the students were focused, respectful, and did their best during the lesson then the light would be pushed on. If at the end of the day all of the lights are pushed on, then the class earns a dance party brain break with the disco light. Although I’ve never tried this, I actually have full faith that this would work considering that the lights are a great visual for the kids and it displays exactly what they have to do to earn the reward.
7. “Our Fridge”
Even though I also saw this idea on TikTok, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it. The teacher in the TikTok video explained that she put up a bulletin board in the classroom called “Our Fridge” and allowed the students to post pictures of their families, themselves, or things they are proud of. This is an amazing idea to help establish trust with your students and create that relationship with them that is, in my opinion, more important than teaching the actual content.
I have to stop here because this list could go on forever and ever. I hope that someday I will be able to bring all of these ideas to life so that I can have a safe, functional, and fun classroom for students of all abilities.
Hi Tess! Let me start off by saying as a daughter of a former teacher, classroom decorating is easily one of the most exciting days. Although when I did it with my mom it would take multiple days, it was always so exciting to see the results. Also, I love how you mentioned that Tik Tok has given you great inspiration for your future classrooms. I’m not going to lie when I say, I am obsessed with watching classroom transformations at the beginning of the school year. All the creative details these teachers are able to come up with is so impressive. I have no doubt in my mind your classroom will look if not equally as good, better. I totally agree that an over the top teacher is much better than a boring teacher. I would rather get distracted by reading cheesy poster boards than try to keep myself from falling asleep in a dull classroom. Also, side note I think the idea you mentioned in your 6th bullet point is absolutely genius. As a competitive child, I would have loved this sort of reward system because not only does it keep every child accountable but also helps to have classmates encourage each other.
Hi Tess! First of all, congrats on your commitment to ISU! Honestly based off of what you’ve mentioned throughout your blog, I’d consider myself lucky to have you as a teacher. I know as a child I used to love when the classrooms we were in were nicely decorated and I’m glad that you have a passion to make your classroom the best it can be. It’s clear that you already have placed a lot of thought and genuine care into how to make your classroom accommodating to everyone and that’s a quality that I’m sure all of your future students will learn to appreciate. I definitely agree with the good poster markers bit because I used to LOVE poster markers as a child. I don’t know what it is about them but thick sharpies will always have my heart. I also love the punch card idea because positive reinforcement is definitely a good way to keep them motivated. I know classroom decorating isn’t easy and it definitely takes time but it’s definitely rewarding to see your students enjoying what you’ve put together. Surprisingly enough, I also have had my fair share of classroom decorating TikTok videos and for some reason I always end up so intrigued by it. Either way, I wish you the best of luck on your college journey and thank you for a wonderful blog!