the Plain Professors: A Tour of the School

It's almost time to decorate your classroom! This post includes several different ideas for decorating the classroom.

Think big.

This fabric was 25 cents a yard.

Maple Grove Mennonite Academy 2022-2023

2011-2015

The map is actually three strips of wallpaper from National Geographic.

The girls' bathroom

This is a close-up of 3rd-6th grade room. A gecko is on top of the book shelf and the photograph on the left is St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, the teacher's favorite piece of architecture. The three-tiered baskets are for handing in papers. This was purchased used at a store close-out sale.

The other side of the 3rd-6th room includes mice, the fish tank, puzzle of the U.S. (also a teacher favorite), hanging butterflies from Whole Earth Provision Col, and Rembrant's "The Prodigal Son".

Mary's Classroom 2020-2021

Our daughter Mary is in her second year teaching second grade at Weavertown Mennonite School, and she chose a llama-themed classroom.

She wanted a growth chart to measure each of her students' heights from the beginning of the year to the end, so I painted this for her and we hung it on the door.

I made the clouds out of chicken wire and then poked pillow stuffing into the holes. The bulletin board she got on Teachers Pay Teachers.

We hope all you teachers are off to a great start. May your coffee be strong and your students be calm.

Joseph's Classroom 2020-2021

Our son Joseph is in his second year teaching science at Faith Mennonite High School. This year he was planning on his room having a mining theme. We were talking about building a mining tunnel and painting huge rocks with gold-colored paint. Then things went a bit awry. It all started when he asked his dad about redneck stuff. Things digressed from there. He kept the pick axes and hatchets but added a life-sized cardboard Jeff Gordon and a taxidermy bobcat.

He replaced the Tesla poster from last year with one of Isaac Newton and added another hatchet thingy on the wall beside the giant periodic table of the elements wall poster.

And recently, he had two more articles published in two different science journals. They were on some of the research he had done when he worked in the science lab at West Chester University. Not bad for a science teacher with redneck room decor.

Terre Hill Mennonite High School Stage - Covid Project 2020

White walls and Jeff don't get along too well, so he asked for permission to paint the stage in the gym at school. The principal and school board graciously granted his request.
Before:

Mary's Classroom at Weavertown Mennonite School 2019-2020

Our daughter Mary began teaching school this year. (On her very first day the transmission on her car went out about seven miles from the school.) She is the 2nd grade teacher at Weavertown Mennonite School, and she is excited about that.
Jeff made the little reading house for her, and I found the table and chairs at a thrift store. Jeff refinished and stained the top and seats, and I painted the rest black.

The desk was part of her graduation present. Jeff and I refinished that for her, too.

Joseph's Classroom 2019-2020

Our son Joseph graduated from West Chester University with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry last May. Now he is teaching chemistry, physics, biology, and anatomy & physiology at Faith Mennonite High School in Kinzers, PA. Here is a peek inside his classroom.

He loves science guys. From left to right these guys are Andre-Marie Ampere, Nikola Tesla, and James Maxwell.

2013

This was originally our solar system hanger as we didn’t want to paint a big black blob on the ceiling. In 2012 it was turned into an aviary complete with branches, birds, and nests.

In 2013 it was an aquarium with sharks, eels, turtles, a diver, and a blue light bulb for extra effect.

We were studying Anabaptist history that year with the older students, so this map of Europe was very helpful. We moved the couches to the other side of the room as well.

The third through sixth grades were using the Threads curriculum again this year. We were studying ancient Greece, Rome, and Jerusalem so we put up photos of the Parthenon and Wailing Wall with the Dome of the Rock.

We also studied the Medieval Age, so we included a real photo of a castle as well. The ship is a kite from China, which we also researched, and the fruit hanging from the ceiling was part of our “Fruit of the Spirit" theme.

And this is a print of a Rembrandt entitled “The Mennonite Preacher and His Wife”. While Rembrandt was not Anabaptist, some of his friends were, and he requested permission to paint some of them, which they evidently gave.

2019 - Deana's Classroom at Shalom Mennonite School

The second time I drove by these pillars I decided that they were either really expensive, or that they had just been there forever and the guy wanted to get rid of them. Ten bucks later, I drove off with three of them. My latter guess had been correct.

2019 - Jeff's Classroom at Terre Hill Mennonite High School

Since this is Jeff's fourth year in this classroom, I was hoping we could use one of the other three sets of curtains from the previous three years, but Jeff wanted a fourth set, so here they are. He picked the "beach" fabric (as he calls it) himself.
The door I found for FREE on the side of the road. Look at that gorgeous Victorian door handle!

2018 - Jeff's Classroom at Terre Hill Mennonite School

I've been meaning to post pictures of Jeff's room since August.
So, here is Jeff's classroom for the 2017-2018 year. He painted two walls and we got all the fabric on sale at Zinc's Fabrics for just a dollar a yard. Or it might have been fifty cents a yard. That was months ago . . . . .
Jeff always says that he wants his classroom to look like a nice, comfy house. That would include pretty colors, couches, and fine art.