The classroom environment is one of the most important, but often overlooked, factors that can drastically change the way your classroom runs. But this doesn’t mean that we need to be spending 100s of dollars on baskets and mood lighting and picture perfect centres to establish a more effective classroom environment. It’s all about figuring out what works for your students, your routine and YOU as an educator. Today we are joined by Amanda from Creative Kindergarten who is sharing her top 3 ways to create a more effective classroom environment! With just a few small changes to how you see your role and your priorities, you can change up how you use the vertical and horizontal spaces in your room to truly create a more effective classroom environment easily and quickly! Amanda’s Tips for a More Effective Classroom Environment:>> Use your bulletin boards to display student work. Students love to see themselves represented in their own space! Hang up their art or photos of their creations and watch how they actively engage with and refer to the space rather than having the display fade into the background and be ignored. >> Display photos of your students at work. They will be drawn in and use the opportunity to reflect, consolidate and re-engage with the topics and work shown in the photos! This is a rich opportunity to increase their sense of belonging and investment in their own learning. >> Have as many materials accessible to students as possible. Scissors, markers, pencils, math manipulatives, loose parts- everything your students need can be at their fingertips to encourage them to be autonomous and independent! Start small with this and be very explicit in your instruction and in your expectations. Learn more in this episode of Kindergarten Kept Simple with special guest Amanda! Want to learn more about creating an effective classroom environment? You’re in luck! Amanda will be joining us for the second time at Camp Kinder in July 2023. Her session will focus on: > What resources to have available to students> How to re-think the classroom environment so it truly works for you and your students> Creating an environment that is accessible and welcomingLearn more about Camp Kinder and get on the waitlist for early bird pricing here: campkinder.caConnect with Amanda here:Insta: https://www.instagram.com/creativekindergartenblogontpt/TpT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Creative-KindergartenBlog: https://creativekindergartenblog.com/Podcast: https://anchor.fm/creativekindergarten