Welcome to our Island of Adventures-Learning in a Tropical Paradise

I'm back after a relaxing and fun-filled summer, and it is time to show my room for the upcoming year! I have always loved interior design, so I guess I channel that into my classroom by changing things up with my theme and decor. All summer I have been planning and designing my room for this school year, and I love how it turned out! Preppy items, bright colors, and the tropics have always been my thing, so I used that as the inspiration for my tropical paradise. Below I have links and lists of the stores where I was able to find everything to bring my vision to life (even on a teacher budget.) I'm ready for my kiddos to come back to learn in this space, and I hope you enjoy it too! :)

One of my favorite spaces (and my kiddos favorites too) is the reading nook! The tree from last year was transformed into a palm tree. The backdrop is a photo backdrop from Dollar Tree, and the palm tree pillows are from Walmart. The large ice cream float is also from Walmart and will act as our couch (let's just hope it doesn't pop within the first day.)

The best poster in the room I found at the Parent-Teacher Store! Be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons! The cute little palm trees are from Dollar Tree and the flamingo stand is from Walmart!

Rockin' Readers Beach is ready for you! This year I had to expand to another bookcase, since my classroom library has grown. What a wonderful problem to have! All of the bins on this shelf are from the Dollar Tree, and I made the labels to help keep some of our favorite series a little more organized. I found the surfboards at the Parent-Teacher Store. 

Surf's Up-the easy way to take attendance and lunch count. Each little crab with the matching month sand castle will also keep track of our class birthdays. 

This door was one of my favorite projects! The welcome letters are free on TPT, and I made the other letters from fonts and background patterns on TPT as well. Shout-out to my mom and her art skills for making the flamingo!

I updated our writing process clip chart with this free tropical one from TPT. I also decided to follow the idea of some other teachers I work with and brought in a class plant. The flamingo is from Dollar Tree (yes you can find some wonderful, cheap, random things there.)

Some really great clipart I also used for multiple projects can be found here 

 With some spray paint and Joann Fabric material our chair has transformed!

This tiki tablecloth is from Dollar Tree, the palm tree and toucan stands are from Walmart, and the caddy is $5 at Target! It will be so nice to have all of the supplies at the table students need, so they are not wasting time running back and forth to their seats during centers.

Our island of adventures banner is bright and welcoming, the tiki is part of a yard stake I found at the Dollar Tree. Many of the teachers at my school also have the subject magnets that you can see on the right, so I hopped on the bandwagon. They are so worth purchasing, and you can find them at the Parent-Teacher Store.

My desk area was not left out of the transformation! I think the hula skirt on the front of the desk is the best accent, I found this one at Dollar Tree. The three hibiscus flowers above the bulletin board were also purchased there. The toucan pillow and the pencil holder were found at Target, and the two pineapple desk accessories are from Walmart. "It's a good day to have a good day" and "Be a pineapple. Stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside," were posters at the Parent-Teacher Store.

If you look at the bulletin board border, as well as a few other locations throughout the room, I decided to cut flower leis apart-which you can find 3 for $1 at the Dollar Tree. A super cute and easy way to add a tropical flair! 

The Aloha banner can be found at Hobby Lobby.

In my classroom, we use tickets as a reward system! To tie in with the theme, students have a goal to get Squirt to the ocean by Friday! If he ends up there, every student gets an extra ticket. Good behavior and hard work move him one place closer. 

It might not be tropical, but this has to be one of my favorite additions. The seven phrases I found at the Target dollar spot (I was surprised!) I love the positive affirmations it gives to my kiddos every time they see it!

If you made it this far, congratulations you deserve a gold star! I hope you enjoyed looking at our paradise, I'm ready for my flock to join me as we rock another year in 3rd grade!