For those who think primary school teachers spend their holidays lazing about and enjoying a long getaway – think again.
Instead, thousands of dedicated educators across Australia have spent the past month putting together perfectly organised classroom spaces and spending hours carefully crafting inspiration walls and beautiful reading corners.
Here, FEMAIL looks at some of these enthusiastic teachers and how they’ve transformed their classrooms into stimulating, colourful spaces in preparation for their brand new students.
One Brisbane-based year six teacher, who goes by Mrs T on Instagram, has been sharing snaps of her pre-prepared first day activities, personalised white board and home made ‘visual timetables’ with her 1,000 followers.
Thousands of dedicated educators across Australia have spent the past month putting together perfectly organised classroom spaces
Sydney-based year three teacher, who goes by Miss P, describes herself as a ‘lover of all things colourful – and it’s not hard to see why!
Miss P’s page is filled with all things rainbow – from laminated math games and multiple banners to mountains of stickers and reward cards
The optimistic teacher has also put together perfectly labelled drawers, coloured Jenga sets for numeracy activities and made a tiny ‘teacher’s toolbox’ complete with labels for rubber bands, staples, sticky notes and even mini pegs.
She’s also made mini birthday balloons, prepared bean bags and made checklists.
Sydney-based year three teacher, who goes by Miss P, describes herself as a ‘lover of all things colourful – and it’s not hard to see why!
Miss P’s page is filled with all things rainbow – from laminated math games and multiple banners to mountains of stickers and reward cards.
Miss Nunn, a year three and four teacher from New South Wales’ Central Coast, has been sharing her excitement about creating her tropical-themed classroom for the year ahead
From place value displays to an impossibly colourful ‘wow work display’, Miss Nunn has pulled out all the stops to ensure her teaching space is both motivating and on theme
‘I am too excited to get back to school for 2018 and continue my wonderful adventure with teaching,’ she wrote
She incorporated ‘flexible’ seating into her classroom
She has also put together an inspiration wall stamped with all kinds of motivational quotes, crafted an eye-popping reading corner with metallic cushions and a mat and made ‘whisper phones’ for her class.
The Colourful Classroom took her year two reading corner a step further with a quirky Harry Potter theme.
‘I’ve wanted to do this since becoming a teacher,’ she said of her whimsical corner creation.
Miss Nunn, a year three and four teacher from New South Wales’ Central Coast, has been sharing her excitement about creating her tropical-themed classroom for the year ahead.
From place value displays to an impossibly colourful ‘wow work display’, Miss Nunn has pulled out all the stops to ensure her teaching space is both motivating and on theme.
‘I am too excited to get back to school for 2018 and continue my wonderful adventure with teaching,’ she wrote.
One Brisbane-based year six teacher, who goes by Mrs T on Instagram, has been sharing snaps of her pre-prepared first day activities, personalised white board and home made ‘visual timetables’ with her 1,000 followers
The optimistic teacher has also put together perfectly labelled drawers, coloured Jenga sets for numeracy activities and made a tiny ‘teacher’s toolbox’ complete with labels for rubber bands, staples, sticky notes and even mini pegs
She’s also made mini birthday balloons, prepared bean bags and made checklists
Miss Meg, a year three graduate teacher from Brisbane, Queensland, describes herself as a ‘crazy fruit dresser’ and decided on a cactus theme for her first ever classroom.
‘We’re staying sharp in year three this year,’ she said.
Miss Meg created a cactus-themed birthday wall, a ‘fancactus’ reading corner complete with an inflatable cactus and bean bags and even found an outfit to match the space to wear on her first day.
Her motto? ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’.
Miss Harris, a prep teacher, has also been sharing her amazing creations including personalised gifts for parents on the first day of school.
Miss Meg, a year three graduate teacher from Brisbane, Queensland, describes herself as a ‘crazy fruit dresser’ and decided on a cactus theme for her first ever classroom
‘We’re staying sharp in year three this year,’ she said
Her motto? ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’
‘Tissues for tears, a cotton ball to remember their child’s gentle nature and a teabag to have when they get home and put their feet up,’ she said of the gifts.
She has also prepared birthday gifts, magnetic fishing rods for some fun hands on activities and, like the others, countless laminated signs.
Miss D, a graduate teacher based in Far North Queensland, has gone to great lengths to ensure her first year of teaching prep is nothing but an exciting and inspiring experience for all.
‘Beyond excited to start this journey,’ she said ahead of her preparations on January 2nd.
Miss Meg created a cactus-themed birthday wall, a ‘fancactus’ reading corner complete with an inflatable cactus and bean bags and even found an outfit to match the space to wear on her first day
The teacher, who boasts a collection of more than 100 picture books, shared snaps of her perfectly organised behaviour reward system and a very creative ‘Campsite’ corner for the kids.
‘I was inspired by my teaching team about the use of a home corner in prep. I’m going to use it for inquiry and social skills development through literacy rotations,’ she said.
‘Every few weeks the students will vote on a new theme and I will also begin to introduce learning activities where students can make resources they may like in the home corner.’
She also made personalised bubble gifts for her students and said she was feeling ‘blessed’ ahead of starting the school year.
Miss D, a graduate teacher based in Far North Queensland, has gone to great lengths to ensure her first year of teaching prep is nothing but an exciting and inspiring experience for all
‘Beyond excited to start this journey,’ she said ahead of her preparations on January 2nd
The teacher, who boasts a collection of more than 100 picture books, shared snaps of her perfectly organised behaviour reward system and a very creative ‘Campsite’ corner for the kids
In 2017, FEMAIL spoke to rural Queensland teacher Sally Hannah, aka Miss Hannah, about her immaculate classroom ahead of the 2017 school year.
Taking to her ever-growing Instagram account, then Year Six Shenanigans, and now Year Three Shenanigans, Miss Hannah gushed about her role as a teacher.
The dedicated teacher spent two weeks preparing and shared snaps including brand new packets of stationery and countless packs of colourful paper and sticky notes.
She also shared snaps of the personalised desk labels she has made for each of her students and the handmade wall decorations she worked tirelessly to cut out.
True to her eye-popping rainbow style, the excited teacher also took photos of her colour coded trays, shelving and calendars inside the room.
She also made personalised bubble gifts for her students and said she was feeling ‘blessed’ ahead of starting the school year
In 2017, FEMAIL spoke to rural Queensland teacher Sally Hannah, aka Miss Hannah, about her immaculate classroom ahead of the 2017 school year
Taking to her ever-growing Instagram account, then Year Six Shenanigans, and now Year Three Shenanigans , Miss Hannah gushed about her role as a teacher
The dedicated teacher spent two weeks preparing and shared snaps including brand new packets of stationery and countless packs of colourful paper and sticky notes
Miss Hannah got creative and even managed to transform a regular table into a ‘whiteboard table’ using contact.
‘I bought two rolls as well, and half of both of them are all ‘veiny’ (and that was before I even stuck it on!!) But so far so good! I think it might get yucky after multiple uses though,’ she wrote.
‘I used the adhesive whiteboard roll from Kmart.’
Always going above and beyond, Miss Hannah also shared snaps of her adorable birthday cupcake wall, stunning whiteboard decorations, labels, signs and a ‘goal wall.’
Miss Hannah transformed her whiteboard into a rainbow learning space
The ‘reading focus area’ was equally as impressive and included laminated letters, hand decorated signs, colour-coordinated strategies and label hooks
Bold: The dedicated teacher has been sharing snaps of her preparation including brand new packets of stationery and countless packs of colourful paper and sticky notes
Speaking to FEMAIL, Miss Hannah said to prepare for the year she always tries to figure out what displays she wants and how everything will work to create a ‘functional classroom’.
‘I like to have a good idea of what I’m going to teach throughout the year as well, and try and get ahead for term one as much as I can,’ she said.
‘I’ve made a big effort to get a lot of work done prior to the school year so that I can take more time out for myself. I like to fit in a lot of down time as well.’
The passionate teacher also prepares a lot of her classroom herself at home.
‘I create a lot of my own resources and decor for my classroom. Each resource doesn’t take too long to digitally create as I have a pretty good idea beforehand what I want it to look like – it’s the laminating and cutting that takes forever,’ she explained.
Miss Hannah goes above and beyond for her students
Fresh year, new goals: ‘We are G O A L GETTERS. Can’t wait to fill these sheets with their goals on Monday!’ She wrote next to a photo of the wall
‘I like to have a good idea of what I’m going to teach throughout the year as well, and try and get ahead for Term 1 as much as I can,’ she said
‘My latest physical resource that I have done is a DIY is a calendar that I made using paint chips, cardboard and a picture frame from Kmart. It took a whole afternoon, but I’m pretty OCD making sure everything is even and aligned.’
And the biggest challenge? Prioritising.
‘There are a lot of really cool ideas and resources out there, but I always try and think “Am I really going to use that? Or is it just going to be a whole lot of work to just sit there and look pretty?”,’ she said.
Miss Hannah said despite putting in hours of effort into her rooms, the attention she has had on Instagram and the feedback she gets from her students is worth it.
‘I live and work in a small rural town, and never expected that my Instagram account would be seen by so many others! But it is really humbling as well,’ she said.