Classroom Spotlight: Mrs. Patterson!

Secondary Education classrooms get a bad rap for being "boring" or "dull." Often times, my fellow high school teachers just roll their eyes at my crazy bulletin board ideas and classroom decor. I can't help my addiction to decorating my classroom, my mom has rubbed off on me. My sister, Holli, has also taken our mother's lead by bringing fun art and decorations into her classroom, too!

About Mrs. Patterson...

Holli Patterson is my younger sister and mother of my sweet baby nephew, Lane. She is married to a wonderful guy, Brandon. Holli is starting her third year of teaching Family and Consumer Sciences at Ohatchee High School. She absolutely loves teaching students how to cook and sew, but she is also very passionate about showing her students how to eat and prepare nutritious food. 

A glimpse into her classroom:

Holli had a very big blank and awkward space to fill in her room. She sent me a picture of this blank wall and asked me what would look good on this wall. My go-to response for any blank space is, "make a tree!" Trees are so easy to make and you can change the surrounding decor from season to season, thus creating a fun spot for your students to enjoy. Our mom is a true artist when it comes to make trees out of paper, so Holli called upon her to help create this beautiful tree. With some hot glue, tape, and brown paper, a tree was born! 

I love this corner and bulletin board in Hollis's room. It is organized and appealing! The bulletin board background is covered with material. Holli likes to use material for her boards bc it saves paper and is easily changed from semester to semester or year to year. 

I love this bulletin board idea! With "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) policies being adopted by many school systems in Alabama, students will have to become more responsible with the information/opinions they share on social media sites in order for this implementation to be successful. 

Some ideas from the desk of Mrs. Patterson: 

In Mrs. Patterson's class, she loves to display student work. She believes that this motivates many of her students to do well so that their work can stand out amount the crowd. In her classroom, she changes her bulletin boards and displays regularly (every 4-6 weeks) so that her classroom can continue to change and grow as the year progresses. Much like elementary students, high schoolers enjoy a change in scenery from time to time.