The Classroom She Made Them Want to Walk Into
A room that says you belong here.
Kaleigh teaches kindergarten. Before her students walked in for the first day, she set up the room the way she wanted them to feel in it: a banner in the window, a door worth stopping at, and a few small things waiting on the desks.
From Kaleigh's classroom
Setting a room for people who don't know you yet
Getting a classroom ready is a strange kind of party planning. There is no guest list you chose, no theme anyone asked for, and the people you are doing it for are five years old and have no idea yet that any of it was on purpose.
Kaleigh does it anyway. The felt banner goes in the window where the light hits it. The door gets the full treatment. The plates and the napkins and the spinner game come out of the packaging and onto the desks, so the room is already saying something before she says a word.
"so happy you're here"
My favorite part of the first week is getting to know my students and watching their little personalities shine! There's something so special about building those first connections and seeing their excitement as they discover that our classroom is a place where they belong.
kaleigh, @kalssgrace
The look
A classroom palette
Cream and soft grid paper underneath, then the colors you already associate with a school day: apple red, chalkboard teal, crayon blue, and pencil yellow.
apple red
#C0524A
chalkboard teal
#7FBDB0
crayon blue
#94BFD1
pencil yellow
#F2D479
grid paper cream
#FFF9F5
The one she'll use every year
First Day Felt Pennant
$10.99
Almost everything on a back to school table gets used once. This one does not. It is the piece that shows up in the doorway photo every single September, which is exactly why it is worth having something made of felt and not paper.
- Cream felt with colorful felt letters
- Hangs from a wood dowel
- Built to come back out year after year
- Part of the Homeroom back to school collection
Everything in the video
What she set out
Every piece here is from Homeroom, our back to school collection, designed in-house by our studio.
on the desks
Alphabet Plate
The full alphabet running around a scalloped rim. A place setting and a reading lesson at the same time.
Colorful Grid Plate
Scalloped square plates printed like grid paper, in colors that pull the whole desk together.
Crayon Shaped Dinner Napkins
Napkins cut in the shape of a crayon. The kind of small thing a five year old notices immediately.
Pencil Cocktail Napkins
Little pencil napkins for the snack side of the desk. Good for a treat table, good for a teacher lounge.
around the room
Back to School Felt Banner
The banner in her window. Felt letters strung across the glass so the whole room reads it from every seat.
School Icons Banner
Apples, pencils, and crayons hanging between the letters. It is the detail that makes the wall look finished.
First Day Felt Pennant
Cream felt on a wood dowel. The doorway photo prop that comes back out every September.
Back to School Spinner Game
Globe and apple spinner games for the first week, when you need five more minutes of something to do.
The teacher behind the story
Kaleigh
Hi, I'm Kaleigh! I'm a Kindergarten teacher and content creator who loves sharing a little bit of everything, from teacher life and classroom finds to fashion, beauty, and everyday favorites. I love discovering new brands and products and sharing the things I genuinely love with others!
My Mind's Eye sent Kaleigh these back to school products. Her words and her classroom are all her own.
Keep going
Set up your own first day
The whole back to school collection is here, and if you want the smallest version of this idea, start with a note in a lunchbox.
