Get Inspired! Math Manipulatives Before and After

If you are just joining us, you'll want to start here or check out my Clutter-Free Guide to Organizing and Managing Your Classroom.

There I was wandering around cyberspace when I stumbled upon this cute little display of math manipulatives.

Here's what I loved:

• the colorful green shelf
• the (I'm assuming plastic) jars that housed the manipulatives
• the pink lids
• how happy and inviting and kid-friendly it all looked

I desperately wanted to see more of this teacher's classroom, but the photo was a dead link.

Lucky for me (and you), I am one heck of an internet stalker. Not only did I manage to track down the original site, but I did so even though the shelf was in disguise.

Turns out the shelf belongs to The Virtual Vine which is one of the pioneers in teacher sites. I remember stopping by there way back when I was teaching K/1.

The fact that this shelf had a before picture made me all the more giddy.

Y'all know how I love me a good classroom before and after project.

Now here's what I REALLY love...

It appears that over time Ms. Virtual Vine has:

• painted the shelf
• decluttered some of the manipulatives and only put out what she wanted little hands to access freely
• opted for more uniform-sized containers which presents a feeling of order
• created a complimentary collection of colors