Summer Organization: A head start or just catching up?

Now that the newness of summer is wearing off, I am ready to jump into next school year.  Since I am still looking for a new school to call home, I decided to do some organizing to make sure I'm ready when something comes along.  Last year I kept most of my original copies of lessons and activities in file cabinets.  My system was not ideal, and it seemed like I was always looking for something ten minutes longer than I should have been.  When it came time to pack up and move out, my file folder system was even more of a pain.  Now I have so many important plans and activities that seem to be all over the place.  A while back I had seen a system that another teacher had devised using binders.  The teacher's name is Amanda Terhune, and her blog is called "Mrs. Terhune's First Grade Site."  Brilliant.  I used her idea and developed a system of my own.  I made binders for different subject areas so that I can store the various activities all in one place.  It really does make so much more sense to me to have a more portable and easily accessible system.  Now I feel like I'm getting ahead of the game, rather than just catching up from last year.  Here are some pics:

I also made spine labels:

I'm already starting to file items, which makes me feel like I'm ahead of the game.  I also made binders for fall, winter, spring, summer, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years, and Valentines/St. Patrick's Day.  The school I worked at this past year allowed activities that celebrate the commercial aspects of various holidays, so I found that I had quite a few activities related to these occasions.  I wanted to keep them separate from the basic seasonal activities for convenience.  Sorry I don't have pictures of those ones!  

I can already see how this system will make it so much easier to find what I need, not to mention that the portability of the system will make it easier to stay organized when moving items around.  I would love to hear what you all think, especially if you have used a system like this.  Have a great week!Pin It

My White Board Solution - Laminated Card Stock

My students use white boards every day.  It never fails, we always need more boards at a lit center or in the math area.  Since white boards aren't cheap, I decided to make extra boards by laminating card stock.  Now, rather than moving boards around all day long, I can have stack in different places throughout the room.  The best part is that they take up hardly any space!  I can keep about 30 of them in a file folder.  I even thought of making file folder white boards!

I have had an ongoing problem with white boards, storage, and math class this year.  We have math class in our meeting area by our Promethean board, and every day the kids are bringing white boards, markers, erasers, pencils, and their activity books.  Materials get mixed up, forgotten, or broken constantly.  For the obsessive organizer, this is chaos!  Today, I finally think I came up with a solution.  I took some "card stock white boards" and attached them to the back of a few students' math folders.  The students will have their white boards with them all of the time.  I don't have to store them, and now there is one less thing for the kids to keep track of daily.  I plan to have my "test" students use these new boards until the end of the year and see how it goes.  Maybe this will be a great solution~

 

Now, on to "Seussical" - my students have their spring musical on Friday, and each of the nine first and second grade classes are completing a Seuss project to decorate the gym.  We started ours today and it is already adorable.  Pictures to come tomorrow! 

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Mini White Boards

 In my ongoing quest to not only be organized but efficient, I came up with a new idea: erasable flashcards.  With four different reading groups, all at different places in the curriculum,  it seemed like all I was doing was cutting paper and making flashcards for each story we read.  With limited space, I have found that I have no more room for all of these activity cards.  The other day I came up with an idea that has already proved useful.  I cut up a stack of cardstock into 4 1/4 by 3 inch rectangles, and then laminated them, essentially making them into mini white boards.  I went through each group's word activites for the next day and wrote them on the cards with a dry erase marker.  I could easily change letters in front of the kids to make new words, which was a great word building activity.  When we were done, I erased the cards that I didn't need for the next day's lesson, and then wrote the new words on the same cards.  The best part is, they don't take up any space - just one little stack of cards.  I've only been using them for a week, so we'll see how it goes, but so far, so good!

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Student Work File

I needed a new way to organize completed, student work, and this is what I came up with.  Since I my partner and I share students for two subjects, that means we are both collecting work from 43 students everyday.  With these files, I can very quickly check to see how each student has done for a day or week.  It also makes it easier for returning and recording work.  I can do a few students at a time until I am done, and then staple their work and put it in their mail boxes immediately.  No more work piling up if I miss a day or two of correcting!

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Report cards done, now back to work

Now that I have finished my report cards, I've returned to my quest for organization.  I bought some more storage drawers, and they have already made a difference.  I have a drawer for papers to be copied, one for game boards, and one for lit activities - now rather than having to search in my cabinets for these things when I need them, they are handy all of the time.  I also made 3 drawers for substitute teachers.  One drawer has the basic sub information: class lists, school information, student medical concernes, etc.  The next drawer is for lesson materials (for prearranged substitute situations), and the last drawer is for extra activities for a sub if they need it.  That drawer includes geometric coloring/pattern pages, extra Scholastic News issues, word finds, math games, and other similar activities.  Knowing that I have all of this prepared for a sub has lifted a huge wight off of my shoulders!  In addition to my new system, I also have my "day of the week system," so subs can just pull the drawer for that day of the week and have the materials right there for them to use.  I have had a sub tub, but I think this will make it much easier for me to be prepared for those last minute situations. 



I also came up with a new way for my students to turn in their work, that I'm excited to start using tomorrow.  It should make recording the work completed and passing it back out much simpler.  I'll post pics tomorrow~

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Organizing for Survival

This year, I was hired for my current position just a few days before school started.  Since then, it has been a daily job to find new ways to organize a space that does not have any storage space.  My latest means to organize my lessons has been my lifesaver.  I saw something similar in another teacher's classroom, and decided to adapt the same method to fit my needs.  I now organize everything by days of the week.  Whatever worksheets, activities, and supplies I will need for that day's lessons go in the corresponding drawer.  There is also a bin for next week's materials so that on Friday, I can pull out that drawer and just as easily put them in the correct drawers for next week.  I think this will also be extremely helpful for when I have a sub.  I won't have to go crazy pulling stuff together, but just pull out the drawer and make a copy of the days's lesson plans.

The teacher who inspired this organization method had each drawer labled for each subject, as well as for art activities, coloring pages, math games, and sub activities.  I also have a bin full of sub activites; however having another set of drawers for sub materials might also be a good solution for my storage and organization issues!  I'm excited to give it a try!

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