Monday, July 9, 2012

ROUND TO IT!

Do you keep saying to yourself, “I’m going to get around to that before school starts.  I’m going to be more organized this coming year.”  Well, here are a few tips for you!

If it’s something you have not used in a year…
THROW IT OUT!           
SHARE IT WITH ANOTHER TEACHER! 
HAVE A DRAWING AND LET STUDENTS “WIN” IT!

Organize materials by…
         THEMES OR UNITS
         MONTHS
         CONTENT (music visuals, math games, reading activities)
         *Color code with dot stickers (green beginning of the year, yellow
         middle, red end of year)
                 
Store materials in…
         Plastic tubs, crates
         Cardboard boxes, baskets
         Zip bags, file folders
         Hanging garment bags, shoe bags, skirt hangers
         Suitcases (Sharon MacDonald gave me this idea.  She buys old suitcases at Good 
         Will and uses them to store materials.  They stay nice and flat and stack on the 
         top of shelves.)

Hint!  Cover messy shelves with curtains.
         Spray paint or cover cardboard boxes with contact paper for uniformity
         Label boxes and tubs with contents

Planning Tubs
Planning tubs are another idea that will help you stay organized this year.
You will need 5 plastic tubs for this organizational idea.  Label each tub
with a different day - “Monday,” “Tuesday,” etc.  Put daily lesson plans, worksheets, props, games, books, words to songs, and so forth in the tubs.  Everything you will need for each day is in one convenient place.   By doing this Friday afternoon, you’ll be all set for the upcoming week.  It’d be great for a substitute teacher, too.