Organizing Centers...Target to the Rescue!
If you ask me, organization is a personal thing. There are so many ways to be organized and to store things, yet there is no single way that is superior to another. We have to find what fits each of us the best. That being said, I'm going to share with you how I plan to store my center materials next year and explain why it will work for me. Maybe, some parts will work for you too!Students love center work but the parts and pieces that need to be stored are annoying! To me, anyway. Last year I tried storing things in binders. Didn't work. I've tried manila envelopes-yuck. And, even gallon sized ziploc bags-ewww. None of those ways were presentable looking enough, and accessible at the same time. So, this next year I plan to use something that, I think, will suit my needs.
In my unexpected obsession with centers last week, I hightailed it to Target thinking I might want to invest in some expanding files. No way! They are too expensive and I would have needed too many. As I walked in circles around the office department insisting that there must be something I could use, I found these:
Bankers Boxes! The best part, you get two boxes for $7! Yippee!
I will store each center in a file folder inside the box. The contents of each folder will look a bit like this:
Having everything contained in this box is presentable, contained, and yet accessible. There are no bent envelopes or crinkly bags to have to look at. Yay! I will keep the box in the closet where the rest of my center materials are stored. Here's a look inside one of the boxes (so far).
Some centers obviously won't fit in these boxes. I'm talking about those activities with parts and pieces (magnetic letters, etc). I store those kinds of materials in pencil boxes in large plastic crates (in my closet). Again, things look presentable and contained, yet they are easy to get to. Sorry, no pics because we are banned from school until the week before school starts.
Speaking of parts and pieces, take a look at these manips I plan on using in my word work center next year. The blingy letters are from Target (.99 cents in the scrapbooking aisle) and the punch out letters are from the Dollar Tree. As I mentioned above, they will be stored in pencil boxes. I placed each set of punch out letters into baggies and then put the baggies in one pencil box.
