Classroom Organization = Teacher Happiness

Am I the only one that gets excited about classroom organization? I think that most teachers have a desire to be organized. And, that is what this post is all about!

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Teachers have stuff. Lots of stuff. Therefore, we have a never ending need/desire/nagging feeling to be as organized as possible. Organization looks like different things to different people.

To me, organization means that everything has a place. It also means that things are easily accessible and tidy. So, hopefully today's organizational tips are helpful in making sure everything in your classroom has a place (fingers crossed), thereby keeping your space tidy.

CRAYONS
Do you use crayons in your classroom? Chances are, if you teach primary, well then, yes, you do. Don't you just love it when there are random crayons scattered about the classroom floor at the end of each day? Didn't think so.

Rather than attempt to locate the owner of unmarked, abandoned crayons, we add them to a crayon tub. This tub is where all the little lost crayons go to live.

The students are free to use the crayons in this tub as needed. It's so much nicer than hearing random blurts of, "I don't have a blue!" They know they can just get up and get a blue, or whatever.

NOTE CARDS
I love note cards! I keep several sets on hand at school because you never know when you might need to tell someone thank you, or decide that you want to write a special note to a student. Rather than have 5 different packs of cards floating around inside my desk, I keep my cards organized in a mini expanding file folder (coupon holder). They are perfect for holding all the cards and envelopes, and I can easily grab a card when needed!

REWARD TAGS
It's no secret. I'm a huge fan of reward tags. And, so are my students. These necklaces are only worn once a week, which means they have to be stored somewhere for safe keeping. This space below my whiteboard is perfect for storing our necklaces.

Each hook (push pin) is labeled with students numbers rather than names. I use calendar number cards. This allows me to reuse the labels year after year.

What I love best about this space is that the kids can easily get to and return their necklaces without any issues or the necklaces getting lost or damaged.

One more thing I do to organize my reward tags is write student numbers on the back of the tags (usually just the first tag they are given). This way, if we ever find a stray necklace, we know exactly where that set of tags goes.

Think you could use these calendar numbers to help keep your reward tags organized? Click HERE to grab them.

Clipboards
Whether you have 5 clipboards or 20, it's helpful to put them in one spot that keeps them contained yet accessible. After all, we want the students to be able to access the materials intended for use. I store my clipboards in a metal tub. It's not fancy. But, organization doesn't need to be. The tub makes it easy for the kids to grab and return a clipboard throughout the day.

Tech
I hate cords. With a passion. We were given these devices in the past two years, and the cords were getting out of control. So, I found it necessary to contain them (because they gave me the heebie jeebies every time I looked at them). Having some sort of system to store your tech and manage the cords allows for ease of use and keeps the heebie jeebies away.

These bamboo stations are from Amazon. The quality is great. Each device plugs into a power strip which fits comfortably inside each station. Click here to learn more about this charging station option.

TEACHING MATERIALS
Let me start by stating that I am not a "binder person." Binders are not my go to resource for organizing ALL the things. BUT, I do find them to be the perfect tool for organizing specific lessons and samples. I have a binder for back to school, the holidays, special projects, etc.

Rather than store these lesson ideas, masters, and samples in a file folder, they are stored in page protectors and zipper pouches in a binder. It actually prolongs the life of the masters and samples (less creasing), and it is really easy to find what I need.

For example, I use a three inch binder to store all of my back to school lessons, samples, task cards, and so forth. This binder cover is from Learning in Wonderland.

I store craft samples in page protectors along with the masters that go with that craft.

And, task cards, around the room cards, etc. are stored in zipper pouches within the binder.

The binder set up allows me to easily go through all of my resources and quickly choose what I want to use each year.

NEW STUDENTS
I know I've shared this before, and I know it's a well known trick, but new student bags are a simple but highly effective way to stay organized. These are especially useful if you have a lot of movement at your school, as I do.

A new student bag is where you place all the items a new student will need into a plastic bag. When you are told that a new student is on the way, you grab a bag and it's very easy to prepare for that new student's arrival within just a few minutes.

Putting together a new student bag takes very little effort and saves you from scrambling the morning a new student arrives. I always set mine up before school starts as I'm preparing these same materials for the students on my beginning of the year roster.

I store my new student bags in a crate on my storage shelf. When I get a new student slip in my box, I grab a bag from my shelf and set up a desk. Easy peasy.