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Category Archives: Classroom Organization
Classroom Organization. Everything from Teacher Organization, Classroom Design, labels, flexible seating, and organizing student materials. Here is where we find help in the “daily” activities of the classroom. Tips and Tricks help the classroom run efficiently and effectively.
WAHOO! Summer vacation. The Beach. Family BBQ’s. R&R.
BUT, WAIT! NOT YET! First I need to pack up my classroom so I can find the things I need when we come back. Back to School is crazy enough without me NOT being able to find my MOST needed items! ( Where is MY stapler???)
Are YOU packing up your classroom?
What am I packing?
What is on my classroom packing list?
Here is my list:
Number One
It’s ALL about ME! What will I need the first week?
Teacher Editions and Lesson Plan Book
My Teacher Editions & Lesson Plan Book. I need them to plan for the first weeks.
Mostly Routines and Daily schedules. (Work on THIS before VACATION!)
Sticky Notes
Sticky notes inside to remind my “aging” brain…what I INTEND to do!
What MATERIALS will I need to accomplish this? What lesson to focus on those first weeks? What went well? What didn’t?
USE THOSE STICKY NOTES INSIDE YOUR TE!
You will NOT remember months from now… what you are thinking about TODAY!
After the calendar changes, I start getting ready for Summer vacation.
Spring Fever is kicking in.
I daydream of the beach, family barbeques, gardening… Ahhh…
I am thinking BEACH! Spring FEVER is here!
But WAIT! I am NOT ready for the end of the year.
I have things to do!
STRESS is kicking in! So what? What do I need to do?
End of the Year Report Cards.
All end-of-the-year paperwork for my students needs to be completed. We have to sign off on cum files. Put papers in files. Purge student portfolios so the second-grade teachers only get current information.
PURGE those files!
OPEN HOUSE
Our Open House for parents is in May. The end of the year is a good time for them to visit our classroom, see their child’s projects, and let their child “teach” them. I step back and become the “visitor”. The kids run the show. I teach them how to properly introduce their parent to me. “Mrs. McCarty, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Maria ” and we shake hands. ( Practicing good manners ALL the time!) The kids are the “guides” and they WALK THE ROOM (start at the door & show them ALL the things we do and then to their clean desk ( cleaned that day). EVERYTHING ON their desk goes HOME with them. MAKE SURE NOT TO PUT ANYTHING ON THEIR DESK THAT YOU WANT TO STAY. We have ALL of our end-of-the-year projects completed and ready to go.
Clean classroom desks for OPEN HOUSE
ASSEMBLIES
Our End of the Year assemblies are WONDERFUL! Our school talent show, sing-alongs, class sharing, etc. happen this month.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
At the end of the year, we celebrate our families. We have a LUNCH on the LAWN for our families. They can bring a lunch (McDonald’s is ALWAYS a favorite), a picnic blanket, and have lunch with their child. They can bring Grandparents, siblings, cousins, whomever. It’s at their regular lunchtime, just a fun time for all. ANY student whose parent cannot come, ( like ME..I was always working..dad went) they get to sit on MY picnic blanket and have lunch with ME!
We also have our end-of-the-year BOOK FAIR! Families are encouraged to purchase books for their child to read over the summer. We usually have a good turn out. If you have NOT had a Book Fair at your school, try it!
Scholastic Book Fair
CLASSROOM
We are winding down with our books and curriculum. Workbooks are almost empty, journals are full, and the crayons and markers have had it! The end of the year has taken its TOLL on student materials! 🙂 But, I have to get ready for NEXT YEAR!
The books need to be sorted before the end of the year.
Before the end of the year…START NOW!
Have students sort through classroom library books. THEY CAN SORT! Add labels to any books not labeled and have your books ready for next year.
Sort writing center materials ( papers, markers, etc) and make sure everything is in working order. Have your students check markers. Any that don’t work..TOSS!
PURGE your FILES! ( Yes…I said IT!) If you haven’t used it, seen it, or are not even sure where it came from…RECYCLE IT!
OPEN YOUR CUPBOARDS! If you have NOT opened the cupboard this year…YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING IN IT! Don’t store stuff because you MIGHT need it. If you aren’t using it… BYE BYE!
Take out EVERYTHING from drawers and closets. DON’T PUT IT BACK, if you haven’t used it! ( I found 10 computer cables for the technology we don’t even have anymore!)
Have students CLEAN! I give them a paper towel and SANITIZER! Wipe everything you can touch! NO PAPER OR BOOKS! Chairs, stools, door, tables, desks, TOPS & BOTTOMS! CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!
Think about YOUR bulletin boards for the beginning of the year. Put ALL of the things you will need in one box. Don’t forget a stapler, tape, etc. MARK IT for TEACHER IMPORTANT! Keep it with YOU.
Don’t take home a ton of stuff over the summer. I allow myself ONE box. THAT’S IT! You are NOT going to do a lot of school work over the summer. Don’t FAKE IT!
I begin to pack at the end of the year, as soon as OPEN HOUSE is over. A little EVERY day. My goal is to fill one garbage can a day for the rest of the year. Purge a little every day. You have digital files…use them!
Runoff your first-week materials. Have them in a box ready to go! I am working on my lesson plan frames for next year. I do mine on the computer. Wouldn’t it be nice to open the lesson plan binder and already have the first week DONE??!!! I already have my year-long plans for ELA and MATH. My BFF teaching partner has done that.
SEND HOME STUDENT MATERIALS
I send ALL workbooks ( with pages we didn’t get to), BRAG TAG necklaces, student-made books, etc. on the last week. If I change the routines, I must deal with behavior problems. AND WE DON’T WANT THAT! We have a game day the last day. They can play our rainy-day classroom games. Then we write a letter to the kindergartners telling them about First Grade.
The end of the year is a fun time, a stressful time, and a time to organize for next year. Don’t “over-do” it. Remember…it’s YOUR vacation TOO!
When you are getting ready for Back To School… check out these HELPFUL resources:
Check out this great BLOG POST from LAURA at www.thecoreinspiration.com on setting UP your classroom library.
Classroom Library I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with my classroom library.
I LOVE BOOKS!
I Love my kiddos to LOVE books!
I Love the organization of a classroom library.
I HATE PUTTING BOOKS AWAY!
I HATE A MESSY CLASSROOM LIBRARY.
And so…
What’s a teacher to do? REDO IT AGAIN!
So, How many times do I have to do it…
before I LOVE it?? (Again )
Here is the BEFORE…
So, why? Oh, why?
Why mess with a GOOD thing?
( Can you hear the shame in my voice?)
BECAUSE.
Because I know what wonderful books are in the tubs.
BUT … the kids DON’T!
They know their favorites.
They go to the same tub over & over.
I LOVE THAT.
BUT…
How do you know?
There might be a BOOK you would
LOVE BETTER!
They don’t search.
They just go to what they know.
SO…
I am expanding their KNOWLEDGE BASE!
I have decided to TAKE AWAY THE TUBS!
WHAT????
I know…you with OCD will HATE ME!
WHY?
Because..it’s not MY library…it’s OURS!
I am going to dump EVERY book in a pile in the middle
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure. WOW! A lot for firsties who are learning to read AND write. We “JUMP” in! 🙂
Much easier to write about yourself, than others.
My kiddos are just beginning to understand LANGUAGE.
Sytnax…grammar…structure…????
A LOT FOR A 7 year old!
HOW? HOW? HOW? Breathe… We TALK… A LOT!
We share our ideas. We draw. We draw some more. We chart ideas. We sound out words ( the best we can ).
We share. We edit. We write more. And we FIX IT!
Is it perfect? NO!
Is it OK?
YES! Writing is a process. It takes TIME! And practice. And MORE practice!
I want my kiddos to WANT to write. Not for ME…for themselves!
The LOVE of writing is a GIFT! Give them a GIFT!
Need HELP with resources, ideas, & planning?
Here are some helpful ideas:
When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.
