My Journey with Organization

I'm pretty sure I have said it before, but I will say it again. Organization is my biggest enemy. Each year I try a little harder to make it all work. I figure by the time I retire I MIGHT have everything in my room an organized masterpiece. Okay, probably not even then. With that said I am linking up with Fun in Room 4B for an Optimum Organization linky.

Most of the ideas I'm going to share I got from Pinterest last summer. Some worked really well, and others would be considered an epic fail.

Successes:

No Name Board

I can't even begin to describe how this simple board has saved my sanity. All I do is clip the no name papers to the board. No more trying to play detective, having to ask each class if it belongs to one of them, and somehow keeping up with the paper until it's claimed. I can't believe how simple, yet truly helpful this has been.

Teacher Desk Organizer 

I love, love, love my teacher crate. I have a file for everything I could possibly need during my day. It makes it super easy for me to put something where it goes as soon as I get it and avoid large piles of paper on my desk. I made the mistake of putting it on the side of my desk at the start of the year. Since it was out of sight, out of mind, I rarely used it and had the dreaded pile problem. However, once I moved it to the front of my desk, I have been so happy I made it.

 

Days of the Week Organizer

I did not want to pay for a simple container with the days of the week on it, so I created my own. I have really enjoyed having this. I can put the supplies for each day in the correct box and have my whole week ready at my fingertips. One problem I have been facing is I don't always fully clean it out from the week before so sometimes the containers get really full.

Failure:

My Teacher Binder

I like so many of you decided to create a really cute teacher binder for this year. I have super cute labels and dividers between each section. However, unlike many of you, I have HATED my teacher binder. First of all my two inch binder has probably three inches worth of "stuff" in it. I also rarely have the time to put each new thing in it's spot, so it just gets shoved in the front. Then I have to sit down and spend at least an hour reorganizing the thing. Also, I have such a hard time finding things that go in multiple categories. For instance CRT and Gates scores, did I put them under Student Info or Assessment Info? I finally gave up lugging the thing back and forth about February.

Even with all my trials and tribulations with my teacher binder, I will not be giving up on it. I brought it home to clean out this summer and spend some time perfecting my system. A few things I have learned to help those of you who decide to create one.

1. Limit the scope of the binder to only things you really need portable. Did I really need the master copies of each assignment and the answer key in my binder? No! I should have never put the master in it and removed the answer key when I was finished with the grading.

2. Create categories that are clearly defined and be consistent. Don't put one set of test scores in one section and the next in a different section. You will drive yourself mad!

3. Organize it EVERY DAY. Do not wait until you have an inch of unfilled papers in the front to organize it. Otherwise you will spend more time looking for what you need.

These are just a few new ideas I tried this year to solve a problem/problems I had been having. I'm sure I'll be looking (stalking) to try to get some new ideas for next year!

Organization, my biggest enemy!

Every year I say that next year I will be more organized. This year I actually created some new tools to help me. (See post on Back to School Crafting.) So far I am LOVING my "NO Name" board. I used to have the no name papers hanging up all over my chalk board, which drove me CRAZY! Now they have their own space off my chalk board.

 I have been using my Monday through Friday sorter and red desk organizer, but feel that I am not using them enough. I still find myself with several small piles on my desk throughout the day. I wonder if I need to move them to the front of my desk instead of the side so I will use them immediately. I saw a post where the teacher totally got rid of her desk and just had her stuff organized on shelves. I would LOVE to do that, but have miles to go before I could take that organizational jump!

I have also been working on my Teacher Binder. I found really cute page dividers on teachers pay teachers. However, I put so much in my binder that I keep adding more and more dividers. At some point my binder may become too organized. Is that even possible?

This week after our In Service on Oklahoma's new teacher evaluation system, I also started a Teacher Leader Effectiveness binder. I was surprised that TPT doesn't have any cute stuff on it for TLE. Maybe I'll have to find my creative side and make some to share in my overflowing amount of free time.

Wish me luck as I continue to strive for organization bliss!

 

Back to School Crafting

With school starting in a few days, I wanted to take a few moments to post some of the projects I have been working on. I haven't finished all I wanted to, but here are the ones that are ready.

 

No Name Board

I was super inspired by the No Name boards I saw on Pinterest and decided to make one of my own. It turned out really cute. I did learn that I need to try not to be such a perfectionist.  I used a cardboard header board from a craft store and cut the board to a size that would fit in the correct spot in my classroom. I covered the edges in cute ribbon. I painted the letters, clothespins, and decorative stars. Then all I had to do was hot glue everything on. Overall it was super easy with the painting taking the most amount of time.

 

 

 

Weekly Organizer

I loved the idea to have an organizer for each day that I could put my copies in as well as any supplies I would need to teach the lesson. However, after looking at the prices I decided I could make my own. I looked everywhere for cute baskets that would be the right size. Of course they had to be in my classroom colors. After searching and not finding what I wanted, I decided to buy boxes instead. The boxes I used were 12x4x4. I painted and decorated them with cute paper to match my classroom. Then I added tags for each day of the week.

 

Who's Out Boards

I made these using picture frames, cute paper, and stickers. The students will sign out using a dry erase marker when they leave helping me better keep track of everyone.  I will hang the hall passes below the frames.

 

Desk Organizer 

 One of my major goals this year is to get more organized. I bought a simple desk organizer, added ribbon, and labeled the files with the items that land on my desk everyday. There is plenty of space left for me to put my lesson plan book and grade book.