Classroom Organization

Good Morning! I have been thinking about how I would like to organize my classroom for the upcoming year. I moved rooms and grade levels at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. I was very excited to be moving into a very nice room and down a grade to fourth. I was leaving a room that had lots of storage and cabinets. You would think that I would have been somewhat unhappy about that, but I wasn't. I had to really sort through my materials and go through a lot clutter. With too much space and spaces that were hard to get to, it was not to my advantage to be in that classroom.(I noticed the teacher who moved in after me "cluttered" up the spaces because there was sooo much space for storage) I threw out a lot of things and  thoroughly organized and thought about how I wanted my classroom set up for last school year. Pinterest, I can forget, gave me soooo many ideas! I also realized that lots of teachers spend the amount of time that I do planning and creating. That was actually inspirational to me!

Tip#   1   I bought a bunch of heavy duty 3M plastic hooks from Lowes to use to hang up posters. I made sure that my posters were laminated. Then I punched holes in the top corner of each poster. Next, I used a large metal book ring and put it through each hole. I was able to put a lot of posters together. Then I found a place on  the wall, preferably not in the main view or a place that was awkward, and placed the 3M plastic hooks the correct distance apart and hung my posters. It is so nice to have my posters hanging, not rolled up. Plus they are easily accessible! Trust me, if you can't get to something easily, you will not use it! Hanging things from 3M hooks is a real space saver if you don't have a lot storage. I liked the they way that I hung my posters so much that I hung my extra tablets of chart paper this way. 
Tip #    Choose two colors for your room. I made my bulletin boards hot pink and green. I used hot pink plastic table covers from the Dollar Store for my backgrounds. I also made a bench for my carpet area. The crates are bright green and the cushions are hot pink. It helped make more  room on the carpet and brightened up the room! 


Tip #  2  DIY Seat Sacks for Students- I made my own last year and it helped them stay organized. There are several ways to make them. Here is just one http://www.sewmamasew.com/2011/08/back-to-school-desk-bag/

Tip # 3 DIY Crate Bench http://afirstgradejourney.blogspot.com/2012/07/diy-crate-bench.html

Tip #  4 Hanging up those bulletin board borders http://finallyinfirst.blogspot.com/2012/05/border-tip.html