Hello!!!
Today I am linking up with some of my amazing blogger friends to bring you a 4 week linky series of helpful tips as you venture back into the classroom for a new school year!
This week I am going to be discussing some ideas and tips that I have for classroom setup and organization!
Before you even walk into the classroom, it is really a great idea to draw a diagram of how you would like to set up your room. This will be a MAJOR timesaver in the future for you!
***Another important helpful tip: Prepare ahead of time!!
I know a lot of people don't want to give up their summer by working on anything school related, but it will really help you when you are crunched for time during preplanning and in meeting after meeting if you have most of it prepped and ready to go. Here are some ideas that I prepped over the summer for when I go back to school in a few weeks:
I always make inspirational quotes based on my classroom theme:
I place these table numbers in the middle of each table. I make them based on the school theme that we have this year. This year we are doing a space theme!
I have printed my new classroom decor, and I am already laminating away so it is ready to be hung.
I also prepped my birthday cups for the year. This is an idea that I started a few years back. I give each student one of these cups on their birthday and it is a HIT!! They love them!
Here is the blog post about the birthday cups if you want more information! Click
HERE to read!
I also made these privacy shields for students to work independently. My teammate gave me this idea last year, and I loved it! They do have some "helpers" on them to aid during math, reading, and writing specifically. I took triboards and cut them in half to create these.
*** When you consider your classroom environment, make it warm and friendly for your students. I want my students to be excited about our classroom. I want them to WANT to come back to school everyday!
I like to make everything crisp and clean looking. Since I haven't returned to my classroom yet this year, here are some pictures of my classroom from last year!
As you can tell, I love colorful and bright! Last year our school theme was a rock star theme, hence the zebra stripes. My students were so excited about our classroom from the minute they walked in the door at Meet the Teacher! This is the vibe you want to establish.
As you can see above, I hang my word wall on ribbons. I like the presentation that the ribbons make and the words are super easy to hang on the ribbons.
***Make everything user friendly and accessible for students.
There is a caddy in the middle of each table with pencils, a box of crayons for each student, their scissors, and glue sticks for each student. This provides quick and easy access when you ask students to get out their materials.
I also make Tidy Tubs for each table for students to put their scrap paper in after they do any cutting. Let me tell you that this idea has worked wonders for keeping all of that scrap paper off of my floor!
*** Have everything set up in student desks for Meet the Teacher!
I have all books in their desks ready to go and name tags already on their desks. I attach their nametags with velcro dots in case I need to make any adjustments. This is an easy way to be able to switch any students around.
I also have a welcome goody bags on their desks, which of course are a hit with my students! The most important thing, like I said above, is that they walk in your room and feel like it is HOME! :-)
Please hop around and read about other classroom organizational ideas from these fabulous bloggers! Also please link up and share any FAB ideas that you have to start our new school year off with a bang!
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