Diggin' Into Next Year- Classroom Organization

  

Organize my files (activities and copies). I have been teaching for three years, and all of those three years  have been in different rooms. That's right! Three years in a row of moving (in the summer). I have no choice but to have some sort of system and find a way  to not collect paper I don't need. This is what I use:

1.Skill Boxes: 

I asked the school secretary to order "skill boxes". Since our grade level  (kinder)  has a theme every week (for Social Studies mostly),  I decided to create a folder for each theme and store the original copies. I have a different color for every subject. 

2.File cabinets:

I use them for the letter of the week, each letter has a folder where I store originals and extra copies. I also store samples to show the students.

3.Computer files:

With all those online resources I find and it order to save paper, I need to have the activities in digital form. This is a picture of all my Social Studies folders:

Create an" At a glance" document. I want to have the digital and hard copies into a place where I can retrieve them easily. A way to remember great lessons I used the year before,  and things I could do without. This is something I started to create. The theme is at the top, the color indicates the subject and I can also incorporate the books I have in my classroom library.

My social studies skill boxes (if I stay in the same grade level). I am so thankful I decided to do this my first year in kinder, when the time comes, and I need to know what I did for Memorial Day, I go there and find the folder and pick and choose which activities to use, sometimes we don't have the digital copy for everything.  

At the beginning of the year, my little kinder students had a hard time finishing their work on time. Sometimes,  I have to send incomplete work home (who doesn't?). I was writing many notes, also had a stamp, but nothing really worked like these labels:

       

This is what they look like, simply staple to the incomplete activity. They are available in English and Spanish and many options (bring back the next day, Monday, Friday, create your own)...The best part, the students sign at the bottom. Click here to see them. 

 Find more ideas by clicking on the following button. You will also be able to see what other teachers have to say about this topic. Just scroll down to the comments section.