14 Days of Freebies - Day 12

This freebie is part of my Get Organized Series.  This is just being released today.  You can grab it {HERE}. Need more ways to stay organized?  Check out my store!

Task Cards

We love task cards in my classroom!  We use them for many different things, but many people struggle to organize them.  Honestly, it is all about preference.  I started by putting my task cards on binder rings.  This worked great until I had to store them and I started to have many cards.

Then I tried something like these.  I had found some that were single compartments and about the size of an index card.  I really like these as well.  There were easy to store as well.

This year, I have really stayed on top of my centers and I am working really hard to organize my centers.  I want to be able to pull my centers and go.  So here is where I am now.

This is what it looks like in my center.  The students grab a recording sheet and that is what they turn in to me for accountability.  Instead of spending time cutting and sorting all the task cards, I print them and laminate them.  Then I put them in a file folder for storage.

On the front of my file folder, I glued on the title page, so that when I pull it out, I know exactly what I am pulling out.

 

On the back of my file folder, I put the recording sheet.  There are a few reasons I did this.  First, I will always have a master recording sheet, ready to copy more.  Second, I laminate my folders.  So now a student can use this with a dry erase marker, if I am working with them one-on-one, or they are working independently.

This is what it looks like when I put it in the center.  Super easy for me.  All my task cards follow this format, so the kids know what to do even when I change the skill.

You can find some of my task cards at my TPT store.  The ones in the pictures are being uploaded as we speak.

Rounding to the Nearest 10

Rounding to the Nearest 100

Classroom Organization

This time of year, I am really into cleaning and reorganizing.  That includes my classroom.  So I have a few pictures of how I keep my classroom organized.

First off, how can you organize your classroom if you are not organized as the teacher?  I know these have been around for a while, but I made mine years ago and it is amazing.  When I have to put my classroom together every summer, this is where I start.  I keep all my materials for putting up the bulletin boards and every day use items.  I made mine to match the colors of my classroom.

People ask me all the time how I store anchor charts.  Here is my answer.  I used to keep them in a drawer and then I never used them.  These are only the ones I have laminated.  Most of my anchor charts are made each year with the students.  The ones I keep on the wall, I put on binder rings and they hang on a push pin on the wall.  We flip back though them as needed throughout the year.  SO essentially, I keep my anchor charts up all year for students to reference.

This is a quick look at how my students get home.  The first week or so is stressful for students when it is time to go home.  I keep this on the wall all year.  If a student's way of going home changes, they just move their clothespin.  During "Meet the Teacher," I have their names on clothespins ahead of time.  I have students find their name and clip it in the right place while their parents are filling out forms and meeting me.

This is my job chart.  I just write the student's name with dry erase marker each week or when it is time to change jobs.  I also make my students "apply" for a job.  They have to tell me why they are qualified for the job they want.  They love it and it makes them really take responsibility for their job.

Lastly, this is my work in progress.  I am working on organizing our math curriculum.  My goal this year is to have all of the lessons, with activities for the centers, and all printables put together so that next year, it is a "grab and copy" concept.

I am sure there are more organization tips I have, but these are the main ones I took pictures of and get asked about.

How do you keep your classroom organized?

Updating and Reorganizing

Those of you who pop in on a regular basis, have probably noticed I have been revamping the blog and my TPT store.  I started this blog several years ago, and it was time for an update.  I am still going to keep it simple and clean, but I am working on adding images to every post for you.  I have also added a button for you to share and if you hover over my images, you can pin them!  Yes, pin them to your own board and have a quick reference to them later.

I am excited to get back into my classroom and share more pictures of what I am doing to educate my students!  

Get Organized Series

I am starting a "Get Organized" Series at my TPT store.  The first item in the series are some calendars.  I like to keep my work calendar separate from my personal calendar, so these calendars are only Monday through Friday.

Grab these calendars {HERE}.

These calendars are in black and white.  You can print them on colored paper, but I chose to color them in.  They say coloring is good for you, right?  Each month, as I am filling in my calendar, I treat myself to a few minutes of coloring the top.

How are you keeping organized this year?

Already Planning for Back to School

I know I just posted about being on summer break, but I cannot help but to start thinking about next year.  This is something I always think about near the end of the year/summer.

I was cleaning out my files and I have started compiling the forms that I use to manage my classroom.  I have decided to turn it into an EDITABLE document to share with you!  While this pack is not just for back to school, I refer to it that way because at the beginning of the year is when I prepare the forms for the year and TRY to get ahead.  It does not always work, but every year I try.

Anyway, I am sharing my forms and I will add to them as I find more in my files.  You can check them out here!

Here is a sneak peek:

New Classroom

Here are some pictures I have taken and never got around to sharing.  I am so bad a keeping up with my blog lately.  Anyway, as most of you know, I transitioned from special education to 3rd grade regular ed this year.  Man was it a change, but I have to say, I love it.  Not that I didn't love special ed, but this is a different kind of love.  I find myself still using my sped tools and I love how I get to use both.  Fortunately, I get to teach next to the sped teacher and we get to chat all the time.  It is awesome.  I love my job, even though I spend 80+ hours a week on it.  Anyway, on to the pictures.

By the way, please check out http://www.gofundme.com/msbendersclassroom

Okay, so I only have one picture on my classroom on the computer, but I promise I did take more.

Organization

Since I am starting over in a new classroom next year, I want to set myself and my students up to be organized.  I have been all over TPT and Pinterest looking for ideas.  I have some that I currently use and will continue to use, but I want it to look cute and be functional.  So many teachers have figured out how to do this and it totally inspires me to do the same!

I have completed my first major project for next year and that is my classroom rocking chair.  I just love frogs!  So, I had no choice but to paint my rocking chair green!  Here's how it went:

A good rocking chair that is not a glider is hard to find at a fair price.  So off to Craigslist I went.  I found this beauty for $15 and my awesome boyfriend went to pick it up for me.  Yes, he is a keeper!

Then, like I said before, I needed it to be green.  So I went to the store and bought two cans of spray paint (which they happen to have in the exact shade I wanted) and a tarp.  After about 45 minutes of painting and a few hours later for drying, I got this!  I think it looks way better than the original!



Then of course, I wanted my name on it, but how would I get those perfect looking letters?  Off to Pinterest I went and guess what?  There is a Pin for that too!  I printed my name in the font that I wanted in Word.  Then I took a pencil and traced the letters onto the chair.  The pencil left a mark so that I could take a paint brush and see where the lines were to paint my name.  Drum roll please...

I covered my name, but you can see the font.  I can't decide if I want to add anything to it, but this is where I am at with it.  How exciting! 

Next thing is organization.  I don't know how I want to organize my things and my student things.  I am off to blog hoppin' again.  

Putting Together a Classroom

One of my teacher friends got a new job this year and I was recruited to help put it together.  Being the more crafty of the two, I got the crafty projects (which I love).  I didn't take a picture of everything, but you can get some of an idea of what we spent two days doing.

This is my absolute favorite part of her room.  This is where she will display the objectives each day.  I just love this idea.  I loved it so much, after I made hers, I went home and made one for my classroom (see mine below).  They were super easy to make and turned out super cute.

I took a picture of my favorite wall in the classroom.  This is where most of the instruction will take place.  She has her SMART board on the right and a whiteboard on the left.  On top she has her thinking maps.  Her school is big on using thinking maps for everything!

I could go on and on with more pictures, but then this post would be way too long.  I am so happy for her and wish her luck and success on her new position!

Milk Crate Seats

So I have been enjoying my summer break, but it is time to think about the new school year ahead.  With that, I want to share my newest addition to the classroom.  I can't wait for the kids to see it.  The ribbon acts as handles to use the crate as storage as well as seats!

Classroom Pictures

I know I have been promising pictures for a while, but better late than never right?  They are not in any special order.  I have taken a lot of time with my room and have changed it several times and probably will several more times.

Each classroom has a phone.  This is where I keep mine becuase it is where the phone jack is.  Also in this area is a bucket labled "Work Folders."  This is where I have my students keep any unfinished work.  This keeps it in one place and it is always there when they have time to finish.  Next to that area, I have my little table and chair for the listening center.  Instead of spending a lot of money on books on CD, I simply recorded myself reading them and put it on CD.  I have since changed out the stuff on the little table.  Makes a great center activity area.

Many people have heard of the "Clip It" system and I made mine to fit my classroom theme.  Can you guess what my theme is!?  I also made a form that I use to record at the end of the day what color each student earned.  I have some behavior issues and this allows me to show parents that some days are better than others.

This is just the inside of my classroom door.  Again, frog!  I also work on using manners, so I have my "Good Manners" poster up as a reminder.



When I first started, I didn't know what or how to write my expectations.  I narrowed it down to three and I am very happy with it.  They are general, but they work with my kids.

I LOVE this wall and the kids do too!  Each kid has a frog with their name on it.  Each frog has a ring of index cards.  On the index cards are sight words, CVC words, and CVCe words (depending on what skill that child is on).  They are responsible for the words on the ring.  I  have them come in and get their rings to study for about five minutes and then I quiz them.    When they get the word correct, they get a plus in the upper right corner of the card.  When they get five plus', they get to take the word off the ring.  The students get so excited when the words come off the ring.  It comes with built in motivation.  I was thinking of doing this with math facts too! 

Above the "Hoppin' Words," I have sentence starters and the alphabet for help on different activities we do.  I also have rings of a program called "Drops in the Bucket."  I copied the pages on to cardstock and laminated them.  Then I cut apart each section to allow students to focus on one skill at a time.  I give them dry erase markers to write their answers.



 

This is my space.  I have been debating about turning my desk, but I have not gotten that far yet.  The other thing I love, but you cannot see is that when students come up to my desk, there is a stop sign on the floor so that students know and respect my space.  And of course the frog carpet!

This is "Mr. Frog."  He loves to sit in the classroom library.  He is a great listener.  The kids talk to him when they are upset.  They also enjoy reading stories to him.

This is my math area.  I recently changed it and so far I am happy with it.  In the corner we have two student computers.

This is a close up of one of the shelves on the bookshelf in the math area.  These are activities that I made.  I bought containers from the dollar store and went at it.  I love it because I put all the materials for the activity int he container and I can just pull it out when students are doing centers and games.



This is my classroom library area.  Again, this is something I recently changed as well.  I used to have another bookshelf in this area, but I wanted to open up the space a little more.

 Close up of the library.  I have books sorted by AR levels.

This is where my students keep their classroom money.  They earn money by completing homework and making good choices. They can also earn money by getting a perfect spelling test.  Students can lose money for poor choices or not completing their homework. At the end of the week, they can choose to either save their money or buy something from the price list.  Notice the frogs!

Here is where I moved the bookself that used to be in the classroom library.  Also another view of my clip system.

I also took pictures of our Fall sentences we worked on this week, but I will save that for another post.  Happy Fall!



Teacher Resources

I love walking into another teacher's classroom and looking at all the different resources.  The funny thing is is that they are all different.  I have helped several teachers clean out their files and I love looking at what they have.  It is amazing to see what you never knew you didn't have.  

As teachers, we all know you can never have enough resources.  You also know that even if you don't need the resource now, you probably better save it because you are sure to use it at one point.  My rule of thumb is to only save the master copy.  You do not need fifty copies of the same thing.  It will just take up space.  Besides, if you make copies as you go for each unit, then you can make the amount you need and you don't waste all the extra paper.

What is your favorite resource you have found along the years?