I find it funny sometimes that people comment on how organized my classroom looks. Let me just say, looks can be very deceiving. (I searched for classroom organization pics on Pinterest and my own room came up in the results! LOL) I mean, I'm not the world's most unorganized teacher, but I do have plenty of room for improvement.
Here's a little story...
Last year my younger brother was in third grade and he was in what was probably the most cluttered and disorganized classroom I've ever seen. I usually attend conferences with my mom and stepdad and I was honestly appalled by this classroom! This room was a complete disaster... It honestly looked like a tornado had hit! (I mean, really? At least tidy up for conferences!) My brother is very much NOT the poster child for organization and tidiness, but last summer he mentioned on multiple occasions that he hoped for a teacher that was organized! Yes, that request came from a 9 year old with ADHD! Obviously he felt the chaos around him in his 3rd grade classroom. At the open house this year at the beginning of 4th grade he was very relieved to see that his current teacher is very neat, organized, and structured. (And thankfully, it's also been his best year in school yet!)
Anyway, I think having an organized classroom just makes the whole world of teaching run a lot more smoothly. One of my tasks while my student teacher is doing the majority of the work is to get organized and clear out junk. I feel like when every teacher starts they want to hoard as much teacher stuff as they can get their hands on... Then a few years later they realize half of the stuff they hoarded has never been touched. Or is that just me? Thankfully, I didn't inherit a lot when I started, but I do have a lot of old curriculum stuff that needs to go! I wanted to share some of my favorite classroom organization (p)inspirations and some ideas on how I plan to use them in my own classroom.
Here's a little story...
Last year my younger brother was in third grade and he was in what was probably the most cluttered and disorganized classroom I've ever seen. I usually attend conferences with my mom and stepdad and I was honestly appalled by this classroom! This room was a complete disaster... It honestly looked like a tornado had hit! (I mean, really? At least tidy up for conferences!) My brother is very much NOT the poster child for organization and tidiness, but last summer he mentioned on multiple occasions that he hoped for a teacher that was organized! Yes, that request came from a 9 year old with ADHD! Obviously he felt the chaos around him in his 3rd grade classroom. At the open house this year at the beginning of 4th grade he was very relieved to see that his current teacher is very neat, organized, and structured. (And thankfully, it's also been his best year in school yet!)
Anyway, I think having an organized classroom just makes the whole world of teaching run a lot more smoothly. One of my tasks while my student teacher is doing the majority of the work is to get organized and clear out junk. I feel like when every teacher starts they want to hoard as much teacher stuff as they can get their hands on... Then a few years later they realize half of the stuff they hoarded has never been touched. Or is that just me? Thankfully, I didn't inherit a lot when I started, but I do have a lot of old curriculum stuff that needs to go! I wanted to share some of my favorite classroom organization (p)inspirations and some ideas on how I plan to use them in my own classroom.
This is probably my top organization priority... I love the idea of making a tool organizer cute and using it for all the random crap that finds its way to my desk. It's a cheap and very effective solution for sure!
My math manipulatives are one thing I would like to reorganize for next year. Right now I have them divided into drawers for groups. The kids need easy access to be able to get things on their own. Sounds fine, right? Well, when I change the number of kids in a group it messes things up. This has been one of those years where my class numbers have been constantly changing, so I think I'd just as well prefer to have all the clocks in one drawer, rulers in another, money in another, etc.
Every year I tell myself I will finish organizing my classroom library... That has yet to happen. I get about halfway through that daunting task and then run out of time. And then, by this time of year it is a complete disaster because I haven't held the kids to very high standards. I will be victorious... Someday.
What are your organization goals for your classroom? Do you have any (p)inspirations that you're hoping to recreate in your classroom someday?
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