Do you have an old Birthday Beanie Baby Bear? Put it to use in the classroom! When a student has a birthday, they get a necklace, birthday straw, sticker, and a hat to wear all day. Gotta have all the Birthday gear! ;) Their favorite part...... the Birthday Bear gets to sit with them for the day!
I teach the students that the Birthday Bear is going to sit with them for the day. They cannot touch or move the Birthday Bear, otherwise his Birthday Magic will go away. (No, my Kinders do not ask for an explanation about birthday magic). They follow this 'no touching' rule very well.
As silly and as simple as this may seem, they LOVE it! They cannot wait for it to be their birthday so they can have a visit from the Birthday Bear.
So put that old Beanie Baby to good use!
#BeanieBaby #Birthday #TeacherHacks
Save yourself time: sort out construction paper by color at the beginning of the school year! Don't have time in the midst of beginning of the year chaos? Have students help you do it!
Students love their classroom, they really do. Let them take ownership and help with a classroom job. Whenever it is time for students to "sort objects by color", this is my FAVORITE lesson to do! I teach students how to work together in a group; model how to place one paper down at a time; show students how to create neat stacks.
The students LOVE doing this! They are always bummed when we run out of paper. It is amazing to watch my five year olds work together as a team (and get our paper sorted at the same time).
#ThinkSmarterNotHarder #ColorSorting #OrganizedClassroom #TeamWork #TeacherHacks
How do you keep track of students who are absent and their work? Create absent folders! I got these from TPT years ago (can't find who made the file :/) but these are so cute. It has a little message for the student about what to do when they come back to school. Since I have Kinders that may not be able to read this (also don't have graded work), I mainly use it as a visual and a placeholder for their stuff.
I love this folder/system for two reasons.
1. Since I made mine into yellow folders, they are very visible. I set it on the student's table/desk in the morning and it stays there all day long. When it is attendance time, I can quickly and easily see who is absent!
2. It keeps the student's work safe in one location. When I am passing out student work, I stick the absent student's work in their folder and it is there until they return to school. Simple, easy visual, helps you keep track of attendance, helps you stay sane with organized paper!
#AbsentFolders #TeacherHacks
Tired of the dice getting rolled around the room while students are using them? You can buy these small storage containers at Dollar Tree and Big Lots (2 for $1 and sometimes even 4 for $1). Put one, two, or three dice in one container (depending on what you are using them for) and just simply close the lid. I tell the students not to open them, and they don't. They love the sound of shaking them in the container and enjoy using it! The containers don't break if they fall, students can easily see the dice numbers, and it is easy to store when they are done.
#LessChaos #Dice #DollarTreeFind #TeacherHacks
This may sound a little silly, but the best classroom 'hack' ever is to stay organized. Seriously! When you are organized, not only does everything look nicer, but you know where everything is! When preparing for a lesson or activity, you won't spend an entire conference period searching for supplies and gathering them all. When I first started teaching, that was me. I would spend an entire conference period or stay late after school gathering materials needed for the following school day. Now, it takes me minutes to gather materials because I know where everything is.
Want to get organized but don't know where to start? Break it up for yourself. Start with one area like your library, or your cabinets. Pull everything out and first sort out what is broken, has missing parts, or what you honestly don't need. As teachers we collect SO MUCH that we don't even use or need. Try the Marie Kondo method and sort out things that bring you (and your students) joy and are used and get rid of the things you honestly haven't touched in years. Take those things home, store it somewhere else, give it to another teacher in another grade... only keep what you and your students actually use. I sorted my cabinets by subject area and then organized by concepts or skills (see image above). As much as I wish all my storage containers matched my room's color scheme or were similar colors, at the end of the day it doesn't matter since they are hidden away in a cabinet. These #BigLots and #DollarTree storage containers get the job done. As much as we all want those Pinterest Worthy Classrooms, sometimes our budget stops us at Dollar Tree and that is OKAY!
So again, organize your classroom! We already have too much to stress about as classroom teachers, make finding your resources one less stress to worry about.
How do you keep track of your classes and teaching memories? I keep a scrapbook; keeping it simple but effective!
I bought this school themed scrapbook from Hobby Lobby a few years back (before I even started teaching) because I knew one day it would come in handy! Every summer, when I am cleaning up the house and working on school projects, I add to my teaching scrapbook. I put my class photo from the previous school year, a few notes/ pictures from the year, and I write down what number year it is, the school's name, and the grade I was teaching. Though I only have six entries currently, I cannot wait to see what this will look like after twenty+ years of teaching. I love having all my class photos and memories stored in one place! I have this on display in my living room because honestly, I look through it often. Once a child is in your classroom, they are forever in your heart! #OrganizedMemories #HobbyLobbyFind #TeacherHacks
My Sub Tub has become a LIFE SAVER when it comes to time and stress when preparing for a sub. Though it takes some time to initially set-up, it will benefit you in the long run!
Here is my Sub Tub (the cute label is from TpT I got years ago). It is a Portable File Box (can buy for like $10-$20 at Walmart and other stores). Inside I have my sub folder and hanging file folders labeled by subject area. (I'm working on making it a bit cuter this summer)
At the beginning of the school year, I run class sets of copies for simple work/activities for students to do in each subject area. Throughout the year, if I ever come across extra work the students didn't get to, handwriting practice, or other simple activities the students could do with a sub, I just add it to the sub tub. When it is time for me to plan for a sub, I am too sick and need to call in, or have to leave the classroom suddenly, I can pull stuff from my sub tub quickly and it is ready to go.
One of my favorite activities I put in my sub tub (in the reading files) is a copy of the book "Miss Nelson is Missing" by James Marshall, and some looseleaf paper with a note for the sub to tell the kiddos to draw a picture and/or write a story about where they think Mrs. Hernandez is. This activity is simple, Kinders can complete independently at any part in the school year, students are engaged, and it is fun to see what their imaginations come up with. I also put a few animal and community helper books in the Science/Social Studies files with construction paper for students to draw and write about the animal/book they listened to. Again, simple activities students can do with a sub.
Prepping my sub folder before the school year starts is also another life saver. In there I have a general note to the sub (thanking them for being there, letting them know which co-worker to ask for help, and any special notes or concerns for any of my students), my schedule, school map, nurses notes, transportation list, student medical concerns, etc. I also have a Sub Lesson Plans in there and THIS IS IMPORTANT! At the beginning of the year, I write out my master copy of sub lesson plans. I keep to the student's normal schedule and routine. I add the times of everything and describe specific procedures a sub would need to know about (don't make these too long, a sub does not and will not read long paragraphs). On these plans, I have the subject title next to the time and then tell the sub to look into the sub tub for that subject.
For example:
1:00 - 1:30 Math - (If I did not leave plans, please pull two activities from the 'Math' files in the Sub Tub).
I keep two copies of these lesson plans in the sub folder is a life saver (and be sure to keep the master electronically). If I know I am going to be out the next school day, I just open up my electronic master copy, type in a few specific activities for the specific subject areas, and am done. If I am not able to prepare for a sub, a co-worker just has to go in my classroom, pull out the sub tub and pull the 'sub plans' out of the sub folder and then they are done! The sub can read the pre-made plans, easily pull activities from the sub tub when prompted, and your co-workers don't need to do anything to help you prep for a sub! At one point this past school year, my baby boy got sick and I had to leave school suddenly at lunch. I was able to pull the sub tub out, pull my sub lesson plans out, and leave the room within three minutes; my co-workers did not have to do anything to help prepare for this sub.
THE SUB TUB HAS SAVED SO MUCH TIME! I strongly encourage every teacher to have one prepared. If you have any questions about this, feel free to message me! :)
#TeacherHacks #BeingOrganizedSavesSoMuchTime
