Organizing organizers

Although I do not have a teaching job, or even a classroom, I have been slowly collecting items for my future classroom. Here I have taken the typical plastic storage cart that I have seen in many classrooms and I have hidden all the stuff in the drawers. Although you cannot see in this picture, I use a black and white printed contact paper to cover the sides of the drawers,and I love it. In this photo, I have used black construction paper slid into place to hide the stuff from the front, and then I wrote on 3x5 index cards what was in each drawer. Problem? Yes, the construction paper gets disheveled and so do the cards. What I would do (trial and error at its best here). I would use the same contact paper to cover the front like I did the sides then I would take a coordinating piece of paper and make a label. I would then attach the label with clear contact paper.

School T-shirts

I just read some comments on a blog and one teacher mentioned that on the first day of school each year, the teachers at her school get a new t-shirt to wear.  She also mentioned how she was beginning to collect several.  I then realized, she may have some that are just sitting in her closet with nothing to do, but collect dust and attract moths.  Why not put those t-shirts to good use?

What about a lightweight school spirit blanket?

Check this out:

http://www.rusticsunshine.com/t-shirt-quilt/

I love this that she made.

        Lay the t-shirts flat, design up, and make a template (square or rectangular) using cardboard or something easy to cut, but sturdy, square up the template and cut it.  Then use it to cut out the front and back of each t-shirt.  Kick in those DIY mad seamstress skills and begin stitching. Here are a few ideas....

1. Sew all squares to make a t-shirt throw.

2. Stitch the shirt fronts together, stitch the shirt backs together, put quilt batting between, the sew them all together. (Don't forget to run stitches in any pattern to hold the quilt batting in place.)

3 Use #1 as a quilt top, take more material to use as quilt bottom, and do #2.

Any extra tops and bottoms, stitch the sides together, leaving a small opening (big enough for your hand to go into, stuff, and stitch closed.

Now you will have a school spirit COMFY t-shirt blanket that you can keep in your classroom for when you get a bit chilly, or for the kids to sit on when you have class outside.  Easy to wash, and puts those extra T-shirts to good use. :)

The pillows are wonderful for those reading corners, or to toss in the floor to rest your tired tootsies. ;)

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Things I think I need in the classroom-what do you think?

I want to be as chemical free as possible in my classroom, however I feel I need to be as clean as possible. Below I am going to make a list of things I want to have in keeping my classroom clean.  My friends, please feel free to respond and let me know what you think about each item.

Himalayan salt lamp- natural air purifier and cool to look at

Homemade spray of vinegar and tea tree oil for a disinfecting all purpose cleaner. Great for desks.

Broom and dust pan- just a small fancy one for quick clean ups of dirt from muddy shoes, spilled snack, etc.

Cheap toothbrush- for many uses including cleaning small areas

Dawn dish soap for extra tough clean ups

Magic erasers for when scrubbing is necessary. Great for desks too. 

Small bottle of Clorox Bleach for when the room needs a deep cleaning. 

Baking soda- used to make a scrubbing paste with a bit of water.

microfiber cleaning cloths

Paper towels

Small trash can for disposal of cleaning cloths until I take them home to wash.

Socks- each student bring a couple of mismatch socks for dry erasers.

Can you think of anything else?

Absent Student papers- another idea.

We all know that from time to time, nearly every student will be absent at least once in a school year.  I saw the best idea the other day on Pinterest. The idea is you take a file crate, set up 31 folders, labeled from 1-31. These numbers stand for the date of the month. Print enough copies so that each student has one.  Take the remaining of the copies (the ones for absent students) and place them in that day. 

What I love about this is the fact that a the students can go to the crate and collect the papers they missed for their time absent without the teacher having to search and then go make copies.

What I dislike is, the students have a entire month where they can "collect" their missing assignments.  There are problems with this.  There will always be the one student who doesn't check until the end of the month, there is a great risk of another student helping them self to the remainder of the papers because they keep loosing theirs, and this allows the teacher a chance to be forgetful.

Why not set it up where there are 5 folders. Each of the five are labeled Monday thru Friday.  On a Post-It, write each days absent students and then stick it to the inside of each folder.  As the students collect their assignments, they can mark off their name for the day.  I would also set up, on a clip board, each days assignments for the week. It becomes the students responsibility to collect their missed work.  I would also give time on Friday evenings to collect missed work, take home for the weekend, and return by Monday.  

With this said, on Monday morning, I would then collect the absent work.

With having this system, the teacher will then have a daily list of students absent and a list of the work they missed.  If the teacher uses a binder to organize this, then I would suggest a 3" so they can file the weeks list behind the daily folders.   This way the papers can be retrieved when necessary.

Again, these are just ideas that I am collecting so that I can look back on them when I get my own classroom.