Welcome to another Bright Ideas Blog Hop!
I'm joining 150 different bloggers to bring you
tips, tricks and bright ideas you can use in your classroom!
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Don't you love those mornings when you walk in to an
organized classroom with tidy desks and a CLEAN floor?
We all know that doesn't ALWAYS happen, but HELLO HAPPY when it does!
My students and I consider our classroom our little home away from home
and I remind them often that one of their jobs is to keep their "room" clean. Ha!
Here are some ways I've found to help keep my students and
their spaces clean, organized and running smoothly!
Teach your students how to be organized.
Show them how you expect their space to look.
What looks organized to a 7 year old may look like a hot mess to me!
I teach my class that everything has a home and there is a home for everything.
And...we need to keep our house tidy because you never know
when company is going to come! Ha!
Teach your students at the beginning of the year where to keep things
in their desks. We stack our folders and journals on one side with our
in their desks. We stack our folders and journals on one side with our
supply boxes on top. The books students are reading go on the other side.
These go in the middle and one pencil goes in the "pencil tray."
Find a place for the little stuff.
I make sure each student has a 5" x 7" size pencil box. I shop the clearance
aisles and even garage sales to collect these little gems so I always
have a secret stash in my cupboard for students who need one.
All of the "small stuff", crayons, glue sticks, scissors etc.
"live" in the supply box.
Organize on top as well as inside.
As every primary teacher knows, the younger the grade level,
the more "stuff" we AND our students have! Unfortunately,
we need and use EVERY BIT of it! My desks are arranged in groups we
call teams. Each team has a table box. We keep important odds and ends
students use on a daily basis in these.
students use on a daily basis in these.
Use foam shapes as coasters.
At the beginning and end of our school year, our Arizona temperatures
can climb well into the 100's. My students often bring frozen or ice filled
water bottles. I like them to be able to drink water whenever they want to
without leaving their seats, but those frosty water bottles can make
a BIG SOPPY MESS! Here's a simple solution
I came up with to keep our desks and papers dry....
I use craft foam shapes from Dollar Tree or Michael's on each student's desk.
Students know that this is where their water bottle lives. Since my teams
are color coded each table gets the coaster that matches their team color.
This also serves as a visual for me when calling teams to line up.
Make neatness part of your daily routine.
Each day before dismissal have students do a quick check of their desk and floor
to make sure everything is tidy and picked up. I make a big fuss over how nice
each team's space looks and what a fresh start they'll have the next morning!
each team's space looks and what a fresh start they'll have the next morning!
I hope you can use some of these tips to make life run
more smoothly in your classroom! If you've enjoyed these
bright ideas, I'd love for you to join me on Facebook,
Hop on for even more bright ideas from 150 different
bloggers! Simply browse through the link-up below
and choose a topic/grade level that
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