Back to School: Classroom Organization FAQ

Well, it's that time of year again... Back to School!  (Teachers in our area go back one week from yesterday. Lucky me, I still have about EIGHT weeks at home with my baby boy...  We still aren't sleeping, so contain your jealousy!) 

A while back, I wrote a post on Classroom Organization that has received a lot of feedback from you all.  I am certainly NOT an expert in this field (trust me, I have my days) but, I learned early on that everyone benefits from a neater, more organized classroom. So, in an effort to help you start your school year off on the right foot (and, honestly, make my life easier when it comes to replying to emails), I thought I'd answer your questions about some of my strategies here.

*Note* This probably won't make a lot of sense without the context from my first post.  You can read it here.

Here we go...

Can you elaborate on your "Yellow Sheet" policy for missing work? 
Do you have a PDF version?

This is, by far, the most popular idea I've shared... Thanks to all your emails and comments on this idea, students all over the world will be doing the "walk of shame" when they miss an assignment this year, and we are one step closer to eradicating the "Missing Work" epidemic sweeping America's schools.  (Ha!)   

Here's how it works...

On a due date, if a student does not have his/her assignment, he/she must fill out one of these yellow sheets and turn it in in place of said assignment.  I call this the "walk of shame" to retrieve the yellow sheet.  Once it is filled out and turned in, I keep it in the stack of assignments that I collected. When a student finally turns the assignment in, I use it to record the actual date it was received and the number of points deducted.  (Our school policy is 10% per day.)  Then, I detach the bottom portion of the sheet to staple to their assignment and keep the top portion for my records.  If the assignment never comes in, a zero is recorded in the grade book and the yellow sheet gets filed. These work GREAT on parent teacher conference day and help to keep me fair.

And, I am proud to post this link to a PDF. You can also click on the JPEG image below to open the full-page version and print. (I'm getting so tech-savy these days!)  Eat your hearts out teacher-dorks. ;)

  

How do you handle attendance and make-up work?

I keep an accordion file in the front of the room with a tab for each class period.  (Mine is RealSimple from Target.) If a student is absent when I hand-out any type of assignment, I simply put his/her name on the top of it and file it behind the correct class period.  I also keep a clipboard in the front of the room where I take attendance each day; there is a column next to each student's name where I can write down any work that needs to be made-up. (Attendance is done electronically, but I don't always have time to pull it up on my computer etc.  I simply record here and then transfer to the computer system at the end of the week.) Then, at the start of each class period (every day), I check both of these places to make sure that students get their missed work and the work gets made up.  It works like a charm!

What are the signs on the back wall of your classroom?
 

These are 25 Literary Terms that I think are important for my students to know.  (Example: Plot, Conflict, Setting, etc. etc. etc.) I introduce these at the very beginning of the school year, and we use them to discuss literature for the next ten months.  To make them, I simply typed each word in a large, fun font in Word, printed them out, and took them to Staples to have them copied onto colorful paper and laminated (Staples lamination is not cheap- but it looks A LOT better than what they do at the school for free... And, in my opinion, it's worth it if you are going to use these a lot.  This will be my fourth year with this set.) I am lucky because I have a bulletin board strip across the back wall, so I just tack them up... But, be creative with your display!

How do you manage the classroom couch?  What are the "rules"?  How do you keep it fair? 
 

I wish I had something good to share about this... But, honestly, my students handle the sofa pretty well.  The rule is, no one is allowed to be sitting on it when the bell rings to start class (we have a minute "warning bell" so that helps).  If you are - you are tardy!  NO ONE sits there during instruction time - with very little exceptions, although sometimes I will use that as a "reward" for winning a game etc. After that, whenever we have group assignments, silent reading, etc. it is first come first serve. Nothing fancy.  Only three people allowed at a time.  No laying down.  Usually, this works out pretty well, and I don't have to worry about it.  There are always a few people each period who seem to be there all the time, but honestly the other kids don't seem to mind. 

I will admit that some teachers look at the couch as "unprofessional," and every once in a while I have to stop a couple from canoodling on it or whatever; but, I think the benefits outweigh the negatives.  I always have groups of kids in my room before school and between classes - which I really like. because it allows me to build relationships and really get to know my students.  I also think it creates a positive environment for learning instead of something cold and uninviting.  Just my opinion.

 

Do you have any tips for traveling/portable teachers?

Sorry I don't have any pictures for this one.  It has been a couple of years since I traveled from room to room on a cart; and, I'll admit that it would be HARD to go back now.  But, it was probably one of the best things for me my first two years teaching because it forced me to be organized.  (My first year I had three preps in six different classes!) Here are a few tips I thought of:

1. Invest in some good binders - one for each prep - where you keep your lesson plans and all hand-outs etc. for a unit.

2. I organize EVERYTHING by class period.  You can't have too many accordion or hanging files in my opinion.  One year I also had everything color coded by period with a folder for each class where I placed papers-to-be-handed-out on one side and papers-to-be-graded on the other.

3.  Label label label.  I keep Staples in business with the sheer number of sticky labels I purchase and print at the beginning of the school year.  Everything has my name and a description stuck to it.

4. Organize classroom supplies in those little plastic stackable things.  That way, you always have what you need in each classroom and everyone knows where everything goes.  I had one for pens and pencils, markers, scissors, glue, colored paper, white paper, lined paper, you name it. 

5. For the love, be neat!  Don't mess up another teacher's classroom, and take 2 minutes at the end of each class period to straighten up your stuff.  It's polite, and it will keep you sane.  (Teach your students to help you with this from DAY ONE.)

6. Try to embrace cart living.  You do save money on classroom decor, have less to clean up at the end of each day, etc. etc.  (Oh, and it helps if you suck up to another teacher and get her to let you put a desk in their room --- at least that way YOU have a home base.)

There are a few pictures and more descriptions of some of these things in my original post.  FYI.

Ok, I hope this was helpful for someone. Sorry it was so long - you know me.  Now, it's back to my current full-time job as a mom where I have thrown all organization to the wind.  Haha! 

Here's to a wonderful school year for all you teachers out there!

Baby in a Bowl

First of all, thank you.  Thank you for your comments, emails, facebook messages etc.  Blogging makes me feel... NORMAL.  And, at least in this case, normal is good. The advice and encouragement of so many moms that have gone before me is, truly, priceless.

Thanks for letting me be real.  This is a hard job; but, it is SO worth it. 

I started worrying a little (go figure) last night that I must sound like the biggest complainer ever - I didn't exactly glow about pregnancy either - so, let me reiterate... I am SO thankful to have this baby.  I know it isn't a guarantee in life.   My heart is absolutely full to the brim with love for this little life. (Thankfully, that part has come very naturally.) I write this stuff because I think there is danger in pretending like everything is butterflies and rainbows all the time.  I want to remember the good stuff - of course - but also the difficult things so that I can see how far I've come.  I also hope that my words will somehow be healing and comforting to other women experiencing similar emotions and thoughts.  But, again, please don't mistake my vulnerability with ungratefulness or whiney-ness.  That is NOT my intention.

Now, to lighten the mood just a bit... Check out our baby in a bowl.

Last night, Jeff decided he wanted to weigh Sam - to ease some of my fears about feeding and just because we were curious - so he attempted to use the food scale.  We needed something to hold him (other than our hands), so Jeff used this mixing bowl.  Hilarious.  And, in case you were wondering, our "little" guy weighs over NINE pounds now.  This boy is certainly NOT going hungry! Proud Mama here.

Don't worry, he was only like that for a second... Then he was cuddled and coddled the rest of the evening. Here is looking much happier (albeit a little cross-eyed):

Check out my Show Us Your Life post on "Blogging Tips" here if you missed it.  Also, I've gotten several emails recently from teachers about some of the classroom organization ideas I posted about here.  I'm working on a FAQ post with PDFs of some popular documents like my "Yellow Sheet" for next week. So... hang tight! :)

Blogging Tips

Today at Kelly's Korner, we're sharing blogging tips.  Honestly, I'm just excited to read other people's tips, as my blog is no where near the level that many are.  However, I thought I'd go ahead and share a few things I've learned in the last two years too.

#1. Blog often.  This is by far the best piece of advice I could give about blogging.  I'm not always good at it; but, there is a definite correlation between the number of readers I have when I'm writing consistently (every day or at least 5 times a week) or not.  One thing that has helped me with this is to create a "New Post" every time I have an idea even if I don't have time (or the words) to write it yet.  Even if all I get down is a title and one or two lines, I have this unfinished post just sitting in my drafts to be finished when I have more time.  This helps me a lot on days when I have "bloggers block" and just can't think of anything to write.  Plus, I can always just delete the draft if I decide later that it isn't worth a post.  Another thing I discovered about a year ago is the "Schedule Post" option under "Post Options."  This way, I can write extra posts when I have extra time (haha) and simply schedule them to go public later.  In fact, I wrote this post on Tuesday morning during Sam's extra long nap time.  Here's a peak at my list as of yesterday:

#2. Blog real. There are a lot of great bloggers out there; but, they are precisely that - already out there.  When you write: be yourself, use your own voice, and don't be afraid to be a little vulnerable.  The blogs I enjoy the most are the blogs about REAL people (well, with the exception of a few super-moms/ fashionistas/ DIY-ers that seem to have it ALL together... they are kind-of fun to read about too). Unlike Facebook or so many of the other social networking sites out there, I have found the blogging community to be less about image and more about reality.  My blog is no exception.  You won't find me bashing my husband or revealing intimate secrets about people I love; but, when it comes to myself... I'm pretty much an open book.  (Yesterday's post is a good example of that.)  I spent many years of my life obsessed with being/appearing "perfect" (and I still struggle with this), but I have found that being authentic is SO freeing.  Sometimes my life is smooth and easy, and I'm not ashamed of that.  But, when it is hard, I'm OK with showing that side of things too.  Recording the ups and downs of life on my blog really helps me process some of my thoughts, go back and see how the Lord has worked in my life and my heart later, and... well, make people like me a little more.  Just be yourself - not mean, backstabbing, or fake - just you. Period.

#3. Blog in community.  If I've learned one thing over the last two years of blogging, it's that the blog world is a HUGE community.You are REALLY missing out if you are just sticking to your tiny little corner of the blogosphere.  READ other blogs.  COMMENT on other blogs.  Participate in blog swaps, link-ups, and guest post opportunities.  Host these things on your blog.  Open yourself up to a dialogue with your readers...  Ask questions and get to know other bloggers. Not only will this GROW your blog; but, it will also make you feel like a part of something BIG. It will remind you that you are not alone on ANY journey, and it will give you access to a WEALTH of ideas, information, and relationships available via the world wide web.  Ask any blogger and I can almost guarantee that they would say the same thing. Here are a couple of my favorite blogs (by regular people) right now:

Domestic Adventure

Through Clouded Glass

(If you're looking for more new blogs to read, check out the favorite blogs link at the top of my page.)

That's all folks.  Happy Friday!

P.S. If there was a point #4, it would be "Blog Concisely."  But, obviously, that's not my forte.  Sorry about that! ;)