Tenn_Teach does not necessarily endorse the above advertised site. ORGANIZATIONAL TIPS FOR TEACHERS A FEW IDEAS FROM TENN_TEACH   When I first started teaching, I found a great big chunk of my time was taken up with 'housekeeping' chores in the classroom. This caused me stress because it took away from my teaching time. I have devised a workable plan for keeping myself and my students organized. I'd like to share some of these ideas with fellow educators.
  A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING...AND EVERYTHING IN IT'S PLACE STUDENT WORK: In the age of accountability, it's important to keep a variety of your students' work on hand. And let's face it..those manila folders only hold so much. And it's so time consuming to file work! MY SOLUTION: I have a cubby for each student and this is where I file their weekly signed papers and conduct notices. These cubbies are super expensive in those educational catalogs..so I went to the dollar store and bought enough cardboard 4 drawer chest of drawers so that I had a slot for each child. I did not put the drawers in, so I had 28 open 'mailbox' slots. It is now so easy to file the signed papers! And when a parent or administrator comes to your room asking to see a child's work sample or discuss progress, you have a student portfolio right at your fingertips. No more fumbling for the box or crate where folders are filed. I do keep a set of folders for other things such as notes from parents or discipline referrals. MEMOS, MEMOS, MEMOS! Teachers, we do get the interschool communications, don't we? I have divided memos into 3 categories and have a box for each. Notes from the office that need to be sent home go in one box. Memos relaying information to me on schoolwide or system wide level go in another box. The other category I call "I'll read it later!". And I have a box for that as well. Remember those drawers I didn't use when creating my student cubbies? Instant boxes! PAPERS: GRADED, UNGRADED, AND INCOMPLETE I have 3 baskets  with the above mentioned titles on a little table in the front of my class. I put student work in the appropriate basket. I make sure that the incomplete basket is empty by the end of the week. In this way, I can keep track of absentee and make up work. MATERIALS TO KEEP YOURSELF ORGANIZED! Those other things besides red pens, paper, and chalk that the college professors never told us about!

• Baggies..all sizes: My students keep their crayons in a pint size baggie housed in a gallon sized baggie along with their pencils, glue, and scissors. Baggies are also good for sending home teeth that have come out at school, wet pants, (primary grade teachers know this can happen!), special activities or books that the child may be allowed to carry home,and numerous other things.
• Jar : Never know what to do with all the spare change that your honest students find and bring to you on the playground? Well, if no one seems to know whose change has been found, keep a spare change jar in your room. A kindergarten teacher at my school does this and at the end of the year she and her children buy something for the school.
• Paper towels and extra soap: You just never know when these things may be in short supply at the school.
• Lots of rubber gloves, bandaids, and wet wipes: Keep these things in an old purse or backpack at school. Great to carry on the playground and a must for fieldtrips!
• Nametags: I got so tired of making nametags for fieldtrips that last year I had a brainstorm! Lamination, that wonderful invention, has made my life simpler. Get a package of cute nametags, laminate them, stick the child's name on with a permanent marker,  and put a big safety pin through the top. Instant, reusable nametags for the whole school year! Perfect for substitutes to use, too! Keep them in a baggie when not in use!
• Comfortable shoes kept at school : Wear those cute shoes as you walk in the school building and walk to your car in the afternoons. But the minute you close the classroom door and begin the lessons, pull out those comfortable, arch supported shoes.
• Library pockets: Great for organizing centers and materials
• I will be switching from desks to tables next year and have pondered how to store student supplies. I have decided to go back to the dollar store, buy those hanging shoe organizers (the ones with the plastic pouches) and hang them on a wall . Each child will then have a pocket to keep supplies not used every day.
• Love, patience, tolerance, a sense of humor,hope, and kindness: Use in large doses

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