An organized room makes a happy teacher

I have been reading lots of good books on classroom management and organization. Also I have found so many wonderful ideas on www.Pinterest.com, I don't think I'll ever be able to use them all.

Aside from my collection of Mailbox Magazine's Yearbooks (which I buy used very cheaply off Amazon as a self-splurge), I recently had the pleasure of reading Kindergarten in Photographs by Jasmine Greene. I attacked this highly-visual, full-color delight and copied idea after idea into my "teacher notebook".

The only thing I noticed in her photos is that, like many of us, Ms. Greene's room has a lot of stuff. There really is no way to not have stuff as a teacher, but she does show ways to manage the stuff, which makes me feel less claustrophobic as I read. :)  One thing that I don't do well with is clutter. It seems to distract me, even makes me feel suffocated. It's rather weird and hard to explain. So I try very hard to keep my classroom clutter to a minimum. But how can this be done when you have charts, and posters, and books, and files, and manipulatives oozing out of every nook and cranny. I'd love to see your comments on this one.

Anyway, lots and lots of great ideas (many of which were easily adapted for pre-k) in Ms. Greene's book. So check it out. I got mine at www.amazon.com, again used, because I am on a budget and hey, it's re-using instead of wasting.

This is our name tag bucket, a recycled Easter bucket from the local Goodwill. We used to have a name tag board, but I decided I'd rather not have anything else on the wall.

These are our new name tags for center time. The kids are mass destruction on name tags so I laminated these using my own personal laminator and did not cut around them. I'm hoping they are stronger this way. They have velcro on the back to attach them to center signs.

I use this kitchen timer for so many things. The kiddos are beginning to understand how long fifteen minutes is, and they are learning to recognize the numbers we use most, such as 10, 15, or 30 minutes. They like to argue over who gets to set the timer.

My parent sign-out area had to go on top of an art shelf for now as there is no other spot for it. It's kind of dark in the room at nap so I added a lamp for parents who arrive before nap time ends.

I got this idea from Ms. Greene's book. I wish I had used some light-colored girly scrapbook paper instead, and I may change it soon. Why have an ugly, boring dry-erase memo board? Use a pretty or recycled picture frame instead. Put a to-do list under the glass and use with regular wipe-off markers. :)

Our birthday board helps me remember those special days.

Random things....

March came in like a lion here in the mid-south! So we made some paper plate lions. I think they are adorable.

We like to paint with shaving cream "puffy" paint. Just pour Elmer's glue into shaving cream and mix well (I don't know exact amounts....I just put a generous amount of glue) and add paint if you wish. Mix well and paint away! The texture of the dried puff paint is so neat, kind of like styrofoam. We painted the shamrock's last week in this way.

Until next time,