How to Make a DIY Schedule Board for your Classroom

Staying organized is a must in the classroom.  I like to be able to see what is happening for the week at a glance.  Sometimes my plans are buried under all the "stuff" that accumulates on my desk (OK, most of the time, if I am being honest) and I have to dig around to check my schedule for upcoming items.  This DIY schedule solves the problem of my messy desk!   

What you will need: 

~Dollar Store frame
~Scrapbook papers
~Letter stickers or vinyl and a Silhouette cutting machine

I found this picture frame at my local Dollar Store for $3.00.  I wanted the inserts to match the colours in my room so I headed to Michaels to find matching scrapbook paper.  My final step was to cut out the vinyl letters for each of the days of the week using my Silhouette Cameo.  For under $5.00 I created a functional and attractive schedule board.  

Now each week I use a dry erase marker to jot down important events.  I also have a code for my duties.  That is what the R and L indicates.  We are on a rotating day system as well, so I can glance at my schedule to remind myself what "day" it is.  

Pin this picture to help you remember and consider making yourself one over the summer!  Check out some other great teacher tips over at Mrs. Beattie's Classroom.  I am linking up with her this week and sharing this little project.  

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4 Ways to Use Drawer Organizers in Your Classroom

Do you struggle to stay organized in your classroom throughout the week with your copies and lesson materials?  If so then I may have just the organizational solution for you!

I am linking up with Erin at Mrs. Beattie's Classroom again this week.  This time I am sharing how I use drawers to organize various things in my classroom.  

I love drawer organizers. The first one I found and made for my classroom has truly been a lifesaver. You have probably seen similar ones on Pinterest. 

Sometimes it was a struggle to keep everything together for my lessons so when I saw this idea I was excited.  It has truly helped me stay organized.  These drawers are slightly larger than the conventional paper sized drawer, which is great for adding books and other things for your lessons. This is 2 sets of 3 drawers stacked together.  I believe they are made by Sterlite.  I added the lettering using my Silhouette Cameo, but you could easily use peel and stick letters, too.  

I don't know about you but there are always pens, pencils, highlighters etc floating around on my desk or collected in various cups.  I started looking for a way to collect all of those supplies into one place.  Pinterest to the rescue again!  I found this hardware cabinet at Lowe's and repurposed it using labels I found on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Voila!  A functional storage system for all the desktop paraphernalia.  Substitute teachers love it too because they can always find what they are looking for. 

My first graders seem to lose their crayons ALL...THE...TIME.  They were always coming to me looking for missing colours.  I solved that problem with, you guessed it, another drawer organizer! This one was thrown together hastily, so there is no pretty labels on it.  I had planned to rectify that but as you can see, it hasn't happened.  There is always next year, :).  My students put crayons there that they find on the floor and go there when they are missing a colour.  When I give students a new box of crayons I often go through their table baskets and move some of those crayons to the extras.   

My last drawer organizer is a favourite with teachers from Staples. I have seen it used for many different things but I use mine to store all my additional supplies.  Again, my substitute teachers love it as they can quickly find extras for students when they lose things.  It is amazing how much gets "lost" when I happen to be away.  

Do you use drawer organizers in your classroom?  If so how do you use them?  I am always looking for new ideas.  You can never have too many drawer organizers!  :)

Looking for more organization ideas?  Check out my Classroom Organization Pinterest Board for more ideas.  

Until next time,

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Classroom Reveal!

I'm {ALMOST} done classroom reveal.

I am so glad you stopped by to check out my Grade 1 classroom.  I am happy to be joining Angie @ Lucky Little Learners and Ashley @ Schroeder Shenanigans in Second for a Classroom Reveal Link up.  

I teach Grade One in Ontario, Canada and we start back much later than many of our American neighbors.  Our first day is not until September 8th.  When I joined the link up back in July it seemed like a great opportunity (and it is) until I realized that my room is rarely ready the Tuesday before I start back.  Hence the {ALMOST} ready classroom reveal.  

This is my bulletin board in the hallway that will greet my students.  I am excited to be sitting at 17 students and hope that the numbers stick as we continue through this week of more possible registrations.  

I took some pretty strategic pictures because there is still a lot of chaos in my classroom.  I am the type of person who makes a big mess and jumps from job to job during my week of set up.  It is a bit stressful!  Today I was focused on the walls of my room and doing some more decor type things. These are the things I LOVE to work on.  So without anymore explanation here are some pics of my space.

This is my Guide Reading/small group teaching area.  There is a horseshoe table in front of this space but it was rather cluttered with stuff so I moved it out of the way! I love having everything I need right at hand - things like my reading phones and reading lights.  The Reading Decoding strategies posters were updated this year and I am still on the hunt for an eagle to add to the collection of our decoding buddies.  They sit at the table with us when we are learning about/practicing one of the strategies.  I also have these posters as decoding wands that kids can use as well.  I have to print them out yet!  If you are interested in them just click on the picture to head to the product.  

My kids love using these reading lights {AKA finger lights from the Dollar Store} while reading to track the print.  They are incredibly motivating!  

This is my coat area and entry.  I am actually showing you last year's photo as I didn't have my tree ready yet with my new names.  

I am blessed to be in a former Kindergarten space so I have my own washroom and a huge coat area. I love that we no longer need to make trips as a class to the washroom.  That was not an enjoyable part of my day!  

This storage area is in the main part of my classroom and is a bit of a catch all for organizing things. It's not the nicest set up but I am keeping it a little bit real and showing this too.  I keep all my paper here and, as you can see, I do need to replenish the construction paper and card stock/colored paper on the top shelf.  This is also the new home for my reading mats that the kids use for daily Read to Self.  On the second bookcase I store all of my personal books.  I have them organized by theme.  I took the time to do this when I moved into this classroom.  It has been a blessing.  My next job is to make a list of all books in each bin so I know what I own. #ihaveabookobsession.  I also have an extra crayons drawer organizer and a larger draw organizer for scrap paper.  Both need updated labels.  The rolling cart holds lots of needed supplies like markers, scissors etc.  

This is my carpet area and the hub of our classroom.  The shelf with the baskets holds our math/literacy centers and the bottom shelf holds student's individual book boxes for Read to Self. Our class mascot Ellie is hanging out on my stool.  As you can see there are no books on the shelf yet - again {ALMOST} ready.

This is my Math word wall and subject focus area.  Right now I have put up my backdrop for our first day pictures and set the frame there.  I want to create a new sign to go on the frame.  I have so many things to get done yet.  I love my new number posters above the bulletin board.  They have a rainbow border but it is hard to see in the picture.  I love that it is going to make teaching skip counting by 10's easier.  Having the 10 frame representation will be helpful too. Click on the picture to find it in my store.

This is my library.  The top shelf is sorted by theme and genre.  I am in need of a few new labels there.  The bottom shelves houses my leveled library.  I am grateful to have a well stocked library. Beside the shelf is our collection of reading buddies which are stored in my stools.  I use these seats daily for my "stool stars" who are 2 students I randomly choose each day to have a special seating spot.  

One of the things I like to use in my room is bucket filling. I do it slightly differently because first graders aren't able to write a lot when they start the year but I still want them to be able to acknowledge each other though.  My bucket notes are set up so the students just have to write their name on a note and then put it in their friend's pocket.  As the year progresses I have notes that have a space for a bit more writing.  The kids love filling and having their buckets filled!  

This is one of my favorite parts of my classroom.  I love ...love...love the word wall.  I am a firm believer in using it every single day.  I also use a Word Jail - something else I firmly believe in.  You can read more about the Word Jail {HERE} and {HERE}.  If you are interested in checking out the the Word Jail product click on the picture.  My new alphabet posters are above.  The pictures on the alphabet posters match the pictures on the word wall headers so there is no confusion for the kids. They both also match the name tags I use too.  You might have noticed some colored circles under certain letters on the word wall.  My vowels are red and have a bright yellow circle behind them to help students located them quickly.  I have placed a purple circle behind the digraphs to make those sounds easier to find too.  

I hope you have enjoyed touring my classroom as it is right now.  By Friday it will be fully ready for students.  If I get a chance I may edit the blog post to add a few more pictures.  

I am also going to link this post up with the team at Bloghoppin for Teacher Week and there Wednesday Classroom Tour.  

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How to Teach 2D Shapes with Fun, Hands-On Centers

Why Hands-On Geometry Activities Just Work

Looking for a way to make 2D shapes click for your students, without printing piles of worksheets?

You're in the right place. My first graders loved these hands-on 2D geometry activities. They’re low-prep, high-engagement, and cover all the key expectations for teaching 2D shapes in primary grades. These centers also come in Google Slides format, perfect for 1:1 classrooms. 

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