Managing Your Book Collections!

A successful book club needs books! I've been slowly growing my book stash over the past 9 years. I've made trips to the library and sent emails asking for extra copies of books from teacher friends but finally, my collections has grown enough for students to check out books from my secret stash of books.

Here's a peek into my secret book club stash...

So how do I keep all these books organized?

To be honest, at first I wasn't so organized with all my book club collections. But, I'm trying to be much more intentional about my books and organization. First, I started off by putting all the books for the same book club in the same cabinet. That was an easy step to help me stay organized! Then I started making a collection roster to put in my "Reading Teacher Binder." I can instantly check how many books I have for each book club topic. I also created a wishlist this year for books that need replaced or books to meet levels of my current students.

My Organizational Sheets

You can download them {here} from my Google Drive.

Jotting down how many books you have keeps your from purchasing books you already have. I've also found that jotting down how many students you have in certain reading level ranges helps for knowing what books you may need to purchase in the future. The wishlist is also a great bring along to book stores and department meetings. When I hear a great book that may fit into one of my book clubs, I jot it down so that I can look up the reading level and more about the book! I often bring my book club lists with me to Half Price so I know what I have and what I need... It's a simple way to keep track of your "stash" and manage your collection. 

How you do you manage your "collections" of books?

Erin Condren Custom Planner Headers!

It's been a long first few weeks of school! Anyone else feeling the same way? Friday, I needed to go to my happy place and do some organizing and creating! The end result was creating some new headers for the absent section of the Erin Condren teacher planner. I don't need the absent section since our office tracks and reports attendance. I can look up each student online and see their full attendance history.

Using some inspiration from 3rd Grade Thoughts, I made my own new planner headers. I wanted more room for passwords (for teacher and students) as well as a section to keep track of my parent communication so I didn't need to print a separate log.

Here's how mine turned out:

Could you use these in your planner?

If you can use these in your planner simply choose if you would like the EC Planner Editable PPT or the EC Planner PDF version by clicking on the links. When printing just make sure to choose the option "scale to paper" so they are the "right" size. I have included notes with the download so you can get your planner lookin' great in a snap!

I printed mine on astrobright paper and glued them down with rubber cement.

Please post your photos on Instagram using the #ECPlannerMakeOver
Happy Back to School Ya'll!

Workshop Wednesday: Organizing it All!

Glad to be back into the blogging swing of things. I'm even more excited to share some of my workshop organization today thanks to Jivey's Workshop Wednesday linky! Such a great place to find Reading, Writing, and Math Workshop ideas.

We are still in our launching phrase of Reading and Writing Workshop. We're using poetry to launch our workshop and interactive notebooks. Last year, we had some issues on our team with students losing or missing supplies... so I knew storing notebooks had to be built into my workshop routine.

First, I used some "pinspiration" to create my interactive notebooks storage area. Here is a peek into one table's organizational set-up.

Each table has one double-decker crate. The crates are stackable milkcrates. Inside are magazine holders from the Target One Spot last spring. 

First "floor" is my morning class's Readers' and Writers' notebooks. Each magazine holder has a label so that students can easily grab and pass out the notebooks that are needed.

All supplies students need for Reading or Writing Workshop are also at the table in each caddy.

To organize book club choices and keep students moving through books in Reader's Workshop, I've labeled small stacking baskets from Target for book club novels. I'm hoping that having three baskets and sorting books by level will encourage "Just Right" choices.

 These hot pink baskets were a cartwheel and very sturdy for around $2.99! 

 For Writing Workshop, I stuck with one central writing area for my students. Students have access to colored pens, a pencil sharpener, editing wheels, self-revision guides (editing and revision posters shrunk down to create mini-books), grammar handouts, and whole class journals! This area is perfect for students who finish early or need to move to the next step in workshop!

This is the "Writing Depot"

  

Writing posters on the next cabinet for studnets that need "Fix-Up" Strategies.

  These include my ARMS and CUPS posters.

I don't have a lot of station supplies. All my extra "stuff" for Workshop is housed under the counter in some three drawer carts from Target. Those are for teachers only, however.

What organizational strategies do you use to keep your students on track?

Farewell Summer, Hello Back to School!

This short summer is a killer. I haven't even been the pool once yet! With summer school and then starting back at the beginning of the August. I'm not quite sure where my summer has gone. I've already been shopping Target for back to school supplies. Really Target, was putting everything out this early necessary?

But, with the start of school about a month away for me, I decided to link up with I {Heart} Recess to share my 2014 - 2015 Teaching Goals. I can't be in denial about school starting any longer so setting some goals should help me get ready for a new year and new kiddos.

Here's last year's goals...

So, my personal goal failed miserably. I never left by 3:45 (totally unrealistic) and made it to the gym on the week days only a hand full of times. It's my own fault but I really do need to be better about saving some time for me. However, everything else I met with optimism and success! I had a lot of fun reading some new novels and trying out new activities like our Lemonade Day!

And this year...

My biggie this year to to get myself organized. We're collecting all this data and I have be at a million meetings. Last year, I had a huge binder with all my data, graphs, student tests, etc. It was great for me but a total pain to take to meetings. It was just way, way, way too much to bring to a student meeting. This year, I'm hoping to split my data binder into my evidence, forms, tests, benchmarks, etc. and then have a smaller binder or notebook for my gradebook and current student/classroom data. Then, I can bring evidence as needed to meetings and not an entire 3'' binder! How do you keep yourself organized in the age of RTI, MAP, State Testing, and Guided Reading Levels?

I also hope to really hone in all my vocabulary practice this year. Our district is making vocabulary in the content areas the prime focus and I'm ready to jump on board. I've read several of the "gurus" and they make some great points. This means redoing some of my "morning work warm-up" activities and creating new root and prefix based spelling lists. But I'm ready! {Okay, almost ready!}

What is one goal you have for next school year?

New Polyfile?! Yes, Please!

I must confess that I'm a school supply junkie.  I buy them all the time, year round! I love a good deal on school supplies! However, I usually find the best stuff at back to school time and then I'm good to go.  This year, I found a great vertical polyfile to hold all my answer keys and graded papers at DEALS for $2 dollars... but then the clasp broke and it no longer held all my papers. Boo!

So today, I was at Kroger picking up a few things for dinner when I spied a new 8-pocket polyfile in the clearance section! And this 8-pocket is not a "shove it all in" but instead has four rows of tiered POCKETS! I'm so in love! I just had to share my new find with the blogging world!

It's called a Docit 8-Pocket. They were created by a teacher and have an entire website explaining their function... they each old up to 200 pages! Nice! I bought one for each class of mine! Mine was on clearance for $2... perfect price! Amazon sells them for $11.63 - YIKES! For a folder? Really Amazon?

Here's a picture of the front:

 

And on the inside....

Their website says they sell them at quite a few stores across the country. I bought a pink and blue one for my graded papers and answer keys. The tiered pockets are also very handy for holding stickers, my easy grader, and other little "things" I tend to collect when grading! 

Here's to staying organized in the new year!

What great finds have you stumbled upon lately?

Hot Mess to Organized Choas?

Confession: I feel like a terrible blogger lately. I don't know how so many of you keep up with your blog during school! I feel like I've neglected my blog plus all the ones I follow. This summer I was great at reading, linking up, and leaving genuine comments but now... Oh boy! Bloglovin' informed me earlier that I have 33 entries to read. Yikes!... But I do have a sneak peek at what I've been up too and I promise to schedule some blog time later to read and comment! Let's keep this entry visual for my visual learners out there!

I didn't leave my room as disorganized as I had orginally thought, however, my counter space is essential for my new centers - so I had to get it cleared quick! Plus, I needed to expand my library.

Speaking of library... My biggest accomplishment over the past two days is my...

Here's the combo shot of the entire "library" area in my classroom...

I bought a display rack for the top of the book shelf but I still need to build it. Plus, I'm trying to see if my Read Box will work or if I can get some picture frame stands for some favorite books and authors. It's a work in progress but the books are out! That's a step in the right direction!

Lastly, I worked on the writing area in my room. Last year, it was in the spot of the Nonfiction book bins but it was too crowded and the students never ventured back there for writing references or supplies... this year... I took a different approach and moved it to the front of the room! I think it turned out quite well!  It has my whole class journals, revision checklists, editing wheels, and editing pens. I still need to create labels for most of the bins...

Here is a close up of the revision check-lists. I used a FREE editable chevron binder pack from TPT for the covers. I shrunk them down but you could do full sized versions. You can grab the freebie here from Write in the Middle's TPT store. The insides are Megan's  (I Teach What's Your Super Power?) fabulous revision posters also shrunk down! You can grab Megan's Revising Poster and Mini Poster set here from TeachingSuperPower TPT store. Can't wait for students to use these!

I have a little more work to do this week before the big reveal!

Wish me luck,

An Apple a Day & Optimum Organization Linky

 

I'm once again linking up to two of my favorite Linky Parties An Apple a Day hosted by Leigh at the Applicious Teacher and Optimum Organization hosted by Fun in Room4B & Ladybug's Teacher Files. This week's focus is on School Supplies and Organization.

Our students are required to bring certain school supplies to school. We have to keep our budget around $20 dollars per family for all classes. Therefore, we try and keep our school supply list pretty simple. They need three binders (ELA/SS, Science, and Math) and notebooks. Plus, they need colored pencils, scissors, highlight, etc. Here's a portion of our Welcome Letter that we send home to parents letting them know what their child will need.

Even though the students  are supposed to have all our supplies. I'm still a firm believer in having a communal supply area. Things to get lost, left at home, or some students may not have a supply. Therefore, I have a student supply station set up in my room.

I offer markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue, rulers, index cards, and post it notes. I also have some electric pencil sharpers, erasers, and highlights students can use. Students may access the area as long as I'm not teaching a whole class lesson. It's never been a huge distraction - my only upgrade for next year is to add table "drawers." I purchased another set of Sterile drawers like the ones used for my glue, rulers, index cards, etc. I used to have a caddy for each table but they always seemed to be in the way and cluttering up the table or my counter. This year, I bought an extra set of sterile drawers and labeled them for each table. My plan is to have a table drawer with special supplies that students can grab for their table but then put away after class. This should also help manage my supplies... for some reason my room is a black hole for glue sticks. I'm also going to buy one of the amazing pencil sharpeners from Classroom Friendly Supplies and I have my gumball machine of erasers to add to the counter as well. I'm still debating how to set the gumball eraser machine... is charging 5 cents wrong? Should they be free?

As for my organization. I'm a big stickler on making sure things have a proper place so that I don't always have to "see" the supplies, papers, etc. Under the counter in the picture I have several drawers. Each drawer is labeled with a color of construction paper. This keeps the paper out of sight but my students and myself can easily find the colors we need to use. I also have extra cleaning supplies like hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, etc. under my sinks. Students have classwork trays for each homeroom so they know where to put papers. They also have mailboxes for graded papers and I have stacking white trays for every students' Reading R.T.I folder. We track our data in these folders and keep our graphs inside. These are really handy for conferences!

My biggest organizational project has been my library. I have SO many books to keep organized. Currently my library looks like this...(sorry for the blurry photo. I wanted a retake because it's from last year....but our floors are still being redone!)

 I have author labels, genres, as well as "pseudo" genres like sports, quick reads, and books that are movies. Deciding how to set up my library was really just based on what I had at the time. I had lots of books from certain authors plus I wanted to include the regular genres we study. Here is another view of the labels... just printed off the tags and then backed them with scrapbook paper.

I'm hoping to keep my library system up and running this year. I also purchased a display for the top of my bookshelf this year. I purchased the stand from Really Good Stuff. You can view it here.

I'm hoping the display stand will allow me to feature some authors, genre specific books, etc. easily while still keeping everything organized! I'm also hoping to maybe create some sort of top for my display so that I can create this....on a smaller scale.

What's your biggest organizational challenge?

An Apple a Day

On this "Thoughtful Thursday" I thought I would link up to The Applicious Teacher for her weekly linky party "An Apple a Day." This week's focus is on Classroom Decor, and if you follow me on Pinterst, classroom decor has been on my mind a lot this week! I went just a smidgen pinning crazy!

I don't really have a "theme" (gasp, cringe, urgh!... I know!) but I also teach 5th graders. I tried to stick with similar colors of teal, bright blue, lime green, and hot pink around the room and I have random pictures of "Snoopy" as well. I'm trying to incorporate a little more Snoopy while sticking to a bright colorful room feel. I saw on another blog that her theme was "a bag of Skittles threw up" and yep, I think that's what I'm going for too!

Right now my classroom looks a little like this....

Ignore the tables being pushed against the counter and the massive amounts of donuts, we were having a Veteran's Day Celebration and needed LOTS more room & breakfast yummies... but the back wall contains my Map of the USA, a Center Stage (used for student work and current events), and a Writing Process board. I have my supply area and random posters on the counters/cabinets as well. I know some of the boards are hard to see because I also had Nonfiction "posters" from National Geographic hanging around the room because we had a text feature scavenger hunt earlier in the week! It was like poster OVERLOAD!

Here's the Writer's Eyes board (from above)...

Here are some other random areas of my classroom sticking with the bright color theme with a little bit of Snoopy...

This is my teaching area and Workshop rug. My job board is in the background - I'm hoping to update it this year. It's pretty boring but it was only $1 from Target. These rugs were on clearance at Home Depot last year and I was able to get both rugs for less than $10 dollars each!

The second picture is of my "movable" wall. This is my I Can board. I dressed it up with magnetic board, Peppermint Patty, and some Cricut signs. Next year my Government boards below are being replaced by Famous African Americans since US Government is out of my standards. I'm wanting the Charlie Brown "shirt" border to replace my USA border.

Polka dot accents

and more bright colors!

I already have quite a few Snoopy's in my room to bring in a little bit of a Snoopy theme. I bought the Peanuts lettering last year and fell in love with all the Peanuts "stuff." I just love that Beagle! I already have some window clings and a poster for my desk, as well cut outs of the main characters that decorate my door and writing workshop area.

Next year I'm hoping to add these to my room...

A gumball machine for erasers! The kids were constantly at my desk needing an eraser for their pencil!

I want to use these for a Meet the Teacher bulletin board. I plan on taking some photographs or printing out my favorite music, things to do, sports, books, etc. and create a mini board for the first few weeks of school. My goal is to change it out for my Student of the Month but I'm not making any promises....

I was thinking this could be used as a job board or at least an accent for a new job board. I'm not sure of the exact size so I need to go view it in person at the teacher store.


It's hard sometimes to get a total theme together for a reasonable price. Matching EVERYTHING can get expensive! ... But, I feel like piece by piece, my room has a unifying feel! It's always a work in progress :)

Don't forget to link up and share your ideas! I love being inspired by other great teachers!
- Amanda

Getting Organized

 Time to join the party.... An organizational linky party, is my kind of party!

I do not like clutter. My classroom is full of stuff and although it can be hard to tame the clutter - I try very hard every year to reduce the clutter. I like things to have a place to go and for kids to have access to what they need without it always being "out." Mostly, having clutter around drives me crazy and is a constant distraction until it's cleaned up... must be the OCD side of me. So, this year, to help contain my clutter (aka my desk of "stuff") I made a teacher toolbox I saw on Pinterest. I wasn't sure I was going to like it all ... but after using it the entire year, I'm in love with it! I kept it on a shelf behind my desk so I can easily access the stuff but it wouldn't be out in the open on my desk. It was a an easy project and a great way to organize my school supplies this year!

Here's the finished project! I went with a cupcake the theme and added the ribbon to help it tie into my library's green, teal, and pink color scheme. I don't do everything matching in my room but a little consistency is nice! The paper and ribbon were under $5 dollars each from Walmart and the tool organizer was under $20 dollars last year at Home Depot.

Overall, I was very happy with my project and how it turned out! It was budget friendly & looks adorable! This bin was also great for keeping my lovely students out of my supplies.

Here is the student supply area in my classroom... this picture is actually several years old. I've made it much cuter over the years! But since we're banished from the school (due to new floor wax), I can't get a more recent shot. Now the labels on the drawers are brightly colored pencils and I've cute-ified the rest of the area as well. Okay, back to the supply area, I use my science test tube holders as a scissor and pencil sharpener rack and then the sterile drawers are used to hold random supplies the students may need. It works out well except when the students start to gobble up my supplies! I don't notice until one of them opens a drawer and comes to tell me there are no supplies left! It is a good concept but is not always the most practical when an entire table loses their scissors and needs to get up and go to the supply area.....

So I have a new idea! I found this organizational gem on Pinterest....

My idea for next year is to create these mini-drawers. One for each table. If I have a table monitor or captain, they can help me keep track of my supplies so they don't all vanish at once next year. I'm hoping to include a glue stick, some scissors, colored pencils, crayons, and markers in each bin. The table can come get their "drawer" when we need them and then put them back. This will also save time from everyone rushing over the supply station at once. I'm going to keep my larger drawers for extra supplies but I've already purchased two addition sets of drawers in teal (Target has cute colors right now!) for $9.99 each. Let's hope this helps me manage my clutter and supplies for the classroom! For under $20 bucks if it helps keep me sane, I'll take it!

Now of course, I have to make them cute and match the rest of my classroom so I found these cute FREE labels on Pinterest.I labeled my new drawers with these super cute polka dot circles! You can get them here if you'd like to use them as well! They are FREE :)



Do you have a way you like manage your classroom supplies?

One Spot

The Target "One Spot" may be the death of me... half the time the One Spot is nothing you really "need" or came in for, but they have some neat stuff for $1. I love when they have the school supplies and cute post-it note packs for only a $1 buck. However, sometimes they do through in a $3 dollar item that I fall in love with and then have to debate buying with myself. But overall, they always get me when I walk in the door!

Lately, I've been on a mission to get my house clean and organized. We live in a small space and seem to have a lot of "stuff" without a proper home. I've been really trying to get myself a workspace for paying bills, grading papers, and crafting all set up. I have so much stuff it seems like the table top is NEVER seen... so today, while popping into Target for baby locks (my dog, Iggy, loves to knock the lid off the trash can) I stumble upon... THE ONE SPOT HOLY GRAIL! I was able to get some magazine holders, a little tray, two pencil cups, and a clipboard all for $5 dollars! Now this probably isn't very exciting to most people but I love when things have a place and I know where the place is located!

I was pretty happy with my new set up. I wish I would have done a before and after. This transformation was HUGE... one step closer to getting my world back on track and organized. It always makes me feel better. Some people prefer a relaxing a spa and massage - I prefer a clean and clutter free house.

Need deals? Then go to Deals!

I know it's almost summer... but I'm in back to school mode already!

I found some of my best educational deals over the years at Deals. Deals (the discount "dollar" store) is often hit or miss if you actually go into the store. However, Deals does have a website and catalog that you can order from direct. The down side is, you usually  need to order in bulk. I had to buy 30+ book bins for my library, however, at a $1 a piece that was much cheaper than any other store around. I was frustrated that my old library bins were an assortment of bins/tubs that didn't "match."  I was on a mission to coordinate my library and I didn't want to have to go store to store to find matching bins. Through the Deals catalog they came in assorted colors and were ready to be used! I made my own labels with scrapbook paper I already owned to save additional money. I think they turned out super cute! I've used them all this year. I loved that the bins were flexible (my old bins were too cheap & rigid so the handles kept cracking) plus they have handles for the kids to pull the bins off the shelves. All in all they held up quite well this year! I just need to fix a few tags and make sure books are organized for next year!

Another great place to score good deals is... Walmart! If you can have the patience to wait in line, I found some of my best deals at Walmart in during their summer clearance. I found clipboards for $1 dollar. I was able to buy enough for each student if we needed to teach open wall or move around during Reading/Writing workshop. I also found my biggest score a tin "drink" tub to put the clipboards in! The drink tub was originally $9.99 (not a bad price but I like to get things for as little as possible!) after July 4th, I was able to score this tub for 50% off! That's right $4.99!!! I bought a second one that was a different shape to create a space for my poetry picture books.  I added scrapbook letters to jazz it up a bit.

Shoe String Lesson: Think outside the box when trying to organize your classroom. Often re-purposing "other" items can save you money and be just as functional!