Taming My File Cabinet Clutter and a Freebie

Hey teacher friends! It's Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue. I'm stopping by today to tell you about one of my my only summer project that I worked on for my classroom. I just couldn't find the motivation this year to do much more than that! 

I decided this summer to tame the beast that is my file cabinet. Or at least one of the drawers in my file cabinet. Let's not get too crazy. 

I wanted to move my monthly files to binders to help keep them organized and in control. In the past I would tend to find a copy of something I liked and stash it in the corresponding month's file, only to every year pull out the files a month at a time and recycle a bunch of things I didn't want or wouldn't use. In my mind, hole punching a paper and putting it in a binder is a lot more commitment to that paper, and it better be good to go through all that! 

Here are the supplies I used: 

-1/2 inch clear-view binders (one for each month of the school year)

-sheet protectors

-sticky labels (I don't know their fancy name)

-binder covers

-labels for the spines

I brought home the first half of the school year's files to begin with and whipped up some covers. Inside the binders I sorted the papers by theme (First Day of School, Back to School Night, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, etc.) and craftivities. The themed papers I put in the front with the labels dividing them. 

The craftivities I put in the back of the binder in individual sheet protectors. 

I used some Martha Stewart labels from Staples and typed the months on them to attach to the spines of the binder and called it a day. Because really...I have no patience for binder spines. Especially for 1/2 inch binders.

I'm pretty excited with how this project turned out. When I dropped off the binders at school I realized they take up half of the space in the file cabinet drawer than the files alone did! Wahoo! 

If you're interested in my monthly binder covers, you can snag them for FREE at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store or by clicking the picture below. 

Happy Thursday everyone!

Lesson Plan Binder and Getting Ahead

With school winding down it's normal for me to start thinking about next year. I call this my "guinea pig time" because as I think of new ideas I like to try them out with the class I currently have. Test the waters, see if an idea or activity works or flops.

I also like to get as much done as I can now for next year. I like to have some of my beginning of the year items copied and ready to go to save myself a headache come August. Each year that I teach I feel like I get more and more on top of the following year's to-do list.

Our math sheets for next year were delivered already, so when my students finish a project early I've been having them unstaple and sort them for me. Awesomesauce! I have our class stuffed animal's binder and bag ready to go, spelling notebooks copied, student information sheets printed and ready to be filled out, and I have started to put together my teacher binder for next year. 

I don't know about you, but I like to have all of my important stuff in one space. My lesson plan binder this year had a lot of sections that I didn't use and it felt like a waste of space. So I created one to fit my needs and am using it the last two weeks of school to see how it goes. Taking it on a test drive!

I'm loving the fun colors and using the Frixion erasable markers to plan. There's no way I could write in a planner in marker without the ability to erase! 

I bought my binder at Staples in the Martha Stewart section. It's actually a discbound notebook that I took the paper out of. It takes a special hole punch that they sell as well made by the Staples brand.

Inside the binder I keep my grading scale, some sticky notes, and the different tabbed sections.

So far it's sporting a section for my student information pages that I have parents fill out every year, class lists, schedules, my grade book, and more! 

If you're interested in my lesson plan binder 

check it out on TPT! 

Only 8 days of school left for me, how about you?

Classroom Organization Ideas and a Birthday Giveaway

Hi! It's Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue.

I don't know about you, but I love seeing other teachers' classrooms. I get so many classroom organizational ideas from colleagues, Pinterest, and Instagram. Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite organizational ideas I've implemented in my classroom.

First up are my monthly read alouds. I use Ikea magazine files for each month of the school year. When it's a new month I simply take the books out of the file and place them in the rain gutter underneath my whiteboard. Throughout the month I read the books to the class and then scoop them up and put them away at the end of the month. A couple students actually really like helping with this at the beginning of the month and since it's so easy they can do it for me flawlessly. 

One of the first jobs students have in the morning is to "shop for books" from our classroom library. They get their book boxes off the of the shelf and pick out some books they are interested in. Their book boxes are actually ice cube bins from Walmart. At the time they were a little over a dollar a piece and they've lasted a couple of years now. I number my students so they are able to be used year after year. 

On Fridays we have "Friday Choice" in the afternoons where students get to pick a preferred activity if they have turned in all of their work for the week (including homework and library books) and have made smart choices. For those that have not turned in their work it is a time for them to complete the work and for those that have not made smart choices it is a time for them to fill out a reflection or owe some time thinking about their decisions.

We have one of the school iPad carts on Friday afternoons so iPads have been a popular choice this year. We also have games, puzzles, art projects, and more. I love seeing the students interacting with each other and solving problems while playing games and working on creative activities like art. To organize the many activities, I bought canvas bins from Target and hot glued labels onto the front for the different subjects. The students are really good about keeping the items in the right bins, as they know that if they don't, Friday Choice will not happen. 

I also use canvas bins to organize my math manipulatives and volunteer activities. I have a parent helper who comes in to work with students in reading groups and I leave the directions and materials in the bin for her. I also have a classroom aide that comes in a couple days a week to work with students and her materials are in a different bin.

When I first started using student cubbies I numbered them with labels. Eventually the labels started to peel and look gross, so I now use binder clips with the students numbers written on them. I love this idea because, for example, this year I don't have a student that is #28 or #29 in class, so I simply take off their clips. I also had #25 move to another school, so I took off her clip. Now when my parent helper is passing out papers for the entire class, she knows not to put one in those cubbies. On Wednesday afternoon the parent helper (did I mention how much I LOVE parent helpers?!) staples all of the papers together and the students take them home in their Thursday Folders the next day. 

When it comes to student supplies, I like everything out on the top of the desks. It seems to cut down on lost pencils, erasers, etc. Inside the group bin I use plastic cups to organize the different materials. On the bottom of the markers I use a Sharpie to color code them. If we find a marker on the floor we can easily see which group it belongs to. Markers, highlighters, scissors, and pencils all have students names written on them. 

I love my Monday through Friday bins from Lakeshore. When I make copies and plan ahead of time, I stick all of the activities in the corresponding day I'll be teaching them. I found that the folders that came with the bins weren't working for me though, so I quickly moved to green cardstock. The cardstock separates the weeks. I've copied homework for the rest of the year at this point, and it goes home on Fridays. So in my Friday bin I have the homework separated by weeks with the green cardstock. I love having things done WAY ahead of time!

When it is time to get ready for the next day of teaching, I simply grab the items out of my Monday through Friday bin and stack them in a wire holder for the day in the order I will teach them. These items are ready to go for tomorrow. Below you can see an absent folder is ready to go for a student who was not at school today. I leave the folder on their desk and when students hand out papers they know to include the absent folders on the desk. At the end of the day I collect the absent folder and keep it in my wire rack so that I can go over the items with the students when they (hopefully) return the next day. Want the absent folder cover? Check out my blog post where you can snag it for free. Glue it on a folder and laminate!

There are a lot of things that get piled on my desk throughout the day. Students are handing in random things like yearbook order forms, late slips, and more. Throughout the day I put everything in my blue "To Do" bin that hangs out on the top of my printer. If there's something that needs to go up to the office (like the yearbook money or late slips), I put them right in front of my printer in a stack. Every time I go up to the office I grab that stack of items to take with me. 

At the end of the day my rule is that I can't go home until that To Do bin is empty. Throughout the day if I have a free minute I will work on To Do bin items like putting papers back in my filing cabinet. I love that it keeps me on top of things because there are so many forms and papers that come our way as teachers. 

Finally, I thought I'd share an easy way to let others know where your class is at when you leave the room. It seems there's always a student out at speech when it's time to go to computer lab or a staff member looking for us when we're in an assembly. I have a metal door so I hang a laminated piece of paper with the places we could be on it using a magnet. I put a clothespin at the top of the magnet and a student moves the clothespin to where we are and hangs the sheet on the outside of the door on our way out. Easy!

I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek into my classroom. Make sure to head over to my blog to check out my Birthday Giveaway where you can win some great prizes!

Saturdays in Spring - Week 2

Happy Saturday!

We are back with our second week of, "Saturdays in Spring!" Thank you so much for all your kind comments left from last week. The contributors of "Collaboration Connection," love sharing with you all and learning from one another.

With that being said, we are here to provide you with another round of great freebies! We hope that you are able to find these tools valuable within your classroom. Please share our blog, Instagram, and Facebook with your other teacher buddies so they can get in on the freebies too!

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Here are this week's freebies:

Serena from Magic Mistakes & Mayhem is sharing Funky Flower Clip Art - bright flowers with crazy patterns and colors are perfect for spring.

Alyssa from Just A Primary Girl is sharing Riddle Me This & That Sample - a great unit of sight word riddles for reading review.

Carrie from Table Talk with C & C is sharing Spin Me Round - a fun double digit addition game perfect for small groups, math centers, or independent practice.

Karen from An Apple A Day in First Grade is sharing a Fluency Poster -  this would be a good addition to any classroom.

Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue is sharing Glitter Girl Font - this cute font would be perfect for any creation.

Crystal from Once Upon A Classroom: The Tale of Two Teachers is sharing As A Matter of Fact - this unit has some wonderful activities for teaching solids, liquids, and gases. 

Emily from I Love My Classroom is sharing End of Year Student-Made Brochures - 

Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd is sharing a Reading Response Freebie - a flip flap book that would be fantastic for any guided reading group or independent practice.

*Click on the pictures or titles above to download your freebies!

We hope you enjoy these fabulous freebies and be sure to check back next Saturday for more!!

Saturdays in Spring ... Week 1

Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, children are getting antsy, and teachers are getting tired... right? It's that time of the year when we are starting to wind down and have a hard time focusing on anything but... SUMMER! With that in mind, we wanted to offer all of you a fun series called, "Saturdays in Spring!" Each Saturday for the next 4 weeks, we will be providing you with some of our favorite freebies. Be sure to share the button and pass on our blog to all your friends. We loved collaborating and sharing our ideas with all of you!

Here are this week's freebies:

Crystal from Once Upon a Classroom: The Tale of Two Teachers is sharing Story Structure - a perfect activity to use for independent practice or reading centers.

Carrie from Table Talk with C and C is sharing 3D Shapes with QR codes - a fun math activity that incorporates technology.

 Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue is sharing 3-Digit Addition and Subtraction Practice Page - a great way for students to get addition practice.

Britney from Tailor-Made Teaching is sharing Recycle It Game and Nature Hunt Activity - perfect activities for any Earth Day celebration.

Jessica from Tales of a First Grade Teacher is sharing a Butterfly Life Cycle - a fantastic activity to add to any animal unit.

*Click on the pictures or titles above to download your freebies!

We hope you enjoy these freebies and be sure to check back next Saturday for more!! 

Using Your Noodle

Hi everyone, it's Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue! I'm on Spring Break this week but wanted to stop in and tell you about a website my class has been eating up- GoNoodle! My kiddos this year are wiggly to the max, so we take a lot of brain breaks throughout the day to keep them (and myself) engaged. GoNoodle has been a lifesaver!

First and foremost, this is a free website with an option to upgrade to a paid account with even more awesomeness, but for now the free part is suiting my class just fine.

When you first log in you can either check things out as a demo class (which is great to use as the teacher when you're testing out activities) or sign in as your class.

Next up you are taken to your class avatar who usually has something quirky to say. You can see the level your class is on and the number of minutes of activity left until you reach the next level.

Once you click on play you are taken to a list of brain break activities. Some of the brain breaks include yoga, zumba, jogging, breathing exercises, and more. You can even click on the heart by an activity if your class really liked it and it will put it in your "My Favorites" category for the future. 

My class especially loves Maximo the monkey who leads us through yoga poses and has us trying to guess what the hidden picture is at the end of the yoga session. 

We also love the track and field exercises. The website has a famous athlete teach the students how to train for and complete the activities before they begin and then the teacher has control over moving the class into 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place with the keyboard as the activity is going. I tell the students if I see everyone trying their hardest I will move them up in rank.

The class gets super excited when they've reached the next level, because the avatar is taken to the transmogrifer where it stretches and grows and gains muscle. They think it is hilarious! 

We use GoNoodle before tests, during long stretches of subjects, and any time I can feel in the air that it's needed. You know what I'm talking about. 

There's so much more to GoNoodle and they're constantly adding activities. 

Definitely check it out! 

Do you GoNoodle? I'd love to hear your thoughts and how you use it in your classroom!