Spring Cleaning in the Classroom

I've taken some time to relax this spring break. I've also taken time to make a list of things that need to get fixed or taken care of before the kids return from break. One of these items is new name tags. The kids' name tags have been torn apart and destroyed since September. I used bigger tags that required multiple pieces of tape to hold them down. I'm now trying Learning in Wonderland's skinny name tags. I am excited to see how they look on the desks. I am also going to put new numbers onto the kids' desks, from Ladybug Teacher Files.

A job that I am excited to start in the next few weeks, is fixing up my classroom library. I have a HUGE library. I will not only be adding colored labels to the spines of the books, but also add a genre sticker to the back. These are from Ladybug Teacher Files. My classroom library has been a hassle since August, but it's one that will work out so beneficially in the years to come.  

Are you cleaning your classroom? How do you reorganize the room during the year?

Things that I Love

I'm so excited to link up with Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd and Angie from Lucky Little Learners for January's Linky Party. February's Linky Party (even though I'm a LOT late) is all about Things That We Love.

In case you have missed my previous, #2getherwearebetter post, click below. Don't forget to follow the rest of the series here. 

Holiday Traditions
2016 Goals and Plans

I am going to talk about the things that I love that have to do with organization.

1. Erin Condren Teacher Planner

I am obsessed with my Erin Condren Teacher Planner. Click here to purchase your own. Check out my posts for the Teacher Planner Review here. Also check out my lesson plan hacks here. My Erin Condren Teacher Planner is my life. I always carry it with me. It definitely keeps me organized and prepared throughout the day.

2. 3rd Grade Thoughts Stickers

Check out the store here. 3rd Grade Thoughts has AMAZING stickers. I have purchased the ones above, weekly numbers, as well as some of her other lesson planner stickers. These are great for showing when I have specific duties, when I give exams, and when we have fire drills. These make the lesson plans look cuter, and keep me organized without having to write it all down.

3. Owl Plan With You Stickers
Check out the store here. These stickers are going to make my planner that much more organized and neat for next year. I have purchased several of the sticker packs and I cannot wait to use them! One of the ones I am most excited to use are the date stickers. These will look SO much better in my planner.

4. Really Good Stuff Bins

To help organize my classroom, and myself, I implemented these baskets at the beginning of the school year. Yellow is for anything having to go to the office. Green is for anything Science-4th or 5th grade. Pink is for anything ELA or Reading. I've also purchased some book boxes and other organizational trays for around my classroom. Check out the store here.

5. Desk Calendar

I love my desk planner. Seeing the month at a quick glance helps me plan my lessons, and my weekly activities. I am able to see who I am tutoring, when I have duty, and other school activities that are going on that week. This is the first and last thing I look at everyday in my classroom.


What are some of the things that you love in your classroom?

Morning Routine for Teachers

Every teacher has their own routine of things to do once they arrive in the Morning. Mine is a huge list, that requires me to arrive at school almost an hour before I'm supposed to. This has helped my sanity during these first few years, and I'm sure it will lessen the more experience I get. The list also changes depending on the time of year. For example, at the end of the month, I change decorations, calendars, and more.




Step 1: Settle in.
Once I've unlocked my door, and brought my bags in, I usually take a moment to settle in. I turn on the computer, enjoy my coffee, and make a list of things that NEED to be done for the day. Some days, it's a short list and other days it is crazy.
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Step 2: Updating the calendars

Every day, I look at my calendar. I double check to see what I had planned for the week. Are there any events happening? Did I forget to write about the assembly today for my plans? Do I have duty today? I also cross off the previous day. When I show the day is done, it is a solid, black curvy line going from the bottom left corner to the top right corner. At the end of the month, I also add another step in. 

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Step 2a: Setting up the next month's calendar

Setting up the next month's calendar is always a fun thing for me. I sit with both my school calendar (usually up on the computer) and my personal calendar. I pencil in various dates and events, so that I know what is going on for planning my lessons. Everything is color coded to my Erin Condren planner. Mondays are red, Tuesdays are orange, Wednesdays are green, Thursdays are blue, and Fridays are purple. Any days that are off from school are shown with a solid gray line going from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. If I am taking a day off from school for personal or professional reasons, it is shown with a dotted gray line going from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. I show a half day by placing a 1/2 symbol in the top right corner in gray marker. If I am festive enough, I attempt to draw pictures. I'm obviously not an art teacher, but it still looks nice.

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Step 3: Update the schedule
Once I've updated my calendar, I look at the schedule, and CHAMPS board. I usually need to update the schedule, but I don't always have to update the CHAMPS. CHAMPS helps my class understand what they are doing for the day, and what materials they need to be successful. I HATE repeating directions. Like the CHAMPS board? Purchase it here. Do you love the schedule pieces? Purchase them here.
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Step 4: Update the homework board
I then update the homework board and reminders for the students. My handwriting is not the best, but it works just the same. We write down any important paper reminders, any homework I know I'll be giving them for the night. Usually that means updating the Spelling homework, Reading homework and Science.

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Step 5: Open the blinds
Pretty self explanatory. I love that my blinds now have a chain and wheel...makes everything a lot easier to do!
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Step 6: Take down/Put up decorations

Every so often, especially at the end/beginning of seasons, I put up and take down decorations for my windows. Since before break was the "end" of the month, I took down my pumpkins. Next week, I'll end up putting up snowmen and snowflakes for the holidays and winter months.

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Step 7: Update the 40 Book Challenge List
My class does a 40 Book challenge during the year. I ask them to read 40 books from a variety of genres. We are getting pretty close to 25 books read! When they complete the challenge, I go out and purchase a $5 gift card for Barnes and Noble for them.
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Step 8: Water Plants
One of the last things I do is to water my plants. I have a huge jungle of plants available in my classroom. Most of them get watered on Mondays and Fridays. Every so often, I water them a little bit on Wednesday, depending on how the soil looks and if the plant usually takes more water. When I'm absent, I have two students who will water for me on Fridays.
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This doesn't include the making of copies, placing items into the mailboxes, checking and replying to emails, and more. These are things that are constantly done at both the beginning and end of the day.

I hope this "list" is helpful for you. What do you do to prepare for the day??

Erin Condren Teacher Planner Review Part 2: Setting Up the Planner

**I am in no way officiated with Erin Condren, and am not endorsed for promoting products.**

Setting up a planner for the beginning of the year, both educational and personal, is always fun for me. I thoroughly enjoy using stickers and markers to keep myself organized. The Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner is one that makes my life as a teacher, so much easier.

When you open the planner, you see a page to write your name and school. The color of these pages just brings a smile to my face. If they can't decipher who's planner it is from the outside cover, they can definitely tell from the inside. The tabs (seen to the right) are laminated and colorful. They are lasting the year, so far.

The next page is an "All About Me" page. This page gives you a spot to put in contact information for you and your school, as well as a space to place your usernames and passwords for important school websites. This is a great idea and spot, but if you are nervous about security, then I wouldn't put them there. 

Next comes a two page spread to list important dates to remember. It comes with a lot of holidays and other interesting dates, but it gives you a chance to put in report card due dates, birthdays, meetings and more.

A set of birthday pages comes next. I have not used these yet, but I'm sure you could use them for something else if you needed to.

There are several pages for an "Absentee Log". I've started to use it, and really enjoy it. It gives me a chance to keep a list of kids who might be out. However, when I teach 80 kids every day, I don't always get a chance to log who is out from each period.

Erin Condren also gives you some graphing note pages. This would be awesome to use to create a floor plan of your room or a seating chart, but I also have not used these pages yet.

The year at a glance section is AWESOME!! I have not sat down and really wrote my ideas down, only because I am waiting until they are all kind of finalized so I don't make any mistakes. I have my own year-at-a-glance document on the computer that I created over the summer.

I absolutely love the month, 2 page spreads. The date dots are awesome. They just add a little bit to the month. I, like the picture below, use a mixture of pens and stickers to decorate my planner. Keep an eye out for how I organize my monthly views, in another post. They even have calendars for the summer months, in case your school starts earlier than others.

I also LOVE the weekly plan pages. I lay my week out differently than they show here, but I still LOVE the format. The days are horizontal and the subjects/times are vertical. I can easily see what I'm doing every day of the week at 8:15-9:00 am if I wanted to. Keep an eye out for my post on the lesson plan format. 

I also have learned to love the Checklist pages. I use them to both note who has handed in assignments and who is missing, as well as the grades for the assignments. It is a wonderful system, once you make it your own.

I love the stickers that Erin Condren gives you. There are several pages with printed stickers and several one that are blank. This is especially helpful since I work at a Catholic School. There are added events that are not the same as those in a public school.

There is also a folder which can hold extra stickers, papers, or items for the planner. It has come in handy.

The last pages are clear sheet protectors and a zipper pouch for miscellaneous things. I have not used the clear protector sheets, but it would be a great spot to hold a schedule and other important papers for any teacher or substitute.

I absolutely love the planner, and will definitely purchase another one next year.

**Note: All images are taken from the virtual tour on the Erin Condren site.**

Erin Condren Teacher Planner Review Part 1: Ordering

**I am in no way officiated with Erin Condren, and am not endorsed for promoting products.**

When I became a teacher, the one thing I got super excited about was organizing my room in such an adorable way. Baskets, binders, and more...it all made me so excited. When I finally got my own room last year, I didn't focus on making it super cute. I focused more on making sure that I understood the curriculum assigned to me. This year, I redesigned the layout of my classroom, and am focusing on being a more organized and prepared teacher. To top that off, my classroom can be cute as well.

One of the key things that I kept seeing on Pinterest over the past few years was the Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner.I kept seeing what an awesome planner it was, and all the reviews of it, so I finally broke down and bought one. It is such an awesome planner! I LOVE IT!!!!



When you go to purchase the planner you have the option to "Personalize a Lesson Planner" or order one "Ready to Ship". I choose to personalize the planner. Choosing a cover took a long time, but I finally choose one that went along with my classroom theme....black with multicolored, bright dots. It really makes me smile when I use it during the day. I added my name and my school's name to the planner as well. It is easily known that this is my lesson planner.



There are several other options to personalize your planner further. I added 3 sheet protectors to my planner, rather than just the 1 that is included. I also added 14 checklist pages, rather than the 7 that are included. Once you have added the planner to your cart, you can add various accessories as well. One thing I added was the "Designer Date Dots" for the monthly calendar pages. I also added the customized event stickers, but the planner comes with so many already, that the customized ones were not worth it, to me. The other important thing that I got personalized was a Carry All Clutch, in the large size. It is a life saver!!!

In the next few blog posts, I'll review the parts of the planner, and how I've started to use them this year.