How I Stay Organized...

I teach six art classes per day with a 5 minute transition in between. I'm naturally pretty organized but I've found I have to be even more organized now that I teach art. So, I set up all the supplies I need sorted by grade level on a back counter. I can quickly grab whatever I need and pass it out. The students know where to get supplies as needed which helps a lot. For paint, if there are certain colors that they will all be using for their project, I pre-pour them in take-out sauce containers with lids that I pick up from a restaurant supply company in my neighborhood. I like having the lids because I don't have to do set up every day since the paint doesn't dry up. I do the same thing with liquid water colors. I place them in some old tempera cake trays or muffin tins for easy distribution and clean up. I also put whatever book I'm reading to a particular grade level with the needed art supplies.

 

My Art Classroom

Here are some photos of my new art classroom. I love how much storage space is in the room. It helps so much with my constant need to organize. I also love the ceiling tiles that the school's very first art teacher made with some older students. They add so much to the room and are great for referencing particular art pieces.

Classroom Management Downloads

I recently uploaded a few files to my TpT store that I have used the last few years for classroom management.

The first is a set of classroom helper cards to use when assigning classroom jobs. I display mine in a small pocket chart with student names next to each job. I rotate the names each week.

 

The next is a set of guided reading group signs. These signs are for grouping students for guided reading. I put Velcro tabs next to each sign and each student had a Velcroed name tag. The name tags could be moved from group to group quickly as their levels changed. I also used the grouping signs on the guided reading book baskets. Using colors for the guided reading groups kept the students from knowing which groups were high, medium, or low.

The last set is a set of cards I used for early finishers. These finished assignment cards are suggested tasks for students to complete when they finish work early. They are in card format to go in a pocket chart so that the teacher can use some or all to differentiate.

Classroom Tour

If you've followed my blog for a while, you've already seen my classroom pictures over the years. The class is mostly the same as last year. If it works, why change it? I did switch out some fabrics to make it less distracting, created a larger word wall and calendar area, and sectioned off the white board. Other than that, not much has changed.

 This is our guided reading and math area. The student computer station is behind it. The built-in shelves contain our math tubs (red boxes), tutoring lessons (blue boxes), and teacher books (beige boxes). The rest is miscellaneous storage.

 This is our fluency work area. Our weekly poems are written on chart paper, laminated, and taped to clothes hangers. The students can practice reading to one another or alone. The baskets contain familiar nursery rhymes and songs.

 These are our Daily 5 book boxes. I purchased these from Steps to Literacy.

 The affirmation station is a place where students can write notes to one another for things such as good behavior, being helpful, doing well on a project, etc. Affirmations are a part of Capturing Kids' Hearts.

 This is when you first enter our class. The students place their homework folders on the shelf. It also stores our clipboards and treasure chest. Thanks to my dad for building this shelf!

 For safety, it is important to be able to cover the door's window in case of emergency. Since I do not sew, I was trying to think of a way to cover the window quickly. So, here is what I came up with. Using two Command Strips, I hung up an extendable curtain rod with wedge ends. I then used a tier length curtain to hang on it that I purchased at Target. In an emergency, all I have to do is pull the curtain over and untie the ribbon.

 Here is our helper chart, hand signals signs, and voice level meter.

 This shelf is where we keep our writing supplies for our Affirmation Station and Daily 5 Working on Writing.

 My students sit at individual desks that are put together in two long tables. We do most of our work around the room and on the floor so keeping the desks in tables gives us more space.

 For the first week of school, the students had a crayon writing and coloring book to work in upon arrival. For "Meet the Teacher" night, they were given a treat bag of high bounce balls. Fellow teachers, you can download the gift tag from my TpT store for free.

 This is our creation station and recycling area. Above the sinks is our math focus board.

 This is our classroom library. The book boxes are from Steps to Literacy and the shelves are from Target. I divide my books by themes except for the blue boxes. The blue boxes are divided into our favorite authors. The board above will be used for our Daily 5 anchor charts.

 I love this sign that I got for our classroom library from a local shop in Arlington, Texas.

 This is our new behavior clip system for K-2. The chart is from TpT.

 This is my new word wall area with book and manipulative storage below.

 This is our calendar wall. Below the calendar is a couch made out of a crib mattress, a crib sheet, and a body pillow. On each side of the couch are our Big Books and Buddy Books that we use for Read to Someone.

 This is the shared reading area. I display our daily objectives on the white board. My team types our objectives and print them to save time.

 This is our Promethean Board. I love integrating technology into our lessons. The teacher station is to the left of the board.

 This is the view from the front of our room.

 This is the view from the back of our room.

 This is the view from the front door of our room.

 This is the view from the teacher desk area.

 These are two bulletin boards outside of our classroom to welcome the students to first grade.