Organizing Supplies and Classroom Photo Dump

I think I finally found a supplies system that works (at least for this year)!  The only supplies students have in their desk are their notebooks, journals, library books, and their school supplies box holding one pink eraser and one pencil.  The rest of our supplies (crayons, colored pencils, markers, glues and scissors) are stored in these cubbies.

Each group of desks has an assigned color, and each desk in the group has an assigned a shape.

Every day I rotate the student in charge of getting and putting away supplies for their group. So if it's triangles day to be in charge, all triangles will get supplies needed for their table and put them away when they're done.

I may or may not have OCD, so I get a little crazy when organizing supplies.  Each table has three cups of markers.  Each cup has a different number on it, and all of the markers that belong to that cup have the same number all over the markers and their lids.  This helps us keep up with markers that accidentally roll onto the floor. :)

Each table keeps their scissors and glue in their assigned pencil pouch.  I used colored electrical tape for the cups and pencil pouches.

Each table also has two caddies.  Each caddy has three boxes of crayons and one box of colored pencils.  I got the idea from Miss Squirrel to use soap boxes.  The soap boxes are 99 cents at Walmart.  They will hold all 24 crayons, but I copied Miss Squirrel and only put the twelve main ones in the boxes.  Now, I never have to worry about kids coloring with the "wrong" blue or purple and having a freak-out moment.  This has happened a lot. :)  

I keep other supplies on a shelf to the left of my cubbies. On top of the shelf I have my turn-in tray, and highlighters for students to highlight their name.

Notebook paper is stored in the green bucket, and next to that I have dictionaries and thesauruses.  My mom had a genius idea to give each student a dictionary and thesaurus to keep once they can show how to use one correctly....I'll have to find a cheaper way to make this idea happen. 

When a student finds one of our supplies on the floor, they place it in our super organized lost and found bucket.  If a student is missing something, they can easily take what they need.

 On the bottom shelf, I keep extra notebook paper and dry erase boards/markers handy.

I like this system so far!  Last week was only week three, but I have high hopes! :)

And now for the photo dump...

First of all, I have to show off these amazing curtains my sister made me!!   I found the dots fabric at Joann's. It's funny how similar the pattern is to CTP's Dots on Black collection.  I LOVE my curtains.  My sister did such a great job!  I'm trying to talk her into starting an Etsy account.  She makes really cute purses, everyday bags, diaper bags, clutches, and wallets too.  

Look at these fancy ruffles!!!

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

That's it for now!  My next post will be about my language arts centers.  Check back soon to see how I organize and manage them!

Classroom Pictures 2013-2014

I'm almost finished with my classroom!!  It took me about a week to get everything put back in its place. This is actually really good for me!  It usually takes me over a month. :) My  mom and dad helped me with a lot of mini projects yesterday!  They're the best!!!  I put my bulletin boards in the same spot I had them last year, so I didn't have to completely reinvent the wheel.  There are a few changes here and there, and these pictures aren't the best, so I will have to update them later. I also need to straighten a few things around the room.

This is my desk area.  My sister is making me new curtains to hide the spaces underneath the counter.  I even found fabric at Joann's that is similar to Creative Teaching Press' Dots on Black! 

This is the fabric I found. My sister is making me black curtains with dot fabric accents.  She's making me curtains for my windows too.  She's so nice!!  :)  She made me these curtains a couple years ago.

Close up of my desk area.  My sweet dad fixed my fridge so the door opens to the right.

The pencil sharpener cord is making me a little crazy.  I will have to move it!  I plan on putting this sign in the blue picture frame.

The blue tape strips on the carpet have alphabet stickers on them so I can assign my students seats.  Here is a better picture from last year.  I use Black on Dots stickers for the consonants and Poppin' Patterns for the vowels.  

I will use the board on the right to manage my language art's centers. I am doing a center's system similar to this. I will post more about my center's once the school year starts.  I left enough space at the bottom of the center's board for my ELMO/tech cart.  The paper bags have The First Day of School poem stapled to them.  It's a 2nd grade survival kit.  My very sweet mom put them together for me! :)

My OCD makes me a little crazy...those crooked desk look awful! :)  Last year I zip tied them together.  I will have to do this again!

It was taking me forever to put these numbers on my floor (I used two rulers at a time to make sure they were perfectly centered.), so my mom made me this awesome tool out of cardstock!  She's so smart!!  It saved me so much time!   They're Poppin'  Patterns calendar numbers.  I used 1-22, and two blank ones to write "Line Leader" and "Door Holder."  Here is a better picture of how I do line order numbers in my classroom.  I used stars last year.

When students score high on a test, their name will go on the Way to Go! door.  I copied this idea from my friend Jenn.

All of the stuff under the sink will not stay there.  Just in case you were wondering what that clutter was. :)

I need to straighten my pocket chart and tape down my math facts chart. :\

The cabinet on the left has Whole Brain Teaching Rules on them.  I LOVE these rules and my kids do too!

That's it for now!  Like I said, I still have some things to straighten up here and there.  I will update this post with better quality pictures when I get back from my vacation in a week! :)