This week I am linking up for Miss DeCarbo's Wordless Wednesday!
To make sure I start my morning smoothly, I've learned my desk and table must be organized before I leave the night before. How do you make sure your mornings start smoothly?
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Monday, October 6, 2014
Pesky Computer Cords
I mentioned in an earlier post that our school is currently moving towards one-to-one for students and laptops. This is great for me because it reduces sharing issues and my students can do independent projects with less management. Plus, if a computer isn't working it doesn't disrupt my class as much. Before when a computer had an issue it meant more students at a single computers, students moving, arguments over who was doing what, and so much more. You know how one minor problem can spiral into a bigger issue.
Now I have twenty laptops, but with twenty laptops comes lots of chargers, cords, and having to store those cords. Laptops on desks means their cords need to be around the desks. That means students have to be able to move around them. Well this isn't the prettiest solution, but it works. The cords aren't in the way and my students aren't tripping on them.
Our janitors and maintenance staff had these little thingy-ma-jiggers (yes that's as good as the description is getting).
They have a sticky back so all you have to do is peel off the back and stick it on. You can also use a screw in the middle and screw it in to give it more stability. Then you use a zip tie and run the cords through. It is super simple and easy. It doesn't look gorgeous, but it is done and I don't have issues with it. Woohoo!
Now I have twenty laptops, but with twenty laptops comes lots of chargers, cords, and having to store those cords. Laptops on desks means their cords need to be around the desks. That means students have to be able to move around them. Well this isn't the prettiest solution, but it works. The cords aren't in the way and my students aren't tripping on them.
Our janitors and maintenance staff had these little thingy-ma-jiggers (yes that's as good as the description is getting).
They have a sticky back so all you have to do is peel off the back and stick it on. You can also use a screw in the middle and screw it in to give it more stability. Then you use a zip tie and run the cords through. It is super simple and easy. It doesn't look gorgeous, but it is done and I don't have issues with it. Woohoo!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Wordless Wednesday: Focus Wall
Two posts in one day! Say what??? For this post I'm linking up to Miss DeCarbo at Sugar and Spice's Wordless Wednesday.
Certain things have to be cute in my classroom. Certain things have to match. I'm pretty sure there is a law. This week I managed to start on matching sets for my focus wall, because I have been pulling resources from everywhere this year (yay new series) and nothing matched. So matching focus wall pieces is my new hobby.
What things in your classroom or life need to be cute or match to make you happy?
Pumpkin Patch Scrapbook Page
One of our field trips is a trip to a local pumpkin patch. Our kids get to have a ton of fun and they get to bring home a mini pumpkin for Halloween. I make two scrapbook pages out of the trip. The first page is our class photo. Field trips are great opportunities to get class photos because almost all your kids will show up for these. Haha. This scrapbook page was super simple. The background was by Graphics from the Pond (AMAZING clipart) and I found a cute pumpkin font here. This was the end result except instead of the ugly black box you would obviously put your class picture.
The second page was more personal. The day after we went to the pumpkin patch I had my students write a paragraph about their experience on the field trip. They published this on the computer and I printed it out on cardstock. One field trip, two scrapbook pages!
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Pencil Wars
The title of this post says it all for me. Pencils are a battlefield for my students and I. It drives me crazy!! I've tried the sharpened and unsharpened buckets and giving it out pencils at the beginning of the week and so many other things. Last year I ran across an idea for a pencil challenge. This has saved my life!! I am not exaggerating.
I did make a change. I don't have pencil pouches for my kids and I am a little more picky about the pencils. I give my kids three pencils a week. They can come at any time and ask for another pencil, but they get three a week that count for the pencil challenge. My big difference is that I want to make sure that my students are actually keeping track of THEIR pencils not just leaving them around and they end with the pencils they need. This means I write their number on their three pencils with a sharpie at the end of the pencil. This takes a few minutes the first time you do it, but I don't mind. Plus it makes the kids accountable for their pencils.
I NEVER have students asking for a pencil from me. NEVER! How incredible is that. Plus, with their number on it I don't have students bringing me pencils because it is on the floor. They find the correct person and I don't have random pencils floating around my room. Score for me!! Since I don't have kids constantly losing pencils it means we don't run through pencils as quickly as we have in the past. My first year we actually ran out of pencils and I had to go buy some just to get through the year.
On Monday they get a prize if they can show me their three pencils. If they can't they get the new pencils they need with their number. If the pencils with their number are still in good condition they just keep using those and if they are getting small or look raggedy I will switch it out for a new pencil. Since my kids haven't had any problems keeping their pencils for a week, we are starting to up the time and now they have to keep track of those pencils for two weeks.
I know three pencils doesn't seem like much, but my kids are taking much better care of their pencils now so they don't need new pencils constantly. They are obsessive about keeping track of their pencils. I also cut down on sharpening because the kids are allowed to sharpen their pencil only in the morning during morning work. Their job is to sharpen their three pencils. If they need to sharpen their pencil the rest of the day they have to ask. Before, my kids were sharpening whenever which meant if they were bored they got up and wandered to the pencil sharpener. That meant my pencils magically disappeared. Now they know their job is to have the three sharpened pencils and if they have to ask me to sharpen usually the first thing I ask is did you sharpen three this morning.
The pencil challenge has cut down on pencils in my room immensely and the way I do it works for me.
I did make a change. I don't have pencil pouches for my kids and I am a little more picky about the pencils. I give my kids three pencils a week. They can come at any time and ask for another pencil, but they get three a week that count for the pencil challenge. My big difference is that I want to make sure that my students are actually keeping track of THEIR pencils not just leaving them around and they end with the pencils they need. This means I write their number on their three pencils with a sharpie at the end of the pencil. This takes a few minutes the first time you do it, but I don't mind. Plus it makes the kids accountable for their pencils.
I NEVER have students asking for a pencil from me. NEVER! How incredible is that. Plus, with their number on it I don't have students bringing me pencils because it is on the floor. They find the correct person and I don't have random pencils floating around my room. Score for me!! Since I don't have kids constantly losing pencils it means we don't run through pencils as quickly as we have in the past. My first year we actually ran out of pencils and I had to go buy some just to get through the year.
On Monday they get a prize if they can show me their three pencils. If they can't they get the new pencils they need with their number. If the pencils with their number are still in good condition they just keep using those and if they are getting small or look raggedy I will switch it out for a new pencil. Since my kids haven't had any problems keeping their pencils for a week, we are starting to up the time and now they have to keep track of those pencils for two weeks.
I know three pencils doesn't seem like much, but my kids are taking much better care of their pencils now so they don't need new pencils constantly. They are obsessive about keeping track of their pencils. I also cut down on sharpening because the kids are allowed to sharpen their pencil only in the morning during morning work. Their job is to sharpen their three pencils. If they need to sharpen their pencil the rest of the day they have to ask. Before, my kids were sharpening whenever which meant if they were bored they got up and wandered to the pencil sharpener. That meant my pencils magically disappeared. Now they know their job is to have the three sharpened pencils and if they have to ask me to sharpen usually the first thing I ask is did you sharpen three this morning.
The pencil challenge has cut down on pencils in my room immensely and the way I do it works for me.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
New Student Checklist
When a new student enters my room there are a million and one things that have to be done for them to function in my classroom. There are several tests that have to be done to assess level, name tags, computer log-ins, data binders they need to be put in, and so much more.
My first year of teaching I had what I like to refer to as a "revolving door" classroom. I had the lowest number of students, so I would get the kids that were transferring in. This isn't at all unusual, but this particular year after I got a new student I would usually lose one within the next few weeks so I always had the lowest number of students. That year since I had students moving in and out frequently I was constantly putting together papers for new students and doing all those little tasks and contacting five or six different people in the district to get all those tasks done. I was always forgetting something though and I had no system to make sure that I did everything.
After about the fourth student I suddenly became brilliant. You ever have those moments where you want to smack yourself for not realizing there is an easier way to do something? As I went through and did everything for the new student, I wrote down what I was doing. Name tags, bus tags, clips, binders, supplies, tests, paperwork, etc. I compiled a checklist for my new students for everything they would need. If they needed anything done to be in my room it went on the list.
Each year I adapt the same checklist. At the beginning of the year, as I'm setting up my new class, I change the list to fit what I'm doing this year. It is a huge time saver. Now I don't forget to have them tested or not contact someone about getting them into a certain system. They also aren't waiting on me to get them a password I forgot to set up. It makes my life soooooo much easier.
My first year of teaching I had what I like to refer to as a "revolving door" classroom. I had the lowest number of students, so I would get the kids that were transferring in. This isn't at all unusual, but this particular year after I got a new student I would usually lose one within the next few weeks so I always had the lowest number of students. That year since I had students moving in and out frequently I was constantly putting together papers for new students and doing all those little tasks and contacting five or six different people in the district to get all those tasks done. I was always forgetting something though and I had no system to make sure that I did everything.
After about the fourth student I suddenly became brilliant. You ever have those moments where you want to smack yourself for not realizing there is an easier way to do something? As I went through and did everything for the new student, I wrote down what I was doing. Name tags, bus tags, clips, binders, supplies, tests, paperwork, etc. I compiled a checklist for my new students for everything they would need. If they needed anything done to be in my room it went on the list.
Each year I adapt the same checklist. At the beginning of the year, as I'm setting up my new class, I change the list to fit what I'm doing this year. It is a huge time saver. Now I don't forget to have them tested or not contact someone about getting them into a certain system. They also aren't waiting on me to get them a password I forgot to set up. It makes my life soooooo much easier.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Organizing Copies
Several teachers I know have a similar system where they make their copies for the coming week and then they have a tray, bin, or basket for each day of the week.
I love my system for that, but I also have a system for copies farther into the future. Sometimes you need to get a jump on copies or you want to do a complete unit at one time even though the unit will take several weeks. Instead of throwing those extra copies into a jumble I have baskets for each subject: reading, writing/grammar, math, and science/social studies. When I have copies that aren't going to be used in the next week, they go into the corresponding basket. Super simple and I can find the copies I need quickly.
It also has another great purpose, it makes finding extra work for days I have a substitute super easy. If I have copies throughout the week that I haven't used, I put them at the bottom of my subject baskets. That way I can use them later if I want them. I separate the old copies and the new copies with a piece of pink cardstock. Everything underneath the pink cardstock is old and I can pull it out for extra work, work for a sub, or whatever I need.
Everything on top I plan to use in the next couple weeks. It makes my planning easier and my copies much easier to sort through.
I love my system for that, but I also have a system for copies farther into the future. Sometimes you need to get a jump on copies or you want to do a complete unit at one time even though the unit will take several weeks. Instead of throwing those extra copies into a jumble I have baskets for each subject: reading, writing/grammar, math, and science/social studies. When I have copies that aren't going to be used in the next week, they go into the corresponding basket. Super simple and I can find the copies I need quickly.
It also has another great purpose, it makes finding extra work for days I have a substitute super easy. If I have copies throughout the week that I haven't used, I put them at the bottom of my subject baskets. That way I can use them later if I want them. I separate the old copies and the new copies with a piece of pink cardstock. Everything underneath the pink cardstock is old and I can pull it out for extra work, work for a sub, or whatever I need.
Everything on top I plan to use in the next couple weeks. It makes my planning easier and my copies much easier to sort through.
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