Organize it Tuesdays!

Okay Teachers it is time to get organized!  We are normally start the year pretty organized, but after the first six weeks things start to get a little messy.  One thing I have found difficult to organize is my units of study.  I labeled them, put them into file folders, and placed them in a filing cabinet.  Seemed like a good way to organize my papers, but over the years the folders have gotten fuller and projects are bent or torn from the over crowded drawers.  I found myself looking for other ways to organize these materials.  I needed something that would not take up a lot of space.  I had a fabulous mentor teacher my first year (and a fellow FBU girl)  who organized her units by notebooks.  She stored them in empty cubbies.  So I have collected binders, sorted through materials, and I now have notebooks that are storing all my materials for my units of study!  I LOVE IT!  I can pull the notebook and bring it home with me to do my planning.  Everything I need is secure in one place.  No worries about things falling out of the folder or being torn up as you pull the drawer open.  I am also getting rid of a filing cabinet which creates more space in the classroom.  This could be an expensive way to organize, but be on the look for bargains!  Collect what you can and gradually covert your old files into notebooks.  You can organize them by letters, units of study, season, months, etc.  Since I teach Kindergarten, I organized mine by letters.  Inside the letter Aa notebook, I created dividers using my old file folders (a little cutting and hole punching is all they need).  I can pull my letter Aa notebook and find all my letter Aa work, and my units of study that begin with Aa (like apples, all about me, etc.).  I LOVE my notebooks and feel much more organized!