Everything Has A Home

Do you ever get that group of kiddos who think you live in your classroom?

Well, at times, it sure feels like it. As teachers, we're on the go, thinking about 102439238 things

at once. Answering 5 different questions at the same time. Any the famous questions from every non-teacher friend... "How do you do it???". 

My go to phrase is because "Everything has a Home".  In order to stay organized

for each crazy & fun day the comes, I've come to realize organization is key. After college, I took a class on how procedures are the key to great classroom management. With that, I've made 

sure that not only do I understand how to keep up with things, but my kiddos can do! 

My 1st week of school in 1st grade is ALL about discovering 

the classroom the kiddos call my "home". I teach my classroom procedures with the purpose 

of identifying how to act, and where to act. 

For example, how do we line up? quietly :-P. 

Where do we line up? by the lockers in a straight line. 

Lesson 1 on how to line up in 1st grade has been checked off my loonnnggg to do list. 

Teacher's 

"Classroom" Home

These handy pull out bins are how I

keep myself sane & going! I fill the days of the week

before I leave on Friday with EVERYTHING (yes, even read alouds) so 

there is no questions when I return Monday morning. 

I use the subjects bins (on the left) for over flow copies & bundles that have 

already been pulled & copied for the upcoming weeks. 

Student's "classroom" Home. 

But honestly, they keep us both sane & going :-).

Classroom Jobs

 Classroom jobs are an awesome procedure

that gives every student a small responsibility 

to make our home function. 

My awesome teammate introduced this job chart to me my 1st year 

teacher is it was a game changer. (Yes... it's suppose to be a beehive). I change

the jobs every Monday to keep the kids interested and excited about each one. 

The jobs include:

• Line Managers (2)- step out in line when sitting only (restroom breaks, etc). and collect Eagle Bucks from students who are talking. This is probably their favorite by far! Since they change weekly, everyone gets a fair chance.
• Where Are We- changes the magnets on the Where Are We Sign? in the hallway to notify others where we are when we are no longer in the classroom. 
• Light Manager- turns on & off lights 
• Door Manager- gets to stands towards the front of the line to hold the doors for the class
• Computer Managers (2)- shuts down, plugs in, cleans up all classroom technology 
• Paper Managers (2)- passes out papers in class
• Lunch Managers (2)- takes down the lunch count to the cafeteria in the morning 
• Classroom Library Manager- cleans up and organizes classroom library at the end of the day
• Message Manager- carries, sends teachers notes that need to be delivered
• On Call Manager- steps in to do the job of any absent friend 
• Neatness Manager(4)- picks up trash, pushes in chairs, fixes table shelves, etc. at the end of the day
• Library Manager (2)- collects and takes down books on library day 

Classroom Library 

I found the shelves, book bins, & plastic baskets all at Walmart.

I have the books organized by Genres & Topics. 

This is where the Classroom Library Managers comes to the rescue at the end of each day, making sure each book makes it back to its home basket. 

I've also coded each bucket & book with a magic sticker that helps them 

know which bucket to return it to. As you can see below, all the Biscuit Books go in the 

yellow smiley face bin :-). 

 The other side of the classroom library is complete with a 

book rack for Seasonal books that I switch out. Another organization life saver is my
large black cubbies. I found this is a trash pile at the end of my mom's school and just had to have it!
I filled it with containers from the Dollar Tree and named it the

Math & Daily 5 Tools Home.

Inside each tub are everything from dominos, bananagrams,
stamps, dice, clocks, etc. On top, I've included 5 tubs (1 for each table) of
counting cubes. This way, they are always ready to go when the kids need them.
Yes, since each item has a home... the kids can take as they please & bring them home
to return!

Computer Managers
I have a few technology homes around the classroom. I like to space these items out so my kids can move around while still using technology. At the end of the day, or after use, the Computer Managers make sure all technology items are snug & plugged in at their home. 

Above, I use these first 5 computers for my listening stations.

My kiddos love that they get to stand up & use a clip board for this station.

I also have 4 computers towards the front of the room. I've put these on ikea lapboards

so they can sit down to use them. 

Lastly, not the prettiest, but hey- it works! I've found that this method has worked

best for the iPad home. It's a dish dryer rack, from Walmart. 

It helps keep the cords from getting too tangled, and even has a pocket to store my kids computer cards. Beside it, in the dollar tree green bin, I store extra sets of head phones & iPad stands. 

Neatness Managers

Below, I've used plastic garage shelving to store each table groups stuff! They each come in a large set, but I separated them to give each group their own shelf. 

I do shared supplies sooooo this is the home of their table supplies.

Each green bin was found at Dollar Tree. 

I found the white garage shelving at Walmart. 

Below, my students store their school boxes and textbooks. 

The Neatness Managers tidy these up at the end of each day. 

The Managers tend to fill them with colored pencils or crayons found on the floor near their table, 

hoping the owner returns it to their box :-)

My limit on pencils is 6 per table. They can switch them out as the please. 

I know what you're thinking... and you're right!! 

There is definitely a home for both sharp & dull pencils in my classroom. 

I leave and old pencil sharpener hanging around for them to sharpen their colored pencils. 

Sometimes, it gets over used and sleeps on us for a few days!

But hey, its better than a hand held every day of the week. 

Where Are We?

I found this adorable template online. I cut & laminated it, then glued it to a mini

whiteboard. From there, my Where Are We? helper can use the round magnet 

to let others know why we left our classroom and where we went. 

I found the adorable template made by Teaching is Colorful at- Click Here

Paper Managers

First thing my students do when they walk in the door each morning is turn in their  "Take Home" Folder into the right blue bin. That blue bin is their Take Home Folder home.

At the end of the day, my paper managers help pass out
the folders to each child.

From there, each student is responsible for emptying their own mailbox
writing something they learned for the day, and coloring their behavior chart.

This end of the day routine is simple, sweet, and to the point!

I also use the shelving below, from Walmart & a Thrift Store

to organize student textbooks, fun Friday activities, and classroom whiteboards. 

Bathroom Pass 

Home

I use the hand sanitizer method to allow 1 boy and 1 girl to use the restroom 

at once. This method works well in my classroom. After they've returned, my students

place the bathroom pass back on the shelf for others to use.