Pensieves

This summer, after I wrapped up what can only be described as a year fraught with stress and stress and, oh, have I mentioned the stress?  I decided to get a handle on the organization (or the lack thereof) in my classroom . 

I tackled my storage closet ... as well as my giant piles of papers ... and ummm, the ridiculous amounts of pens and pencils ... and the clutter, oh the clutter!  But the entire time I was taming that beast, I was thinking about how I could better plan my days and weeks, keep track of my student data, and make all of that easy and manageable.  Of course, I did what any self-respecting teacher would do, I went to Pinterest. 

I am having a scandalous affair with Pinterest!  That website is ... well, it's like a frozen hot chocolate and a beach vacation and a great-looking man willing to wait on you hand and foot all rolled into one. 

I am not even joking.

In my very formal research -- yes! Pinterest IS formal research -- I discovered a few teachers who have organized their lesson plans in such a way that it just really felt ... oh, I don't know ... right.  I was telling a friend and colleague about the organizational system I was getting ready to undertake, and here's where it gets weird ... well, a cool weird.

We were actually meeting to go over a book we were both reading, The Daily 5, by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  During my excited rambling about my revolutionary organizational system, my friend said, "You know, that really sounds like the Pensieves in their CAFE book!"

Come to find out, The Sisters, as they are referred to, created a binder they call Pensieves, in honor of Dumbledore and Harry Potter.  Pensieves are really binders wherein we can pour our thoughts into ... all our important ideas and data.  Brilliant! 

I am taking The Sisters' idea one step further, and I've created three pensieves. 

I give you, ladies and gentlemen, my pensieves.

My Planning Pensieve -- pardon the blurry quality

My Reading Pensieve -- again with the blurry quality

My Math Pensieve

All three Pensieves -- My hat's off to The Sisters

Organization 101

Okay, I walked into my classroom five years ago, and inherited a GIGANTIC mess.  I was so overwhelmed that I just spent a great deal of time shoving "stuff" into corners and drawers and file folders and boxes ... pretty much anything that would hold "stuff." 

I was super excited about the prospect of having this incredibly large storage area in the back of my room.  However, that large area quickly became small as I shoved all sorts of "stuff" into it.  This practice ballooned into me attempting to walking into the closet this spring and having three things fall on top of me as I scratched the crap out of my shin.

Much as I hated the prospect of going through that disaster, I realized what I had to do.

It was time.

I had to start pitching "stuff."

I am happy to announce that you can now walk the entire length of my storage closet.  The "stuff" has now been tossed, filed, or Goodwill'ed. 

Here's the proof!

In process -- you can still see "stuff" on the floor, and I'd not yet switched the direction in which my file cabinets were facing.

The filing cabinets have now been switched for easier access.

Check that out!  I am looking at the lovely walking space there in the middle.  Oh how lovely!

Oh look!  Yep!  Right there ... in the middle ... yep.  You can walk right through there.

Organizing My Zones

So, I started reading a book by Melanie S. Unger -- ORGANIZED TEACHER, HAPPY CLASSROOM.  She suggested that when one goes in to organize/clean one's classroom, one should go at it by zones, so as not to overwhelm yourself and make it impossible to get anything accomplish.

Well ... I'm not sure I've followed that rule completely, but I did try to work in zones. 

Here are some BEFORE photos .... and some AFTERs ... it's a work in progress, don't you know!



BEFORE library zone ... ugly, disorganized, have I mentioned ugly?



BEFORE ... teacher zone looks like a bomb blew up there.




A BEFORE shot ... oy vey, the disorganization!




AFTER: First zone clean and organized.



AFTER: Mailbox and Media zones

AFTER: Teacher zone (except for that HIDEOUS bulletin board) is now neat and tidy.

The rest of the room ... miles to go before I am done.

Organized Teacher, Happy Classroom: Manage Your Time, Space, and Materials

In my attempt to find my own personal rainbow connection, I stumbled upon this book by Melanie S. Unger.  Oh boy, did I ever need to stumbled upon this book!  My room has turned into a complete and total disaster by all accounts, and I realize that, whether I like it or not, people are judging my teaching ability on the aesthetic of my classroom.  So, interlibrary loan is my new best friend, and I am going to be spending some time this weekend, digging into this book.  I'm doing my own little book study and compiling my notes in a LiveBinder here. 

Feel free to stop by and visit it in the coming days.  I hope to be putting all the stuff I've learned from Ms. Unger into this binder!