Classroom Update (Yes, I'm still alive!)

Whew!

The first five weeks of school have flown by!  I can't believe we are almost to the 6 week mark already....and that it has been that long since I updated.  I had all of these grand plans to keep updating and show what we were working on each week, but reality set in and I was just exhausted from getting back in the swing of things.

However, I am getting used to the routine again, so here we go!

I have my organization system for my journals to show you, the solution I finally found for my beloved color copy paper, and a couple of snapshots of what my classroom really looks like once that the kids have been in it on a regular day.

First up:  interactive notebooks/journals.

I mentioned a while back that I was going to use interactive notebooks this year, and it is going pretty well!  I like them, and the students seem to like the fact that I do all of the same work that they do when I prepare my sample journal. 

I have baskets for each class to keep their journals in, sorted by color, of course, and I also have a matching basket for each class to turn in any papers. 

 

My journal buckets and the paper baskets came from Really Good Stuff.  I ordered the neon colors sets, and I love that they match each other.  I have two journal buckets for each class, because 30 journals will not fit in one container.

 

The journals stay in my classroom in their proper bucket, up at the front of my room under the whiteboard.

 

This is what it looked like before any of the journals were in it.  The buckets are inside the shelves of the unit--it is an Expedit shelf from IKEA.  Just a note on the shelving unit--it is SO HEAVY (I loaded it onto my rolling cart from my car by myself, which I do NOT recommend!) but it is also so easy to put together.  I have assembled many pieces of IKEA furniture in my days and this was by far the easiest. 

 

The "turn-in" baskets for each class sit on top of the shelf, and I have a clipboard for the roster/grade sheets for each class that matches also.  One of my co-workers taught me last year to use a specific color paper for each class period so that they are easy to identify when I need them, and I have continued this system this year in my new colors. 

 

Here they are with the student journals all put away:

 

 

You can see that I ended up having to turn the paper baskets on top sideways.  This was because when they were turned the long way, I couldn't get my projector screen to come down far enough to my liking.  Thankfully, the baskets fit this way too!

 

 

The purple baskets that you see on either side are not for anything journal-related.  The one on the right has a file folder for each day of the week, and this is where I put extra copies of papers we have used in class.  Students who are absent go here to get their makeup work.  I love this, and it is proving to be useful because the students know just to go to the folder and not ask me personally for work that they need from an absent day.  The purple basket on the left is my classroom lost and found.  

 

 

On to my favorite organizational thing in my room, also from IKEA.

 

 

I found these paper shelves just as I was about to check out at the store with my Expedit shelf.  I know you have seen my grumbles on here about wanting a way to have my copy paper accessible to me and not stacked up high in my storage cabinet.  I use colored copy paper often, not only because white paper is boring, but also as a management tool.  It is very easy for me to tell if a student is trying to be sneaky and work on something for another class if they are supposed to have a blue piece of paper for science class and the one I see is white.  This was a tip from a co-worker, too, and it is just a small thing that helps me keep my students focused.

 

I love these shelves for two reasons:  One, they are NOT cardboard!  I hate those foldable cardboard ones that you can get at teacher supply stores.  They always seem so flimsy to me, and I see them caving in under the weight of lots of paper.  These are very, very sturdy and made of metal.  Two, the shelves on them slide out!  I can pull out the shelves when I need a specific color.

 

They also hold almost a whole ream of paper, which is nice.  My storage cabinet now only holds unopened packs of paper.

 

And last but not least, here is a look at the way my room really looks during the day.  It is not perfect, but it's a nice little sanctuary.  I added curtains, which make such a big difference--although, I get the feeling I will have to take them down when we get a visit from our fire marshall.

 

 

 



My table up front is my paper graveyard during the day, as you can see.  It is the only place that I don't have an organizer for, but I make sure that every afternoon, the papers from that day get put in the purple basket and I put the ones for the next day on my table.  

 

 

 

Hope everyone is off to a great start to the school year, and hopefully, it won't be so long before I post again!

 



 

 

IKEA Classroom Find: MALA Tabletop Paper Holder

This weekend I went to the IKEA in Atlanta on a mission to purchase an Expedit shelf for my classroom.  It is going to be used for a new storage system that I will post about later, but for now I wanted to share a little something that I picked up that I think I am going to love to use this year.

I like to do lots of mini-projects in class that involve the students creating things and getting crafty.  I love being able to hang up work in the hallway outside my room, and the students love to see their work on display.  They are always proud that I have chosen to hang their work in the hall, and insist on pointing it out to their friends. 

However, usually the items in the hall are larger, poster-type things.  That means one of three things:

• I have to find/buy several packs of the large size construction paper
• I have to spend forever in the mail room ripping off 30 sheets of butcher paper (and I can NEVER get it to rip straight--is it just me??)
• I have to sacrifice my beloved giant Post-it note chart paper

I really like to use the giant Post-it chart paper--they aren't too big and the quality is better than butcher paper, but they are VERY expensive.  My students know that when I bring out the Post-it paper, they only get one sheet, so they have to be very careful.

I had seen this paper holder online before, but I had forgotten about it until I was in IKEA.  It is part of the MALA collection, which includes all types of arts and craft things for children.  This is what it looks like:

 

 
When I looked at it in the store, I thought that it was a great idea, but I figured that the paper quality would not be so great, but I was wrong.   The display holder had an open roll of paper on it, and I was pleasantly surprised to feel that the paper was nice and thick! 

I ended up with the holder and two rolls of the MALA drawing paper.  The rolls of paper have 98 feet of paper on each, and they are just over 18 inches wide.

 

The holder was very easy to assemble.  There are four screws that are tightened by an allen wrench, and that's all you have to do.  The two trays at the bottom of the holder can be used to store pens/markers/whatever, but I will leave mine empty.

 

The bar on the top is to help put pressure on the roll to make it easy to rip off a section of paper.  I left my rolls of paper in the packaging for now, so I have not tested that out yet.



 

 

I will definitely be getting a few more rolls of paper to go with this!   You can purchase the drawing paper online here, but they only sell the holder in stores.