Organization Tips #1

If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to become more organized and efficient. Time is a precious commodity which teachers have in short supply. Here are two of my favorite systems of organization:

TIP #1:

The next time you need students or parents to sign up for something, add a touch of tech to make your life easier.  The website Sign Up Genius is free and user-friendly.  It could be used for so many things . . . parents signing up for crafts/snacks/volunteer at your next Valentine's Day party, students could sign up for who they want to research for the class biography project, faculty could sign up for the next baby/wedding shower, and a million and one other ways.  Check it out!  

TIP #2:

Dollar Tree is a great source for letters to use on your bulletin boards.  Right now they have the ones below that are so perfect for February!

I love bulletin boards.  They help create a warm and inviting environment.  Plus, they can add a seasonal touch to your classroom.  The most time consuming part of changing bulletin boards is finding the letters for the title.  Some of my teacher friends cut out the letters needed for the title with the Ellison die cut machine, kept them in a ziplock in their monthly file.  This system didn't work for me because I rarely put up the same bulletin board twice.  Plus, I like the letters below better than the ones made with the Ellison die cut.  With the die cut machine I used construction paper.  The construction paper doesn't hold up over time.  I also tried laminating the letter but that becomes one more job to do when I'm trying to simplify my life.  The letter packets are sturdy enough to be used over and over without being laminated.

The next glitch, was finding the letters.  I originally stored the letters of the same color/pattern in a large brown envelope.  It was like letter scavenger hunt each time I changed my bulletin boards.  Finally, the clouds parted one day when I was looking in my file cabinet.  Why don't I make 26 files . . . . one for each letter, and keep all of my "A's" in one file, all my "B's" in the next one, and so on and so forth. Something so simple saved so much time!  Why didn't they teach us some of these time-saving tips when we were in undergrad?