Back to School Wednesday Organization

Hey guys, this has got to be a seriously quick post. My second day with little first graders and I have not been this tired since 6th grade when I stayed up for like 27 hours straight or something ridiculous like that. 

Okay, so today's Back to School topic is organization. I just want to touch on one thing that I'm trying new this year: BINDERS!

Changing classrooms and grades was a perfect reason to purge the ol' filing cabinet and switch to using binders for my teaching resources. 

So far I love it. Like really love it. There is something about neat little binders all in a row that just melts my heart. aaah. 

Honestly, most of my binders are empty...I'm still in the process of gathering materials for my new little ones, but I'm sure they'll fill up quickly. 

I'll go into the process in more detail in another post because I'm wiped. Like really, really wiped. 

Check out Blog Hoppin' for more organizational tips and tricks.

Total side note: just watched God's Not Dead with the hubs. Great movie!! In the spirit of the flick I'll leave you with this:

God's not dead.

MISSION: Teacher Binder

4 day road trip + not thinking about school = one refreshed and happy chick


I had to renege (ri-nig, I needed to look that one up) on the refreshed part because seriously who is refreshed after traveling over 600 miles by themselves with a 6 and 3 1/2 year old? Not me, that's for sure. But the suitcase is unpacked, the laundry is tumbling away in the dryer, and the car is cleaned out (sort of), which is at least a step in the right direction. 

Another step in the right direction was knowing that in order to get out on that limb I was going to have to get myself organized. Tonight I was able to put some finishing touches on a teacher binder I had been working on over the last week and a half or so. I was inspired by Alicia's curriculum plan and lesson plans page from Keeping it True in K-1-2. I brought all of my curriculum books home and started to go through them one by one, filling in the chart as I went. I was able to see what areas of my curriculum I could integrate and also how I needed to reorder units to better meet our state's Common Core Standards. 

My lesson plans page is ready to be filled in with fun for the first week of school. I'm still pinning ideas like crazy on Pinterest, and I'm sure more posts on that topic will follow. 

Since I write so messy big, I have a hard time using traditional grade books so printing my own usually helps. At my school, students earn a work and study habits grade based on turning in work on time, meeting deadlines, having their planners signed, and returning Friday folders and weekly reports on Mondays. I use a simple checklist style sheet throughout the week that I normally keep on a clipboard for easy access, but filled out sheets will make their way into my binder. 

No teacher binder would be complete without an adorable cover. Thanks to Dreamlike Magic Designs for the darling clipart (and blog design). 

finished teacher binder = one refreshed and happy chick