Organization?!

I am probably one of the most unorganized people ever. Ever since I was little and my room was (still is?!) a mess and I lost every single paper I ever got from school, my mom would tell me I had to get organized if I had to be a teacher.

I can say that the state of my bedroom/piles of important paperwork/trunk of my car have NOT improved, but for some reason, I have managed to keep my classroom somewhat neat and organized. I have improved a lot in the past 3 years. Because organization does not come easily to me, it has been a learning process. When I started in my first classroom, I had absolutely no idea what to do.

Lisa (one of my favorite mathy blogs EVER!) shared a few of her organizational tips, so I figured I would too. As I have mentioned numerous times, I teach 6 different classes a day. The paperwork, activities, etc are completely overwhelming at times. One thing I did this year to really keep me organized was color code my classes.

Each of my 6 classes has a different color. I have a key posted in both my math and science classrooms. At this point in the year, my students know what their colors are.

In my math classroom, I have a corresponding colored basket for each class. Students come into class and pick up their guided notes/activities for the day. They know exactly what activities are theirs! My 6th and 7th graders have the same baskets in the class color in the science lab.

My homework boards are also color coordinated.

I have different bins and files in the corresponding colors around my room so my students and I always know where the correct supplies are. It has worked out really well for me!

And just because this is the one organizational project I am most proud of (and yes, it STILL looks like this in May) and because you can see my supplementary materials bins that are also color coordinated: