Fall in Love with Math and Literacy Center Time

Do you struggle with center time? Using centers can be the most rewarding time of the day... but not when you have to spend precious hours each week prepping and getting ready for the centers. 

Planning and preparing for math or literacy stations can sometimes consume more time than the actual execution of the centers.

Choosing five centers and KEEPING those five centers all year long will be a huge time-saver. Using NO PREP and LOW PREP activities will save you even more time.

Read this blog post about how to keep literacy centers fun, simple, and easy with just five centers all year long.

This same idea can be used in math centers, no matter what skill or concept you teach.

Click here to read a blog post about math centers.

In the blog posts, I share how I found that five centers in math and five centers in language arts worked best for me. (Believe me; I tried several methods and strategies before I realized I was just making things too hard!)

In addition to using my no-prep centers, I tried to use things already in my classroom. This saved me both time and money.

Read this blog post about things you probably already have in your classroom to use in math and literacy centers.

You can find these forever freebies in my TpT store.

FREE Math Center Activity

FREE Literacy Center Activity

Use these FREE Center Labels to designate your centers in your classroom.

Click here to sign up for my emails and get a set of FREE no-prep math and literacy centers to try out in your classroom.

Helping you love center time is just...

My Kind of Teaching

Organization and Storage Ideas for the Elementary Classroom

Let’s talk about organization and storage today.

There are so many areas in a classroom. They all have different functions, and they all need to have a plan for storage and organization.

Seasonal Storage

Choose a location in your classroom to store items for your centers. I found it most accessible in my classroom to have ten large clear plastic boxes with lids. Each box was for one month of the school year. Inside the box, I placed items I only used during that month, such as seasonal items, decorations, classroom décor, seasonal books, etc. You can even include a file folder and a master copy of any worksheets and activities you might use during the month. Download these free seasonal labels to use in your own classroom.

Literacy Centers, Math Centers, & Morning Tubs

For literacy centers, math centers, morning tubs, and anything else you might use again during other times of the year, use smaller clear plastic boxes from the Dollar Tree and Ziploc baggies. Keep these more easily accessible than the monthly boxes. Label each with the month and type of center. Keep a master list of what is included each month so that the activities can be used at any time during the year. (I’m a huge believer in using things more than once.)

Related Post: Getting the Most Out of Task Cards

Teacher Desk

It’s also important to be organized at your teacher's desk, small-group/guided teacher table, and other teacher spaces. Here are some ideas.

Teacher Desk – Keeping your desk from becoming cluttered during the busy day is hard! Think about what things you need on your desk. Answering these questions will help you decide what you need in each location.

• What do I do at my desk?
• Do I need notepads, pens/pencils, a coaster, a list of passwords, etc.?
• What activities will I be working on when I am in this area?

Knowing what you will be using an area for will help you decide what kinds of supplies you need.

Ask yourself the same questions for any other areas of the room where you spend the most time. Make a list of supplies you need to accomplish those needs.

Some other places in your room for organization:

1. Ticket out the Door – If you plan to use something like this, have an area out of the way of traffic for your students to place their answers as they are ending the subject or leaving your classroom. See ideas for using this strategy along with a freebie in this blog post.

2. Important Reminders – I needed an area next to my door to hang important reminders for handing out as the students were leaving the room. These easy-peasy bulletin board dots I made were just perfect (and cheap!) for this area. Click here to read how to make your own bulletin board dots.

3. Small-Group/Teacher-Guided Area – A small bookshelf that can store baskets filled with commonly used items works great for this area. Keep things like dry-erase boards, markers, erasers, etc. that are used often and baskets for other activities you might choose for a smaller amount of time.

Read how to use small groups as an effective teaching strategy.

See more information at these links:

Morning Tubs

No Prep Literacy Centers

No Prep Math Centers

Having a place for everything in your classroom will help when you are lesson planning, preparing for the next day or week, and so much more.

Having everything organized and ready to go will help you get out the door on time each afternoon and isn't that one of your main goals?

What organization ideas do you have for your own classroom? Comment below to share. I would love to hear them!

Helping you with ideas for organizing your classroom is...

My Kind of Teaching

First Day of School Activities

The first-day jitters are REAL!

You’re not able to sleep the night before even though you know that you are ready.

You have butterflies in your stomach.

There is the excitement yet nerves that assail.

It still happens whether you're a new teacher, on the brink of retirement, or somewhere in between.

Learn to embrace it.

Here are some tips to help the very first day go smoothly.

1) Use a notepad and write down Every. Single. Minute. of the day!

2) Since the schedule is new to you, write down times and what you plan to do.

3) Students are unusually quiet the first morning, as they are nervous also. Give them a fun activity such as a coloring sheet to complete with their new school supplies as you greet everyone and take care of the things you must do.

(For younger grades, I always had a laminated piece of construction paper and a small playdough container on each desk. This was a huge hit!)

4) After you have taken care of attendance, begin your morning with introductions. Tell them a little about yourself. Go over the schedule for the day. They will especially want to know about lunch and recess.

5) Tell them the procedures for bathroom breaks, as this is another big concern for students.

The biggest concern for the teacher on the first day is to make sure that every student has time to eat and that you send them home correctly. I had a principal who always told us that the only concern for the first day of school was to “feed them, keep them safe, and send them home correctly”.

In between, you will want fun things to do as you begin learning about your students. Some ideas are:

• break the ice/getting to know you activities (Click here to see some fun ones in my store along with some fun writing prompts.)

• first day of school read-aloud

• a little math

• a little reading

• a game

• teach them something

Complete some activities to get to know your students better. Getting them moving makes things even better. A favorite game I liked to use in my classroom was four corners. For the first day of school, I modified it to a simple yes or no game.

You can tell students that the left side of the room is yes and that the right side is no. (On the rug for "yes" or off an area rug for "no" works also.)

Use these FREE yes/no questions I have prepared for you. Add some of your own, as well.

Play bingo with your students for an easy game that everyone knows. I have a digital back-to-school bingo game in my store, or you can use an academic one you already own. Click here to see digital bingo games.

Another fun game is “Four in a Row”. You can find it included along with other NO-PREP back-to-school activities in my store to last your entire first week of school. Just print and go to make planning so easy for you.

Click here to see First Week of Week Survival Kit

I always liked to teach my whole class a math game I created. This was a game they BEGGED to play the entire year. Teach it first as a whole group, and then add it to your first week of math centers. Add it to your math shelf so that students can play it with partners as an early finisher activity throughout the year. Click here to see this game.

Most importantly, check with your students to make sure that they know how they are getting home and that you have the correct information. Begin checking with them early on the first day. Double-check and triple-check. You want to make sure that you and the students are confident in how they will leave school.

Plan your day in the most minute detail to ensure that you have the smoothest first day you’ve ever had.

Having the best FIRST day ever is just...

My Kind of Teaching

Stop Teacher Fatigue and Overwhelm

Whether it's the beginning of the school year, the middle of the school year, the end of the school year, or any of the many days in between, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and get teacher fatigue.

TEACHER FATIGUE!!!  It's a real thing, y'all!!

I experienced MANY years of it myself.  But what if I told you that it didn't have to be like that?

TRUTH!!

I refined my kind of teaching through the years and each year got better and better.

Yes, it involves learning tips and tricks and tweaking those to fit your style and your life, but it CAN happen!

Recently, I sent out a survey to my e-mail subscribers asking them this question, "What do you struggle with about leaving school each day on time?" 

Side note - Sign up for weekly emails to receive tips, freebies, gift card giveaways, and more!

The number one answer was planning/prepping.

Not far behind was paperwork and grading.

There are ways to implement and maintain a level of readiness and preparedness in your classroom.  You have to be willing to sometimes say no, close your door, and put those blinders on to be able to walk out that door each afternoon.  

Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a series of blog posts of ideas and tips that have been tried and tested.  You can use them immediately in your classroom!

Read this blog post to see what a typical day for you can look like when you can leave your classroom on time each day simply by implementing a few "work smarter, not harder" techniques.

WARNING: Implementing all of these ideas in your classroom will have the following side effects:

• leaving your classroom on time each day
• staying prepared and “on top of things” all year
• your classroom running like a well-oiled machine
• stress-free days
• more time for yourself and your family
• free time in the evenings and on weekends
• time to do the things you enjoy out of school
• restful sleep

One of my absolute favorite ways to get ahead of the game and beat teacher fatigue is by using NO PREP activities throughout the day as often as possible.  

This blog post about NO PREP Math Centers can help with a math centers.

Stop by again soon to read more tips to STOP TEACHER FATIGUE!

That's just...

My Kind of Teaching

Decorating Your Classroom on a TIGHT Budget!

Let’s get real. It is a fact that teachers spend a ton of their own money on their classrooms. It can especially get expensive at the beginning of a new school year when you want to make your classroom look like the beautiful Pinterest-ready classrooms you’ve been pinning and saving to your classroom décor board.

While having a theme in your classroom makes an otherwise plain room look cohesive and beautiful, it can easily take a large chunk of money, so I want to share with you how you can create a beautiful classroom on a budget.

If you have already chosen a theme for your classroom, select 2-3 colors that compliment your theme.

The colors can be highlighted throughout your classroom.

An even better solution to a beautiful classroom is using mostly colors instead of a specific theme. It will be much friendlier to your budget!

Here are some ideas to find inexpensive items for your classroom.

• Visit yard sales both in person and online during the summer. If you have a couple of colors you are focused on, you will easily find things both expected and unexpected that will match your classroom.

• Other places to visit might be Facebook Market Place and thrift stores.

• Make a post on social media asking if anyone has anything to donate to your classroom. You will be amazed at the people who have things to give away. Some of the things I have gotten for my classroom by simply asking are lamps, pillows, furniture, school supplies, baskets for storage, stuffed animals for reading buddies, board games, and so much more!

When I moved to a flexible seating classroom, I changed my entire room with very little money. For more information, read this blog post to find out a few more ways how I saved money.

If you are feeling super brave and plan on using flexible seating, you might like to also read these two blog posts.

Flexible Seating Classroom Reveal

How to Manage Flexible Seating

Doors and Bulletin Boards

One last area to consider for your classroom is how to decorate your bulletin boards and your classroom door.

• Using material to cover your bulletin boards will last all year and can be reused from year to year. In addition, you can find colors to compliment the rest of your room and add a plain border to enhance the board.

• Cut out shapes from bright copy paper and write your students' names on them. Unless you plan on using them longer than the first few weeks, save time and don’t laminate. Add this “Rocking into a New Year of Learning” freebie, and your door will be bright and beautiful.

• These easy-to-make bulletin board dots will add function and color all around your classroom! 

 I hope you found some nuggets to help you as you plan out your classroom. That's my...

My Kind of Teaching