Classroom organization ideas are one of my all-time favorite things to come up with. In fact, I LOVE organizing so much that if I wasn’t a teacher, I would definitely be a professional organizer. In fact, I’ve even thought about being a professional organizer for teachers! How fun would that be?! In addition to coming up with classroom organization ideas, one of my other favorites things about being a teacher is preparing for the first day of school! We get to start with a clean slate and everything is just so fresh and pretty! I am moving to a new classroom this year and as stressful it is to move all of my things, it is so fun to go through everything and get it organized. {just ignore the mess you have to sit in while organizing ;)}
Back-to-school provides us with the ideal opportunity to set our classroom up exactly how we want it and start off fresh with a nicely organized classroom. Plus, starting with an organized classroom, where everything has its place, can help ensure our classroom stays organized throughout the year. To help you get started off right, check out my top two classroom organization ideas for back to school below.
Organizing Supply Tubs
Supply labels are my first step in reorganizing my classroom. When tubs are labeled, it forces you to put your materials back in the correct spots! It’s also much easier to see what you have when you’re looking for something specific. So if you find yourself throwing ALL you own into random tubs, try out some labels!
I created some pre-made labels, printed them out, and taped them onto the inside of my tubs. I made labels for: pencils, colored pencils, pens, crayons, markers, erasers, scissors, glue sticks, watercolors, paint, glue bottles, paint brushes, tape, high lighters, buttons, dice, cubes, base 10 blocks, rulers, post-it notes, staples, counters, pattern blocks, Band-Aids, stickers, paper clips, ribbon, sharpies, dry-erase markers, baggies. If you’d like to use these labels in your classroom, you can find them here. I also included an editable PowerPoint version of the labels so you can add more labels that you need!
New Student Bags
Another amazing classroom organization tip that I now can’t live without, comes from an idea I came across on Pinterest a few summers ago called new student bags!
Everything you need when a new student walks into your class on the 3rd day of school all in one place?? Yes, please!! This eliminates all the scrambling around trying to find the important papers, labels, name tags, and more.
I created these little tags to stick on each zip-loc bag and printed them on Avery 5395 labels.
clip art by KPM Doodles
As you are setting up your classroom for the new year, just put aside a few {I would say 4-5} of each item that you are using and place them in gallon sized freezer bags. Then, when you get a new student, you simply grab a zip-loc bag and you have everything you need all in one place!
- Welcome to Kindergarten letter. I copy it on colored paper so it stands out among the million of papers being sent home!
- Desk Name Plate
- Library Pocket from a teacher supply store
- Birthday Candle for our Birthday Bulletin Board
- Mini clothespin for how we go home board
- Finish it folder
- Labels for math journals and writing journals
This makes me so excited to start a new school year! What else would you put in your new student bags?
