Teacher's Rule the School: Organization Linky Party

I am so excited to take part in my first linky party!! For those of you who do not know what a linky party is.. it is basically a collaboration of blogs, all linked together.. highlighting a specific topic. This week's topic is organization. Now, I am in no way, shape or form an expert in this area. I actually look to others for guidance in this area sometimes. However, I can share the things that I do, right now, that seem to make my life just a bit easier.

I'll start with organization tips I use within the classroom, then move on to my home life. My favorite organizational tool is my stackable behind my desk. Each drawer is labeled for each day of the week. I have two large buckets on the bottom that are for next weeks papers. On Fridays, before I leave I make sure to put any and all materials I will need for whole group instruction in those drawers. The nice thing is, if I do not get to something I just toss it into the drawer for the following day.

This is what mine looks like:

Now for my small group instruction, I keep a bookshelf of buckets neatly labeled. Everything I need for that group for the week goes into the bucket. The shelf is just next to my desk, so everything is at my fingertips. The location for me is key, so I do not waste time during or between groups searching for materials.

Here is what that looks like:

The last organizational piece I rely on is my students book bins. In here they store any books they are reading and any work they have not finished. I can tell at a glance who is behind on classwork, and who needs to work on their organizational skills! The students bring these to their tables in the morning, and put them away before we begin centers. They also double as test dividers!

This is where I store mine: