This week I will present my classroom to a group of new teachers. In getting ready for this, I have made a list of things I have learned in these last few years of teaching. These are things that have relieved so much stress for me in my classroom.
Tip #1: Color-coding! I color-code most everything in my personal life, but I am extremely over-the-top about color-coding in my classroom. Each class is assigned a color, and I meticulously use that color throughout the year. For example, my 4th period class this year is GREEN. That means they have GREEN writing folders, GREEN file folders, I use a GREEN marker on the board for their agenda, I use GREEN ink on my calendar for this class’s due dates…you get the picture. I know this seems over the top, but it keeps everything organized in my mind.
Tip #2: Plastic Drawers! I swear by these! Each class has a drawer where they turn in EVERYTHING. I seriously don’t take any papers from my students EVER. They place everything (signed papers, essays, homework, etc.) in their class drawer. This way I don’t have a chance to lay papers down and lose them.
Tip #3: Dollar Store Buys! During the school year, I am a dollar store junkie. I stop by any dollar store any time I can. I stock up on school supplies. You can get all kinds of stuff for $1…dictionaries, thesauruses, post-it notes, index cards, pencil sharpeners, etc. Along those same lines, I have learned that it is easier for me to keep a stock in basic supplies (pencils, papers, erasers) than to fight the battle with students who don’t bring those things with them to class.
Tip #4: Duct Tape! I cannot take credit for this one at all. My good friend suggested this to me. I use duct tape to mark where the students’ desks go in my classroom. This is probably the most Type-A thing I do at school 
. However, it really has made life so much less stressful. At the end of the day, instead of me spending time straightening desks, I can have my students fix them just the way I like them. This is also great for when we do group work. I like working in groups, but I hate setting my desks up that way. The duct tape makes it really easy for us to move desks back into place at the end of class. And…now they make fun duct tape, so that makes it even better.
Tip #5: Labels! I got my fancy label maker for Christmas last year. I use this to label everything in my room so that my students can help me stay organized.
Tip #6: Pretty Pens! I love these pens for grading papers. (I actually like them for many other things too!) My education professors always stressed that red ink was “mean.” So…these pens offer happy, fun colors that are “nicer”. And, they don’t bleed through the papers.
This post makes me smile because we are so much alike!