I have an addiction. I can usually keep this addiction under control when life is running fairly “normal”, but then something happens and my addiction runs rampant. At the beginning of the year The Spouse was away and my addiction came out to play *hey that rhymes!*.
What is this addiction you ask? It’s organizing, especially organizing our classroom and school supplies. My life overall is chaotic, dysfunctional, and downright insane at best. So organizing the things I do have control over pleases that slightly functioning part of myself.
So what have I done you ask? Well head over and check out the first Organizational Junkie post so you can see what I’ve done previously. Ok all caught up? Now for the current organizational bender:
I added another bookcase and converted a TV stand to meet my book storage and Discovery Bin items need.
We also have our Knowledge Books and Centers Packets in these really neat magazine racks that I found at a 100 yen store, and the colors go with the color theme picked out by TBM. Also with the Seasonal/Wheel of the Year Knowledge Books are Knowledge Books for each subject! I figured it would make life alot easier if I just took the printouts for each week and placed them in the same types of folders. That way everything stays together and at the end of the week I can just remove the worksheets, place them in our filing cabinet *all still in order*, put the upcoming week's worksheets in the folder, and fill our wall organizer with the 
worksheets for the following week. That way I have the worksheets from where we have been, where we are, and where we are going all tucked away and in easy to grab locations if I need to grab them.
The tallest bookcase also keeps our hands on items organized. We have our large math bin at the bottom with a few other items, then various math
"toys" and math games above that, followed by language arts items at the top.
To the side here we have a close up of the top of our largest bookcase. It has the bins for our
Centers *which are not all finished due to me running out of various items needed to put them together*, as well as some science items that are best kept up high until Professor Chaos is a bit older.
The next item is the converted TV stand. The shelves are used for storing books that will be needed in the upcoming weeks, which allows them to be right at hand. The bulk of our reading books are stored on three bookcases which, have found their home in the area underneath our stairs. By pulling the needed items I save myself alot of back and forth. Although the running up and down the stairs does make for a semi-decent workout, it takes time away from our learning.
The top portion of the converted TV stand houses General Disarray's current phonics flip-book so it doesn't take up space on the computer desk when he isn't using it. It also holds our
Discovery Bin(s) items, and the
Discovery Bin that is currently being used this week. On the side are some ladles I bought from the same 100 yen store, they work great with our water
Discovery Bin. The carpet came from the 100 yen store and gives the TBM somewhere soft to sit while they use the
Discovery Bin(s). It also holds other bin items. I'm planning to get some squishy throw pillows to make that area my comfortable, and to encourage them to relax and read throughout the classroom.
This next photo gives you a close up of the shelves on our largest bookcase. I have binders for some of the subjects we cover that, are full of various information we need or have collected. I also have some blow-up dice that help with reading comprehension by asking questions about certain elements in a story *who wrote it, where did it take place, who is the main character, etc.*. I found the dice at a teacher supply store when we lived in the states.
There you have it folks. My latest organizational bender!
I think it is safe to say that our classroom is almost complete. The only things I have left on my to-do list are curtains and squishy throw pillows. And to think it only took me two years to get it all together! But hey I did it! Woohoo!
Copyright(c)2011 Rayven Holmes
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worksheets for the following week. That way I have the worksheets from where we have been, where we are, and where we are going all tucked away and in easy to grab locations if I need to grab them.
The tallest bookcase also keeps our hands on items organized. We have our large math bin at the bottom with a few other items, then various math "toys" and math games above that, followed by language arts items at the top.
February 2, 2011 at 12:39 AM
I just have to say I am LOOOOOOVING the blue & green color scheme. M. mentioned the 100Yen store and I was wanting to go, but don't technically "need" anything... now I've REALLY got the urge. LOL Are you two in cahoots with the 100Yen people to drag me out of the house? hahaha
This looks awesome!
An idea that came to mind when you put "squishy pillows"... have you considered yoga pillows/bolsters? They've got some neat round and crescent shaped ones over on YogaDirect. Then you could use them in the tatami room someday as well. :-p