I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! I can’t believe it is already July! Summer always flies by! I am just starting my summer vacation and am ready for some much needed rejuvenation time! With the start of summer, I always like to think all things organization….for my own home that is…yet I know that summer is about halfway through for some of you and I wanted to share some quick and easy tips and tricks to keep you and your classroom organized (…and maybe use some of these tips for household items too!). Whether you’re an early starter or soak up every minute of break before thinking about school, these tips will come in handy whenever you’re ready to begin tackling the new year!

Binder Rings

One of the things that I love most about binder rings is that they are a simple and inexpensive way to organize a lot of things! I don’t know about you, but I often have groups of papers, cards, notes, etc. that will float around my classroom without a home. Enter in binder rings! Some of my favorite things to use binders for include; loose stickers. This helps me keep them all in one place and easily found! Hanging anchor charts is another one of my favorites! Rather than rolling them up and trying to stuff them somewhere in my classroom, I use a large binder ring to keep them looking brand new and organized. 

I also love to use binder rings for my small group instructions. This is a great way to have instructions accessible for students during small groups without having to repeat yourself over and over. I also use binder rings for my Ikea Toslby Frames that I use for classroom display and instructions. You can check them out here or similar ones from Ikea here! Lastly, I love to use binder clips for student log in cards. These make my life so much easier rather than relying on my middles to remember their log ins! You can grab some super cute and helpful log in cards at my store here! I even have a teacher master for you to refer back to easily!

Weekly File Folders

Having weekly file folders is a life saver when it comes to organizing your classroom! I use my weekly file folders to keep all of my copies organized! Without my file folders, my copies end up all over my classroom and I’m never sure where they are. I often end up running around the classroom right before a lesson trying to find the copies I need. With these weekly file folders, I have all my copies organized by day, and I will usually put my copies in order of when I need them throughout the day. If you subscribe to my mailing list, I have a super simple and cute file folder copies freebie for you to start organizing your copies today!

Organized Assessment Folder

We all know that one of the important things we need to do as teachers is keep track of assessment data from our students. Often we have very few resources to organize this data in a helpful and meaningful way. Using an organized assessment folder has been super helpful for me and has helped in my professional learning groups as we meet to discuss data. I like to have one for each subject so that my data is easily accessible when needed. If you need a ready to print assessment folder you can grab mine here! This includes 41 editable covers and tabs, subject specific checklists, and is totally editable! Your administrators are going to be so impressed and your teammates are going to want one for themselves!

Magnetic Shelves 

I don’t know about you, but my classroom always seems cramped and like there is not much room for more things. This includes books! But adding new and great books is something that I find really important for my classroom. That’s why I’ve found great use for magnetic shelves. These magnetic bookshelves attach to my whiteboard and give me some extra space to store my books. Especially love to use them to put specific books on display! Sometimes I use it for the books I’m using in my whole class or group instruction. I also love to use them for recommended reads for my students from my classroom library. This is a great and easy way to introduce some great reads to your students that they might otherwise not pick up! However you use them, magnetic bookshelves are a classroom lifesaver!

Turntables

My last tip for you organizing is using turntables for pen and marker organization. I love having a turntable at my desk because it is super easy to keep everything I need and want in it and find everything really quickly. They are super easy to organize and can also be really useful for small groups or tables. I love to pull mine out for my students when they are doing quiet independent work or small group work. They are also really helpful when I am doing classroom group rotations and have a station that needs materials. It is so much easier than having students carrying around their personal materials! You can grab my personal favorite turntables here for instant organization!

Whenever you choose to jump back into your classroom, I hope that these tips and tricks will be helpful to starting your year organized and prepared! I hope you continue to enjoy your summer break and don’t forget to subscribe to my monthly email for more amazing freebies!