Move It, Move It - Day 6 (Tips for an Organized and Successful Year from Planet Happy Smiles)

Hi!  We are BURSTING with excitement to be guest blogging for Stephanie during her "Moving and Organization Week!" Make sure you follow her blog!  She has some terrific ideas!!!

We are Karen & Alison from Planet Happy Smiles. Please go visit our blog after you have investigated all the great organizing tips....and follow us, too!

 

We have so much to share with you! We have both been moved grade levels in our careers.  It can be kind of scary!  OK, TERRIFYING!  Here are some tips for an organized and successful year!

Planning your room can seem overwhelming!  We like to just go and sit in our new room and sketch.  We then make a "to do" list & include everything we need to get done to start the year off right.  If you can divide and conquer with your team, that is the BEST!  If not, make your list and stick with it.  You will find that more will be added to your list as you go, but remember … you can do it! There will be a freebie at the end of this blog that includes a variety of different styles of “To Do” lists!

Grab this freebie at the bottom!

Our next tip is find and organize a spot for every item!  As teachers we collect a ton of different items.  Make sure every item has a place.  We recycle as much as possible.  When ever you are about to pitch a plastic container, think "Can this item be used to store small objects?"  One of those we have used often are the Lysol containers. They are great and come in 2 different sizes.  We even made a cute label to match our room.  Yes, we have bought more than our share of plastic storage from a variety of vendors, but we love to recycle, too!

Once everything has a place and is arranged the way you like it, label it!  Your kids will know that everything has a place once you label it and they are more likely to put it back where you want them to. Yes, you will need a "Missing Pieces" container because there are always small things that just don't make it in the game box or container.  Most of your items will! Here are some pictures of things we have labeled around our room and it helps a ton!!!  

If you haven't made a teacher tool box ... Oh, baby!  They ROCK!!!

That is one item you have to have!!!

Here is a pic of one of ours, we have the 39 drawer and the 22!

This is one we made for our home office!

Our last tip is on room design. Making your room look cohesive is very important to your learners, parents, and admin.  Planning, purchasing, and setting it up can be quite time consuming.  One way to save time is to buy your décor in bundles!  No more wasting time on the computer or in stores shopping around for each piece.  You can now find items all in one!  You can even find supplemental items in the same store that may match!  It is a win-win!  So far we have 6 bundles in our store, but more are coming!

Here is a list of the items we offer in our bundles.  They are 500+ pages of fun:

1. Complete Calendar/Weather set (22 pgs)
2. Helper Jobs – 63 different jobs and header (15pgs)
3. Classroom hall passes – 12 different passes (12pgs)
4. Word Wall Alphabet Cards – large (13pgs)
5. Word Wall Headers &150 S.W. cards (32pgs)
6. Sight word cards (editable) (1pg)
7. Welcome banner (9pgs)
8. Desk name tags (6pgs)
9. Wall name plates to display work (7pgs)
10. Skill banners (8pgs)
11. Learning Objectives posters (editable) (9pgs)
12. Note cards (editable) – different sizes (7pgs)
13. Newsletter (editable) (8pgs)
14. Getting to know you form (editable) (1pg)
15. Rules, Rewards, Consequences posters (8pgs)
16. Helper/Reader sign up sheets (4pgs)
17. Birthday chart (editable) (2pgs)
18. Yes/No Graph (editable) (24pgs)
19. Sharp/Unsharp Pencils signs (2 pgs)
20. Behavior Clip Chart (20pgs)
21. Table Colors/Numbers (12pgs)
22. Toolbox Organization Labels (editable) (4pgs)
23. Tote tray Supply labels (16pgs)
24. Stars & Wishes Class donations (editable) (19pgs)
25. U.S./Texas Pledge posters (4pgs)
26. Centers/Stations signs (173pgs)
27. Schedule cards (29pgs)
28. Homework Club (5pgs)
29. Parent Communication Log (editable) (5pgs)
30. NOISE! Posters (3pgs)
31. Number Wall/Cards (20pgs)
32. Alphabet cards (14pgs)
33. Student Binder Cover & Spine (editable) (2pgs)


Have a bundle in mind and need us to create it, please email us @ planethappysmiles@gmail.com

Click to Grab the Freebie

Thank you so much to Stephanie for allowing us to be a guest blogger and thank you for making it to the bottom!  Please come visit our site now and follow us for more fun and freebies!

Happy Organizing!