Look What I Found For My Classroom

Last week, I started following third grade teacher, Genia Connell, on scholastic.com. The website features several blogs created by different teachers. Each teacher is from a different state across the country and teaches at various grade levels. I enjoyed reading each educators' blog because they all shared useful tips and stories that they have experienced.

As I explored her page, I came across a post for the organizationally challenged teacher.  Genia gave many tips and tricks about how to keep a classroom organized. I enjoyed this particular post because I know that children can focus more when a classroom is neat and tidy. I visited a classroom one day that was not so organized, and there was too many items out in the open that seemed to overflow the space. The children did not seem too involved in the actual lesson, rather they were looking around the room. Another class I observed was completely opposite; there was a place  for everything, and everything in it's place.

I hope to bring organization into my classroom, keeping Genia's tips in mind. Being in an environment that is well organized would allow children to see the importance of it. Giving out random awards for clean desks would keep students on their toes, and might make them try harder to stay organized. Genia used old materials that she recycled to store crafts and school supplies, such as frosting containers to hold borders. If you remember from my About Me post, I love to save money in any way possible, therefore, I completely agree with the techniques that Genia uses in her own classroom. My belief is that any improvements a teacher can make on classroom management, will make their classroom run more smoothly.