How to Keep Kinders Organized

Hi Guys!! If you are coming over from Kerri’s blog, WELCOME!!

I have got to tell you, the one thing about being a Kindergarten teacher that KILLS me is how needy they are. “Mrs. Hoffer, I need glue!” “What puzzle are we supposed to do?” I learned very quickly how to help them be self-sufficient. All I had to do was train them! So today I am doing the:

 

My bright idea is how I keep my classroom organized to help my kiddos be Self-Sufficient! I have 3 tips for you!

1) My first tip is my games. During FreeChoice and Literacy Station time, my kids play puzzles. I keep them in one spot. Here are my “Station” puzzles, and I have another shelf of “Free Choice” puzzle. (I didn't add a picture of that because it is a MESS!) This way I don’t have to answer questions of “Mrs. Hoffer can I play XYZ?” They already know that puzzle XYZ is in the Free Choice center shelf, not the Station shelf.

2) Tip number 2. How often do you hear “Teacher, I need glue!!!”  My solution is they now have a shelf. This shelf has everything they will never need to have. It only took me a few times of me telling them “Be a problem solver, where might you find the tools you need?” Now they don’t even ask me! They just go get whatever it is they need!

3) My final tip today is where to store their paper. These kids require a lot of paper. I tent to have stacks 3 foot tall in random places around my room. I invested in one of these bad boys. And now my stacks have been reduced to only one stack about a half foot tall (and that is just papers that I haven’t filled away!) They know where their mailbox is, and I hand them their paper and they go put it away for me :)

Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop! Go see Mrs. Poultney. She is talking about how how to differentiate math games with Dice and Cards!

Hop On!!

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