Organized or Not?
Posted by Kim Murphy on 08 Sep 2009 | Posted in: Classroom Management, Organization and Supplies, Teachers and Teaching
As I look about my office, I notice a lot of piles. There are piles of folders, piles of ideas, and piles of miscellaneous things that need to be sorted into other piles. I’m sure some of my coworkers are horrified at my haphazard organizational system. It isn’t that I don’t want to have everything in its place; I really do! However, my brain doesn’t seem to function that way.
The one time I always had everything organized and as neat as a pin was at the beginning of the school year. Of course, my organized room would slowly disintegrate into my more typical piling method. Do you consider yourself well organized? Are you consistently neat and tidy or do you lean a bit more toward my method of organization? Do you feel that your home and classroom are both organized or does one suffer? Drop me a line and let me know!
Your slightly disorganized blog host,
Kim
Congratulations to Rhonda Brown of Messiah Lutheran Preschool in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is the winner of a copy of one of the books from our Mix & Match Games series.
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63 Responses to “Organized or Not?”
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More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 » Show All Comments
I agree with Wanda….i am more organized at home….i teach Kindergarten in a very small room, so my desk is where the piles begin…..I am organized with folders and files inside my cabinets, but that is hidden…..a busy desk shows i’m getting things done….besides….i am sure i’m speaking for all the Kindergarten teachers when i say I don’t sit at my desk until all my little ones walk down the hall at the end of the day….we are always on the go with 5 year olds….so my desk becomes it’s own filing system.
Oh my gosh! My apartment suffers! I have a very organized classroom, top to bottom. Containers galore, labels on everything, and no clutter. But at the end of the day, when I come home, the last thing I want to do is clean again, organize again, or even put things away. I have learned that the more years of teaching you have under your belt, the more “stuff” you seem to aquire. Luckily, this is only my second year! I have had to move my classroom already so I have learned that that helps with the “cleaning-out” process. As much as moving your classroom stinks, it helps me to remain organized.
I teach in two different classrooms and for my sanity, I need to have relativly clean and organized classrooms. I use two sets of daily buckets to place my books, handouts, and art materials in, and only pull out the items that I need for the current day. When the classroom is organized and well prepared, I feel that I am better at following the students lead and utilizing those very important teachable moments. My home on the other hand… It’s rather unorganized and often gets pushed to the back burner as I work on things for school. But that is almost a privilage seeing as how I live alone.
I envy the organized people! Instead of a filing system, I tend to have a piling system for “To Do” items and on-going projects, and white plastic crates for units. We have no storage area at school, so my crates and materials are in my basement and I trade out what I need weekly (Maybe THAT’S why I drive a van!). Almost always I can find what I want. I do take time to make sure my room is straightened and ready for class before I leave each day. I am also a PreK person, but with increasing paper work, documentation requirements, and assessments, I find that I never get to do all the wonderful “stuff” with the kids that I want to do. I could probably purge a lot of my materials, but then that fatal thought comes to mind: “But I use that for _____!” (fill in the blank with a theme) I’m on a quest for organization, but I think it’s going to be a marathon, not a sprint!
I teach first grade and this year I have been moved into a class that is double the size of my last one. It’s so much easier to get things organized when you have the room to spread it out. I still struggle with things, but overall it’s much nicer.
I teach 1st grade at a Title One school. My Title One Assitant organized my filing cabinet a few years ago, by A-Z activities, themes, holidays, seasons, etc. in chronological order. I have easy access to what I need. I also have a second 2 drawer filing cabinet. One with math curriculum, and the other drawer is a Langauage Arts file (again listed A-Z) with skills such as adverbs, blends, diphthings, nouns, pronouns, sentence structure, verbs, short and long vowel sounds, writing sentences, etc. Large tubs are also helpful for storing science materials for experiments and hands on demonstrations, and seasonal activities and decorations. Althougth I try to be organized, it is always a challenge to stay organized. There are some teachers that are so pefectly organized, I often feel inadequate compared to them, but you have to just realize that there will always be those who have better or lesser than that of yourself. As long as your students are learning, and you’re teaching all you’re supposed to, then you know you’re in good shape.
I am organized at home, but school is another world. I teach kindergarten, and I find that by the time I organize the little ones my space is a disaster.
After 30 years of teaching I have come to the conclusion that organization is in the eyes of the beholder. If I know where everything is and can meet the needs of my children, then my piles don’t really matter.
I read a quote once that said “If a cluttered desk shows a cluttered mine, what does an empty desk show?”. If you look in my room you will at first see a very neat and organized space. As your eyes travel towards my desk you will start to see the piles grow then if you look back at the room you’ll see them! Although I do have piles I can find anything you want me to find. My teaching partners room is the exact opposite. You walk in and you’re not positive that the room is in use. Everything is put away and has it’s own place. You open her cupboards and they’re strangely empty. However, if you ask her to find something that she was given that day she can’t begin to know where it is!
I’m guilty of being very on-top of it and organized at the beginning of the year and right after a workday of filing for hours, but usually there are piles (hidden of course!) of books and ideas. I even pile them at home! Who has the time for it? I need help with organizing so I’m reading all of these comments!
I home school all 6 of our children and just when we think we are organized we turn to find something else that isn’t. We will keep on trying. Thanks
I agree with what Ginny wrote about having piles on her desk but she can still find everything. I too can never find anything once I “organize” my desk. I like to think of my piles as “organized clutter”. I do however make sure I place my desk so visitors to my room really don’t see it. (back of the room, behind a bookshelf…). The rest of my room however is organized, especially my reading table.
I do daycare so I am ALWAYS trying to find the best way to stay organized with my preschool stuff. I hate to buy those monthly curriculums for big bucks. But now that I found mailbox I am already doing better. I love all of the ideas on here and plan on working on getting my office organized…thank you all for your great ideas.