Teacher Talk Thursday {one day late}

Abby @ Snyder Stories is hosting the first Teacher Talk Thursday today. 
Todays topic: Organization

It's funny how today's topic is Organization because organized is the last thing I feel today. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would say I'm about a 9...especially when it comes to school stuff. (Today I feel like a 5) I'm really hoping that my pictures do not expose the mess that my room was today! :)

I use 2 Rubbermaid, 3-drawer boxes to keep all my copies organized. I try to get all my copies done the week before and sort them by days. (Monday-Wednesday on the left and then Thursday-Friday, plus extras on the right) That way I can just open the drawer on a certain day and have everything I need. 

I teach 5th grade Math and have TONS of maniplulatives. I went out and bought little containers for each different kind. They are labeled on the front so that we can find things easily. It has saved my life at times when I need to find something quick...plus it looks nice and organized. There's a close up below too. 

I inherited this nice cabinet when I started teaching...we don't really have cubbies in 5th grade so it was a small challenge trying to figure out how I would use this. I love it though and wasn't willing to let it go. The back side is my 'I Love Math' bulletin board/ word wall/ divider when you walk in the room. I collected a bunch of these trays that fit perfectly. They are labeled by my 4 blocks on the right...this is where they can turn in papers. I also have Late/ Missing work trays and my art supplies on the left. It works well for my room.  

Front side...

 I found this cute little thing at Ikea a few years back. It has been the perfect fit in my rooms for the kids daily folders.

And finally...my colored pencils. I finally hit my breaking point in my Art Supply tray (above) a few weeks back. I was getting sooo irritated by the colored pencils just freely floating around the tray and not in their proper boxes. (OCD much?) So, I got a bunch of little baby food jars and separated the pencils by color and put them in a plastic box. It looks WAY better than the method we were using. Plus it forces them to put things back where they below. (Wow, what a concept)