Shelf Organization

My teacher materials and supplies are organized in square buckets that I purchased for $0.50 each at our local grocery store. (The bakery department receives donut frosting in these tubs!) I have color-coded them for easier access.   

  Our local bakery department was happy to sell these tubs to me...
all for under $20!  Be Resourceful.  Be Creative.

• The yellow buckets store sensory materials for our sand and water table (rice, beans, sand,corn, Easter grass, etc).  

• The red buckets store art materials (glue sticks, markers, bingo daubers, crayons,etc).  

• The blue buckets store teacher materials (Velcro, packing tape, motivators, treasure box items, etc).  

Maximizing Space

In early childhood, as in special education, we are always looking for more storage.  There are so many manipulatives, theme unit materials, and other teaching & learning tools...but never enough space!  

After unpacking my new classroom, I realized I was definitely going to need more space. I began storing stuff under our classroom sink.  

Pre-Makeover Storage Area

To make it less visually distracting and off limits to the students, I created a towel covering.  I simply put soft heavy-duty Velcro along the edge of the counter top. Then I put rough Velcro along the edge of a towel to create a towel cabinet.  For durability, I added a line of hot glue to the towel before attaching the rough velcro.  The glue also provides extra support if the towels get wet.   (Note: If you are a sewer, you could also sew on the velcro.)  

Post-Makeover Storage Area
TIP:  Choose a non-distracting color of towel.  Navy blue works well.

Instructor Insight:  For a more accessible opening, have two towels meet in the front-middle of the counter top like actual cabinet doors.


What creative strategies do you use to maximize space in your classroom?

    

Visually Closing Centers

Being a special needs preschool classroom, we have many different areas and toys out and readily available for the students.  However at times, this can be overwhelming and distracting.  We must train our students when they can play in certain areas.  

        I have done this by hanging towels with heavy-duty Velcro along our toy shelves.  I then ironed on a fabric paper stop sign that says “This center is closed.”  These towels are easily rolled up over the shelf when the center is open.  

Closed Library Center
TIP:  Fabric paper can be purchased at any office store and 
printed on with an inkjet printer.

This strategy works amazingly for both our art & library centers which use the front and back of the same shelving unit.  We can have both centers closed with the over-sized bath towel down, one center closed and one open by flipping the towel up and over one side of the shelf or we can have both centers open by rolling the towel up and velcroing it together with a strip of Velcro glued under the shelf’s top.

Open Art Center
This station is located on the backside of the library center.
The towels create a partition between the two centers.

Open Library Center
Towels are easily rolled up over the shelf when the center is open.

***Big thanks to my colleagues, Dixie Teeter & Teri Berkgen, for brainstorming this idea with me.  You ladies rock!  Thank you!

Birthday Celebrations

Each year I try to come up with a special classroom birthday ritual.  This year’s ritual has three parts.

1.   On every child or staff member’s birthday, we each make the birthday person a mini birthday card.  (Tip:  Use a website like dltk-kids for free printable cards.)  See the free printable cards, simply print and cut into third then fold like a card.)  Typically, the teachers write a little message in their cards to the students and then the students draw a picture of what they hope the child gets for their birthday and then sign it.  After each child is done making their card they put it in a small birthday gift bag.  (Money Saving Tip: You can get small birthday gift bags 3 for $1 at most dollar stores!)  The class then presents the gift bag filled with classmade cards.

2.   At snack time, the birthday child blows out the candles on our pretend birthday cake. As shown in the picture, it is a small circular box painted like a cake. I cut several holes in the lid to put a numeral candle in the cake to represent the child’s age.  I also add candles to count out corresponding to the child's age.  (We don’t light the candles...we just pretend!)

The Birthday Cake

3.  Lastly, the birthday student is presented with a gift from the teachers.  The gift is given to the student off of our bulletin board display. Each box represents a month and opens easily without unwrapping it so it can be put back up for future birthdays.  You can read more in the Birthday Bulletin Board in an earlier posting.  

Birthday Bulletin Board

Birthday Bulletin Board
Tip:  Put the title of your bulletin board below the boxes
to keep the gifts above eye level & hand reach.

For this year’s birthday bulletin board, I saved my monthly sample boxes from Birchbox. They are small boxes that open like a shoebox.  You can get similar square or rectangle paper mache boxes at Hobby Lobby for $1-$3 depending on what size you want.  (Here's the link.)

Close-up of April's Gift Box

Then simply wrap the boxes with scrapbook paper or wrapping paper.  I chose to use scrapbook paper from a pattern pack of paper so that each box could be wrapped in a different pattern but still have the same color scheme.  This was cheaper than purchasing 12 different types of wrapping paper.  

Wrap the lids and bottoms of the boxes separately so they can be opened on each child’s birthday.  Then add a colorful bow. (Money Saver: You can get a pack of bows really cheap right after Christmas at discount stores.  I often buy several packs after Christmas for the following year's parent gifts, student gifts and to use in sorting and pattern games.)  

Next write a month on each box and add gift tags with student names, birthdates and a picture of the student if your students aren’t readers yet.  To mount the boxes on your bulletin board, open them and thumb tack the bottoms to the board.  The boxes pull right off the bulletin board for each birthday and can be easily remounted to the display until the next student birthday.  

Inside the birthday boxes this year, there are "Happy Birthday" bracelets and stickers from Really Good Stuff.  (See this link.)

Here is my son, EJ, reenacting a student's delight upon opening the gift boxes.
(He's quite the little actor!)

Fire Drill Visual

One of my students has a lot of anxiety regarding fire alarms.  After we had our first fire drill of the year, she came back to school more anxious than ever.  She had a hard time even coming into the classroom.  She held her ears and repeated, "No loud noise. No loud noise".  She was unable to participate in the classroom without significant support, a staff person continually reassured her that there would be no fire drills today.  But the reassurance just wasn't enough.

The following day, I posted a sign that had a picture of a fire alarm with the universal sign for "no" above it.  It reads "No Fire Drill Today".  (see picture)  It worked like a charm just by seeing the visual the student instantly calmed and was able to do her work.  

Teacher's Tip:  Notice I used a magnetic clip to hang this sign on our magnetic white board making it easier to change.  On the back side, there is a picture of a fire alarm and the words "Fire Drill Today".  

Now I know the next time we have a fire drill might be a tough day but at least we are able to get rid of the anxiety for now.  I plan to create a social story about what we do if there is a fire drill and why we have them prior to the next one to support her even more.   

Instructor's Insight: As silly as some kid’s fears may seem to adults, I always remind myself and my staff that every child's concern is a legitimate one.  If a student feels scared or anxious, he/she is unable to learn and focus at his/her best ability.