Do you dream of taming your classroom chaos? Who says teacher life has to be chaotic with endless stacks of papers, a depleted pencil stash, and a daunting pile of test papers. I’m Kristi and I’ve found that over the years, teachers need help organizing all the things. I’m sharing my best-kept secrets to ignite classroom joy in this free checklist!
#1: Clear off your desk before leaving every day
This may seem like a simple no brainer task when it comes to classroom organization. The simple task of finding a home for everything on your desk can make a huge difference. Something that will take you a few minutes every day will make a huge impact on your mood first thing in the morning the next day! If you struggle with organizing test papers check out my blog post to help tackle test paper organization.
#2 Check off/Add things to your to-do list
If you have been following me for a while then it is no surprise of how much I love to create lists! There is not much better than the feeling of checking things off as you get things done. Lately, my mind has been racing at night with all of the things I need to get done. Luckily I use digital planning pages in my digital teacher planner that when I think of something, I grab my phone, add it to my to-do list, and it automatically syncs to my planner on my iPad and my computer. I like to have my to-do list easily accessible so as I am teaching or helping students and think of something I add to my list. The feeling of “oh no I forgot to get that done today” on your drive home in the worst! Avoid that feeling by taking care of this step often!
#3 Open Slides/Websites
Let’s be real! Stuff happens! Especially in the morning, before work, when you are trying to get to work early to prep for your lesson for the day! Before I leave each day I open all material that is needed for my lesson the next day. I open up any websites or slides that I need for the next day and have it ready to go! Agenda slides are my favorite to use. I present those as my students enter the room and it gives all of us time to get ourselves together before beginning the lesson. In my freebie, you will receive free agenda slides along with a video explaining how to edit them with your Bitmoji or a gif!
#4 Display your learning objective for the next day
Numerous classrooms across the world must display learning objectives for each lesson every single day. A simple process of changing out my learning objectives was what was needed. I tried writing these objectives on the board but that daily task did not work for me. Instead, I create a learning objective template to post on my board. I print my objectives for the next chapter when I am lesson planning, punch holes in them, and hang them on the board using magnetic hooks and binder rings. At the end of the day, I simply rotate the learning objective to the next one for the day. That creates one less thing for us to think about. Inside of the freebie, I have provided a learning objective template for you to use daily!
#5 Take out supplies/copies
Remember when I said stuff happens in the mornings? Chances are the morning that you get a flat tire and get to work late will also be the same day you realized you forgot to copy that worksheet for your first lesson of the day! Avoid this stress by taking out all of your materials for the next day before leaving school the day before. This will allow you to check to ensure you have all materials ready to go!
I know that you can implement these 5 small easily today and begin to Ignite Classroom Joy! Leave and enter your classroom with better control over the climate of your class with these simple steps. The download you will receive will include the freebies listed below:
- 5 daily task to Ignite Classroom Joy Checklist
- A detailed explanation of 5 daily tasks
- Daily Agenda Slide
- Daily Agenda Slide Editing Video
- Learning Objective Template
