A Box a Day Keeps the Clutter Away!

Clutter Free Classroom's Flash Freebie today was labels for daily planning magazine files or book boxes where you put your read alouds, copies, materials, etc. for each day of the week. I've tried this method on-and-off the last two years, but it's hard to find room for this in a shared classroom, and to keep up with things--especially if you have materials you didn't end up using. I do really like the idea, though! Maybe if it's cute and in a new space (new classroom for the fifth year in a row!), it will be easier to keep up with. I like the quick and visual way of long-term (well, for the week) planning, instead of writing out: "I'll need this book for Monday and these copies for Tuesday and died pasta shells for Friday," or something like that.

I do know that having everything together like this makes it so easy for a sub to follow, or for my assistant to show my sub the plan. I did do this faithfully one week at a time (one tub per week) when I was out for an extended period last year for my surgery.

Cheap cardboard magazine files
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50022354/

Clutter Free Classroom Post
http://www.clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/07/organize-daily-copies-materials-teacher.html

The iPad Planner?

So, I came across a neat blog (on Pinterest, of course!) by designer Amanda Hawkins from www.ahh-design.com that inspired what may become a great idea... Now, I have been looking for YEARS for a good online lesson planner--and I don't mean a type-it-in-and-we'll-save-it "lesson templates" where you type out your resources, standards, anticipatory set, direct instruction, etc. I teach kindergarten, for crying out loud! I certainly think about all those things each day, but I certainly don't write out full-on work sample lesson plans for every single thing we do each day! I want a customizable, weekly lesson planner just like the paper ones I make and print out--only online. I have a computing device in my hands way more often than I have my lesson plan binder, and for me it's much faster to type something in and copy links or pictures instead of hand-writing things out.

Amanda may have just solved my problem... http://ahhh-design.com/ipad-notes/

I tried my hand at a quick mock daily lesson plan template last night:

It's pretty scattered and very right-brained! I think it just may work, though! We shall see...

What is your favorite lesson plan method?