Organization. I love it. Organizing, reorganizing, then organizing again. My teaching location has changed many times in my career; therefore, I have had lots of practice. And I am not complaining. Each year it gives me a chance to rethink what I keep, what I pitch, and how I make it all fit.
One important piece to my guided reading and guided math groups are chair pockets. This is where we house our book baggies (filled with leveled readers for each kid) and our math journals that are used during guided math.
Just to clarify...Our school is departmentalized. So these groups do occur in two different classrooms.
The chair pockets have been so helpful. But I have found that over time, the kids are left with very little room to actually sit on the chair. The book baggies and notebooks end up taking up so much room! And I cannot flip the pockets around because all the items and baggies end up on the floor.
It is not the fault of the chair pockets but the fault of all our great learning (and probably the teacher that allows the books to stay in the baggies for a good many weeks).
Then I came across some baskets at IKEA and I just couldn't NOT try them out!
We used zip ties to hold the baskets onto the back of chairs. Honestly, I was not sure how it was going to work out. Would they be too heavy and make the chair fall all the time? Would they be too bulky and in the way? Would they drag the ground?
Nope.
Actually, I have really liked them. The bags fit in them so nicely. No more bulky pockets that leave little room for the kids to actually sit. The notebooks also fit really well and are out of the way when they are not needed.
Yep. I think I like this alternative. The chair pockets will still have a place in our classroom, just not in my guided reading or guided math groups. And for now...I am loving this organization.
Interesting idea! Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteAlyce
It looks like they give you a lot of room for storage, especially of multiple children are sharing a "pocket" (multiple groups). Way to think outside the box!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Thanks! You are right. They do provide a lot of room. It is helpful since we are departmentalized. Almost 60 book baggies in one reading classroom...and almost 60 math notebooks in another room...that room is needed:)
DeleteYour chair pockets look like they are on backwards...the pocket should be on the back.
ReplyDeleteYes they are. This is because the books are heavy and make the little chairs fall over. That does not happen with the basket because of the length of the basket.
Delete