And in the beginning there was...

It is the start of a brand new school year in lil ol' NZ, and for the next few posts I am going to give you the grand tour of my classroom. I am beginning the round with my new school hat storage system... it has made my life so much easier, and was quick and simple to make.

I bought two over-the-door-shoe-organizers from K-Mart for $8.00 each (just in case you are wondering, there is 16 pockets in each organizer). These were stapled to the back of my class library shelves. Top tip- use the staple gun at an angle. It makes it way easier to get the staples out later if there is a little gap at one end. I chopped off the bottom rows, as they were not needed, and ran a quick strip of patterned duct tape across the top and bottom (before running out). I then added laminated name labels (stapled on) and a sign. Quick, cheap, and easy (wink wink). I love it because I can see at a glance who doesn't have their hat at school today, and their hats are no longer scattered around my classroom. The children love it because it gives them somewhere to park their hats and they love having their own pocket. I have a running deal with them- if all hats are parked in the pockets before school, they collect 5 marbles for the jar. Most students now leave their hat at school overnight- so they are already prepared for the next day (so cute). This is definitely a system that is here to stay!

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A Plague Upon All Your Houses

I find Math to be an absolute headache in terms of resource management. There is never enough resources, occasionally too many, and they are often in bad repair. This is why my next few posts are about Math resources. Enjoy! As I teach in NZ and follow the Numeracy Projects, place value houses are a common material to work with. I printed mine off A4 size from http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/sites/default/files/Numeracy/2007matmas/Bk4/MM%204_11.pdf . Each 'house' was copied onto a different coloured paper, and then cut out and laminated. I didn't cut them out again after laminating, as it made it easier to punch a hole in the corner and thread a ring through (are they 'magazine' rings?). My awesome set can now hang from the wall if there is space. No more scrunching up in the bottom of a drawer! They are also really quick and easy to unclip and use, then pack up again. I started off using a whiteboard pen to write the digits directly onto the laminated charts...

10 Alternatives to Plastic Counters

Shifting classrooms always requires a scramble to inventory current equipment and to replace those old regulars that you use a lot. I know that almost every classroom must need counters at some point in time! Having a range of alternatives can often pique children's interest, but can be a budgetary stretch at the same time. Here are 10 alternatives that I have rustled up with a minimum cost. 1. Smooth stones come ready made and freely available from your local beach or stony river. Small pebbles are perfect as game tokens, or collected for use in Math lessons. They look great with stickers and glitter glued on and are REALLY durable. However, they can be heavy when stored en masse. 2. Wooden shapes are available in packs of 12-20 from your local dollar shop. These are particularly awesome to use for number stories (i.e. 6 bumble bees were sitting on a flower and 3 flew back to the hive, how many were left?). They are more durable than paper cut outs, intriguing and reasonabl...

Recycled Love...

I don't have a teachers desk in my class. The desk I had took up far too much space and was always a mess. So it went to another classroom. Often I regret it, but mostly I rejoice at the extra space. Now I no longer tell children to 'put it on my desk' to deal with later... things get done immediately. Less mess, less stress. I need a place to keep my stickers and stamps though. I recently cut up and cleaned a couple of recycled milk bottles. I chopped off the tops and added a gorgeous little strip of fabric tape and some labels. These are now pinned on the wall next to my IWB. You might notice that I keep my smelly stickers in ziploc bags. This keeps them smellier for longer. As I took this picture it made me think of the red spotty tin that sits at the top of the teachers workstation. I have a series of decorative tins along the top- one for felts, one for permanent markers etc. The red spotty tin is specifically for WHITEBOARD markers. That way my students are able t...

The Destitute Teacher

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