Saturday, February 18, 2012

Teacher Bag Organization

Week 7 of the Clutter-Free Classroom is all about teacher bags. 

BEFORE:Here is my bag:  It is a LARGE bag that I throw or shove a LOT of things into.  Anybody else fill their bag each night with the intention of getting back to it, and then losing the momentum to get it out:-)  This happens to me repeatedly....it is better to just stay at school into the evening hours and get it done there!
The bag is a Vera Bradley bag (which is unusual for me, I generally find her prints too busy.  I LOVE that this print had little birds all over it...since I call my class my chickadees, it was meant to be! 

It has lots of POTENTIAL to be organized, if I would stop randomly tossing things into it.  This is my attempt to corral the mess that is my bag.





Inside I usually have a professional book, Lucy Calkins curriculum, Investigations math curriculum, possibly a picture book.  I also have papers to look through and my laptop.  And the binder of all things important:-)  There are also camera cords and batteries, pencils, post-its, all kinds of little things.
AFTER:  First, using a colored binder clip and a Sharpie, I labeled each pocket.  And put the matching item inside.
I put all the pens, markers, highlighters, and pencils in a zippered pouch.  This is also a good idea to save your bag from disastrous ink explosions:-)
Finally I put an expanding file folder to sort the curriculum and papers by subject.












And finished!  The bag still doesn't weigh any less....but now at least I can find what I need without going through every pocket first:-)
Happy Saturday,
Laurie
P.S.  Don't forget about my give away...


9 comments:

  1. Great organization for your teacher bag! So easy for things to just get lost in there. :)
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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  2. I love your paper clip idea! I am going to try that with my bag. :)
    Amy
    The Crazy Adventures of a University Graduate

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  3. My teacher bag takes lots of papers to grade on field trips to my house. I don't think any amount of organization can cure my procrastination. =)

    Emily @ Second Grade Silliness

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  4. Pretty spiffy ideas. Not sure I could get away with carrying that bag, but yeah it's still very neat.

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  5. Great idea to add the expanding file for organization. I'm thinking that's a feature I need to add to my bag!

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  6. Good idea about the ink explosion - I know I have something around here that I can place all my markers/pens in - Thanks for the heads up!!

    ~Kimberlee~
    Two Fulbright Hugs
    Teacher Timesavers

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  7. I love the binder clip as a label. Brilliant!

    Ms. M
    Ms.M's Blog
    A Teacher's Plan

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