Table Bins

I'm trying something new this year ... I have created table bins for each of my student tables. The purpose of these buckets is, ultimately, to save time. When we have a material-heavy project (like our Love, Splat art activities we did the other day) I have a lot of different martial to pass out to each kid (multi-colored paper, googly eyes, liquid glue, etc). So I spent a few minutes prepping for the lesson by loading each table bucket with enough material for each student at the table. It saved me a ton of time! We'll see how this evolves, but I'm always a fan of organizational time-savers!

I got the bins at the dollar store, and the labels from Amy Lemons.

And just for fun ... here is how our Love, Splat projects turned out this year. In true teacher form, I can't ever seem to do anything the same way two years in a row, so our "Splat" projects and display are a little different than previous years. I got the Valentine garland at the dollar store.

Student Math Boxes

Last year I started keeping student math boxes for each student in class. They are small plastic boxes with lids (6.5" x 7.5" and 4.5" tall) that I bought at the dollar store. As I introduce the manipulatives for each new unit, I pass around enough for each student to have their own. Students then add the materials to the collection in their math boxes. They can pull these out for centers, help on work, tests, games, etc. They come in really handy in second grade where manipulatives are still so important to understanding math concepts. Plus, they're a huge time-saver because it saves me from having to pass these materials out and put them away every time we need them. Here is what they look like:

One student's math box.

Here are the materials that are in each box so far this year: plastic money, base-10 blocks, pattern blocks, unifix cubes, a die and a student clock. These tiny boxes really hold a lot of material!

Students store them on a shelf in our class.

Birthday Bulletin Board

I was shopping through the dollar spot at Target when I came across this cute celebrate banner and coordinating bags and stickers. I decided to use them to create a birthday wall on one of my hard-to-reach bulletin boards. This way I don't have to climb up on my counter every six weeks to change it. I used a black fabric background (a twin flat sheet from Wal-Mart that was less than $5) and a polka dot border from U.S. Toy. (I'm trying this black border/chalk board theme this year.)

I really like the way it turned out!