On Friday I mentioned that I bought more of those fun little coupon organizers/mini accordion files from the Target Dollar Spot, so I’m back today to tell you a little bit more about how I use them for organization in my classroom. I’m linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tuesday Tried It and Ladybug’s Teacher Files & Fun in Room 4B for their Optimum Organization linky party.
First let me say that my room is full of random baskets, containers, etc that I use for keeping my materials organized. I personally am a big believer in “I can use that in my classroom” when I get rid of something from my home…or someone else’s home…and I do not mind that my baskets are not all the same- I personally like the variety. (Trust me, I use every good looking random container I can find– ask my oldest VERY organized sister or my hubby!) But, don’t get me wrong, I do also love looking at other classrooms both in our school and on Pinterest/blogs and think wow- everything matches so nicely in those rooms. That being said, this little piece of organization I’m sharing with you today is something that fits in several of my random containers and is one of those things that works well in my room and I hope it does in yours as well. 🙂
Here are those super fun mini accordion files that are just $1 each at Target. I’m not sure how well stocked your Target is, but mine literally has tons of these and I just can’t get enough of them! (Fingers crossed for you all being able to find them too!)
I actually bought my first one of these over winter break of this past school year and set up my Phonemic Awareness materials in it. Since I teach K/1, phonemic awareness is a very big part of our lessons so I needed a nice system that would allow me to grab my materials quickly and get us going. These little file guys helped me do just that!
It started out just as this one:
Then I realized, wow, this is keeping me organized and Target still has more…so it became this:
And then at the very end of this school year I purchased some more of the mini file holders and now they are holding my QR Code Task Cards centers and I will be filling the other new ones I bought with my other center cards because I don’t know about you but I have a ton of center cards!
I did attempt to take a picture of the inside of one of them, but evidently I wasn’t very good at holding it open with one hand and snapping a pic with my other, so sadly I do not have the inside, but basically I have each one organized by topic of center activity: QR codes, Phonemic Awareness, Vowels, Word Families, etc. The mini file holders each come with stickers to label them, so that is just what I did and now I can very quickly grab what we are using in our centers/activities and put them back just as quickly! The task cards/sorting cards all go in the mini accordion files and then the recording sheets/directions/etc for each center go in the larger paper size accordion file folder. So nice!
My phonemic awareness ones are separated by season because I use boards and little pieces for each season to identify the name/number of sounds in words. So I have one mini accordion file for Fall, one for Winter and one for Spring. Then within each mini accordion file, I have labels identifying the pieces (flowers, grasshoppers, etc.) so I can quickly grab them and get our lesson going. The boards then go in the larger paper size accordion file folder. This is always our first activity of my groups that lasts only a few minutes and now everything is one place for me to grab and use!
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| The flowers are the little pieces that go inside my mini file folders.
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So, if you have lots of sorting cards for your centers like I do, I highly recommend using a similar organization system- it’s made a world of a difference to keep my materials together and organized!
Oh and one more very exciting thing: we donated prizes to two amazing giveaways this week that you must check out! These giveaways are both HUGE and so worth you stopping by and entering- the prizes are just too incredible to pass up a chance at winning! You can check out Bunting, Books and Bainbridge for her 2 year blog-a-versary party and Miss V’s Busy Bees 1 year blogiversary by clicking the links or the pics below! Congrats to both of these ladies on their blog celebrations!
Have a great day!
Aylin
13 Responses
I have been struggling to find a way to neatly keep my task cards together. This is a great idea. I know what I am going to be on the lookout for this summer!
Hunter's Tales from Teaching
I saw those at my Target and my mind has churning trying to come up with a good reason to get them:). Thank you!
I don't live close to a Target:( Next time to drive to the big city I'll have to stop. I love those folders. So cute! I have been storing my task cards in big envelopes so boring.
http://mrsbrownthebookworm.blogspot.com/
This is such a neat idea and for $1! You just can't beat that!
Don't you just love the Target dollar bins? Such great items for helping us stay organized. Thanks for sharing how you make the accordion file folder thingys work for you! Thanks for linking up with us 🙂
Elizabeth
Fun in Room 4B
Cute, cute, cute! So many cute things are just waiting for me at Target. 🙂
~Brandee
Creating Lifelong Learners
oh I bet those will be great. I think I need to try those as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Heather
room 4 imagination
Love how you are organizing all of your task cards. Our Target opened in March and I can't believe I have only been twice, I need to get out more! This is a great way to keep it all organized, thanks.
Organizing my task cards is on my summer to-do list once I can get there! This is a wonderful idea!! Thanks so much for sharing:)
~Holly
Fourth Grade Flipper
I love those Target coupon organizers! I use them to organize math journal prompts and sight word cards. Since I want to start using QR code activities next year, I guess I need to go find some more.
Thanks for the ideas!
Carol
Still Teaching After All These Years
It's just so true- love $1 finds for the classroom!
Aylin
Oh don't worry, mine have been stored in ziploc bags which are not very pretty either…that's why these little accordion files are so fun! Big bummer on not living close to Target- my store is probably a little too close to my house and frequented too often. 🙂
Aylin
These organizational tips are just AMAZING! Thank you for sharing tips that are so effective, yet simple and inexpensive. PERFECTION! It's Elementary, My Dear!