Getting Organized

Well, after 14 years in teaching, I am finally joining the blog world! In time, I will be sharing photos, ideas, and thoughts from my classroom. But, for now, I am trying to get myself organized for teaching pre-k for the first time. I am SUPER excited! But....WHOA!!! Is there a lot of work to do before my little darlings hit my door!

I always start preparing for a new grade level by doing my homework! So, I spent the first part of my summer reading this book:

It is full of wonderful information and ideas for anyone who is new to pre-k! It's takes a while to read, but definitely well worth the time! (Just click on the book image to get your own from Amazon!)

My next project was organizing my class library. Because I have been teaching 1st grade for the last several years, I have built my library up to over 1500 books!! That is WAY too many for a pre-k classroom, and I definitely don't have room to store them at school. So, I loaded them up and brought them home. After 3 full days of sifting, sorting, and categorizing...I now have a wonderfully organized book closet! Woo hoo!! Here is what it looks like:

I know, I know...the boxes are NOT cute! But, they were cheap! I just used some Priority Mail boxes I had left over from awhile back, cut them in half, and used duct tape to hold them together. Easy peasy!!! And, in time, I can cover them with paper or paint to add the cute factor! It works for now, and my husband is VERY happy he no longer has to go through a book obstacle course to get to bed!!

Thanks for reading! And PLEASE pass along my blog to any of your friends who might be interested!! Stay tuned for some back to school stuff I'm working on AND pics of my classroom from start to finish!