41. Back to School: Organize and Simplify Your Classroom Setup and Management

Chantal 0:02

Wow, we're all in for a very exciting ride today because this is one of my all time favorite topics to talk about - classroom setup and management. In case you don't know yet, organization is kind of my jam. So when I was planning out this month's episodes, I realized it's time to bring back some excitement about getting your classroom ready for your little ones, with some easy and quick, actionable steps to just ditch all the anxiety that sometimes comes with setting up your classroom. You ready?

Chantal 1:16

Hey, hey, welcome back to the preschool Made Easy podcast your go to show for simplifying your preschool teaching life. I'm your host Chanty and today we're diving into a topic that can make or break your school year and that is organizing and simplifying your classroom setup and managing it. Whether you're listening while doing laundry or on your commute, I promise this episode will be jam packed with practical tips to make your classroom a much more efficient and enjoyable space for both you and your little learners. Oh, I almost forgot. If you're looking for some fun and easy activity ideas for your kiddos. I've got a brand new four week activity planner that includes skills they need to master this year. Really fun themes, your kiddos will absolutely love, and little to no prep using materials you already have. You can grab the link in the show notes to get this planner right now. Alright, let's get started.

Chantal 2:12

I want to start off by saying I know that the start of the school year can be overwhelming. But it really doesn't have to be, right? You're juggling lesson plans, setting up your classroom and thinking about how on earth you're gonna manage a room full of super energetic toddlers or preschoolers. Does the thought of all of this make you feel just a little bit stressed? Guess what? If it does, I'm here to tell you, you are not alone. Many teachers feel exactly the same way. But with some simple strategies, we can turn that stress into some solid confidence.

Chantal 2:52

Okay, starting a new school year often feels like running a marathon. There are countless things to prepare. I remember my enormous to do list that would just flow from one day to the next and it felt like it was never ending, right? You've got to arrange the furniture and organize all of your supplies. And let's not forget about planning those super fun and engaging lessons we're expected to have ready to go on the first day. Yeah? Maybe you felt the weight of setting up the most perfect learning environment, while also worrying about how to keep everything running smoothly throughout the whole entire year. I mean, it's a lot to handle. And it's completely normal to feel a little bit defeated sometimes.

Chantal 3:36

Think about the times when you've stayed late after school, trying to finish everything on your to do list, only to find there's always one more thing to do. Or those moments when you're super excited to introduce a new activity, but you just can't find the materials you need in the middle of all the chaos. So many of us have experienced this and today, we're going to tackle every single one of them head on with practical doable steps. All right, let's do this.

Chantal 4:06

So first, we're going to talk about some common problems and solutions like how to handle clutter, keep your supplies organized. And my favorite one - save time.

Chantal 4:18

So the first one is going to be the problem that is having a cluttered classroom. What do I mean by a cluttered classroom? Well, you've got a lot of stuff. Okay. And this seems to be the case for a lot of teachers, teachers that I've mentored in the past, teachers that are brand new, even teachers that have been around for such a long time much longer than I have. You tend to just kind of accumulate things, and then it becomes overcrowded, overstimulating, and just a lot. So what's the solution to not having a cluttered classroom? Okay, first, we've got to start with a decluttering session. Okay. Keep only what you need and use regularly, if you are a fan of this show, I know you've heard me say in past episodes, probably lots of them, too many of them to reference, that we really don't need all the things. Okay? Ask yourself, have I used this in the last year? If not, seriously, consider donating or storing it elsewhere. I'm telling you this with all the tough love, because that is my role. Okay, I love you, you can do this. Chuck it if you need to. Classroom clutter can quickly become overwhelming, making it really difficult to find what you need when you need it. Begin by taking a good look at your classroom. Okay? Identify the items that are truly essential for your daily teaching routine. If you haven't used something in the past year, it's probably time to let it go. Let it go. You can do it. If you need my help, just DM me on Instagram and I'll go help you. Donate unused items to other teachers or organizations that could probably benefit from them. Or if you really want to keep it because you're attached to it, which I also understand, perhaps you just store it out of sight if you think you might possibly need it in the future. Now be honest with yourself about this. Okay, because you're choosing to keep this. This process not only helps clear physical space, but also really helps create a much more focused and calm environment.

Chantal 6:26

Let's head into the second problem, which is disorganized supplies. This also kind of goes in hand with the cluttered classroom, but I'm talking specifically about supplies here. Because we kind of get to control and hoard these also okay. I know my people, I know y'all, you know me, we are the same. So here's the solution to not having disorganized supplies. Use clear bins with labels, and I mean, label everything, okay? Everything. This not only helps you but it also teaches your children where things belong, their homes, everything has a home. Consider having a bin for each type of activity like art supplies, sensory play items, and building blocks. Your supplies can easily become a jumbled mess, which makes it super hard to find what you need and even harder for your kiddos to help keep the classroom tidy. Because it's not just your job to clean up - it's their job too so let's help them. Clear bins are seriously a lifesaver here. Label each bin with both words and pictures to help your children identify what goes where. This simple step not only keeps your supplies organized, but it also encourages your kiddos to take responsibility for their own environment. Create specific bins for different activities - like you can have one bin for your art supplies, another bin for your sensory play items, another bin for things that go in the dramatic play area or your building blocks. When everything has a designated space, or like I like to call it a home, clean up time becomes a breeze.

Chantal 8:07

Alright, and now here's one more problem for you, which is time consuming transitions. We love this one. The solution to avoiding some of these transitions that can take forever and a day is to create a consistent routine. Use all the visual schedules that you can or just one solid visual schedule so that your children can understand it and follow it simply, okay? Simple picture cards showing activities like circle time, snack time, and outdoor play can make all of those transitions so much smoother and so much quicker. Transitions can often be the most chaotic part of the day. But like I've said before, they don't have to be. When you establish a consistent routine, it helps your children know exactly what to expect next, which is going to reduce behavior issues, and anxiety. Use these visual schedules with picture cards to show the sequence of daily activities. What comes first, what comes next, what comes last. This is especially helpful for young children who are still developing their language skills, and may not be communicating to the level that they should be. When they can see what's coming next, these transitions of going from one activity to the next become way smoother and quicker, which allows you to spend more time on fun and meaningful activities with them.

Chantal 9:33

Now let's talk about some easy actionable steps that you can take right now to organize and simplify your classroom setup and maintain it throughout the year.

Chantal 9:42

I love a great color coding system and I'm sure you do too. Assign a color to each area of your classroom - reading corner, the art station, your play area. Use matching colored tape on shelves and bins because this visual cue helps children know where things belong, and it really helps to keep your classroom organized. Implementing a color coding system can transform your classroom organization. I used blue for the reading corner, red for the art station, and green for the dramatic play area. I created a visual map that's easy for both my students and myself to follow. Use colored tape to mark shelves and bins corresponding to each area. This not only helps in keeping things tidy, but also teaches children about organization and categorization in a fun and easy way.

Another super simple and actionable tip that I love to give other teachers is using daily checklists. Okay, this is super easy to make. You can make it on word, PowerPoint, Canva, whatever rocks your boat. Print it, laminate it, have it somewhere close to your whiteboard or your desk. Having a simple checklist for daily tasks helps so much. Okay. Now the tasks can include things like cleaning up prepping materials for the next day, organizing your children's work, posting their artwork, things like that. It's just a simple daily checklist, but I promise you, it's gonna be your best friend in maintaining your organized classroom. So write these tasks on a small whiteboard, if you want to just write it with marker and then you can just kind of change it out each day. Or you can do the other alternative, which is just typing it up, printing, laminating. And then you can use a dry erase marker on anything that's laminated to check off your tasks as you complete them. And it's gonna give you such a really satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Now, the last actionable step I have for you is something that's a little bit outside of the box. Okay, so just close your eyes, visualize with me. I want you to utilize vertical space - think upwards. Okay, use the wall space that you have in your room for storage and displays. Now, you're obviously not going to put their artwork all the way up on the ceiling where they cannot see it. Because that's not best practices, we want to keep it at eye level. However, things that do not need to be on the floor, or on tables can be stored vertically, like hanging baskets, or shelves, that can hold books that they regularly do not need to access, art supplies, or manipulatives that they are not constantly using. That's going to free up valuable floor space for you and even tablespace. Maximize your class's potential by using this vertical space I'm telling you about. Think about the walls as an extension of your storage, install hanging baskets or shelves to hold things like what I just mentioned, which are books, art supplies, manipulatives things that you don't normally use, because it's gonna free up that floor space, but also keep important materials within easy reach for you. Also, when you use the wall space for displaying your student work, and visual aids, it's going to look much more organized vertically, and it's going to create a much more open and inviting atmosphere. Don't believe me? Just watch. I recommend you try this with just one wall in your room. And go ahead and let me know what you think. Do it first. Try it out. And you're gonna either tell me you love it or you hate it. But hey, at least you gave it a try.

All right, let's recap. In today's episode, we talked about a typical class setup and management concerns for preschool teachers. We also talked about some common problems and solutions like how to handle clutter, keep supplies organized, and save time. We also talked about some simple actionable steps for organizing and simplifying your classroom setup.

Remember, the goal is not perfection, but progress. This is very important to remember. Each small step you take to organize and simplify your classroom will pay off in the long run, I promise. You will have so much more time to focus on what you love, teaching, and loving on your students. That's it.

So take a deep breath, and tackle one area at a time. You've got this. And if you ever feel overwhelmed, just know that you're already a part of a community of amazing teachers who are all in this together. And we love you.

I hope you found these tips helpful and feel much more prepared to start your school year with confidence and ease.