Gearing up for back to school is hard work and it can be seriously stressful. Especially when papers are getting thrown your way all day long. I have a ton of forms, lists, procedural instructions, assessment paperwork and other important information that flows into my classroom for weeks! It all starts with staff meetings and professional development before school begins and it lasts throughout the entire school year. This year I vow to manage my classroom organization by taking control over every single important piece of paper. I will know exactly where each important piece of paper is filed for quick easy, and stress-free access at a moment’s notice. You can do the same with a little help from Avery products and some really cute FREE editable binder covers from yours truly.
This was a sponsored blog post. I received products and compensation from Avery. As always, this post reflects my 100% honest opinion. This post also contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.
When Avery contacted me this summer to share classroom organization tips and inspiration using their products, I was thrilled. You already know how obsessed I am with Avery labels. I also use their binders, dividers, and binder pockets
for quick access to all my essential school documents. Avery generously sent a boatload of materials my way to get started and I went right to town!
My shipment included several different colors of Avery’s Clear Cover Durable View Binders. I like this binder style because they are durable enough to hold up in my kindergarten classroom. I also adore the bright colors!
Class Information Binder
Let’s begin with my “Class Information” binder. This binder is like my second bible. I have it with me at school each day and I carry it home every night. It contains all of my student contact information, schedules, parent volunteers, calling tree information, and so much more. Organizing this binder was my first priority.
This binder is essentially separated into two parts: school information and student information. I used Avery’s 11200 Style Edge Insertable Plastic Dividers. I flip through these pages often and I needed something durable that would hold up for a few year’s worth of flipping. I love these dividers because they are made of a lightweight translucent plastic. These will hold up much better than traditional paper dividers. I also love the rounded style of the divider labels and their beautiful bright colors.
Creating the labels for my dividers was easy with Avery Templates. I was able to design my labels with just a few clicks using their free, Mac-friendly online software.
The second part of my Class Information binder is dedicated to information about students. I send home a student questionnaire during the first week of school. This form contains parent contact information, allergies information, special family circ*mstances, and more. I separate this section of my binder by student using Avery’s 11129 Ready Index Durable Table of Contents Dividers. These numbered dividers are AWESOME. Like so many teachers, I assign a number to each of my students. That child’s information is stored below the corresponding numbered divider.
Be Prepared for Extra Practice
When I notice that one student is struggling with a skill or concept that the rest of the class has mastered, I often assign that child extra practice as a homework assignment. The homework isn’t intended to be punitive and the last thing I want to do is bog down a struggling student with too much work. Often, these extra practice sheets are just a half page long so the student can gain some quick practice, then get back to enjoying childhood.
I keep all of these half sheets of paper organized using one of Avery’s Protect & Store mini binders. It is half the size of a regular binder (only 5.5×8.5″) and is the perfect way to store all of those pre-printed half sheets of paper for easy access to my extra practice pages and keep my classroom organization in check.
At my school, proper handwriting formation is a part of the curriculum. If I notice that a child routinely struggles with the same letter, I send home a half sheet of paper with a little extra practice. I go through many of these half sheets in a week, so I have them all prepped and stored in one of my Avery mini-binders. I used Avery’s 16180 Write-On Plastic Dividers to separate the binder by letter for quick access. Now if I see that a child needs to work on a certain letter, I can move the practice page out of my binder and into a child’s folder within a matter of seconds.
Easy Assessment Organization
Assessment is a big part of any teacher’s life. For Kindergarten teachers, assessments arewhat we do.I have a separate binder completely dedicated to my student assessments. I use a 1.5″ binder, but I usually have a small class (only ten students last year). Most teachers would probably need a 2″ or 3″ binder to hold all of their assessment materials.
In the front of my assessment binder, I once again used Avery’s 11129 Ready Index Durable Table of Contents Dividers to create a section for each student within the binder. The set goes up to 31, but I only use 11 of them since I have 11 students enrolled in my class this year.
Recording sheets for all of my assessments are included behind each students’ tab.
The back of my binder contains the materials I use to assess my students. I print all of these materials on cardstock and laminate them so they last through frequent reuse. Avery’s 16179 Durable Write-On Plastic Dividers with Pockets were perfect for this task. The plastic pockets are durable and hold all of my materials. I can quickly pull them out without having to open and close the rings on my binder. Every minute counts when I am running assessments and I love how the convenient pockets make it easy to maintain my classroom organization.
Are you looking to start your own assessment binder but don’t know where to begin?
Here are a few FREE resources from some of my favorite bloggers:
Tara West’s Fluency Check Templates
Mandy’s Dolch Pre-Primer Word Assessment Pack from A Special Kind of Class
Simply Kinder’s Monster Data Book
Tara West’s Kindergarten Quarterly Assessments
My assessment sheets are created around my school’s kindergarten report card. If you are looking to revamp your schools’ report card, this FREE report card template from DeeDee Wills is a great place to start.
Quick and Easy Access to School Forms
If your school is anything like mine, you probably have a form for EVERYTHING. I gathered copies of the forms I use most often and organized them into an entire binder dedicated to managing all of them.
For this classroom organization task, I used Avery’s 81824 Two Pocket Insertable Plastic Dividers. Master copies of each form were placed within the corresponding labeled pocket, and additional copies are stored behind the pocket. I never want to write on my last blank form. By placing master copies in the pockets, I can always be certain that I won’t use my master copy by mistake.
Get Your Classroom Organized with Free Editable Binder Covers
Now that you have been treated to a little organizational inspiration, I’m sure you are eager to start organizing all of that paperwork in your classroom so you can start the new school year on the right foot. Get organized in style with my FREE Editable Binder Covers. This freebie includes all of the binder covers I used in my own classroom, coordinating spines, and an editable PowerPoint file. This allows you to design matching covers and spines for all of your classroom needs.
Click the cover image below to download your FREE Binder Covers!
Which Avery products are your favorite to use in the classroom?
