Getting Ideas

I am always on the internet on the weekends and over breaks looking for ideas for my classroom. I have found TONS of great ideas. The problem is that I have to figure out what works for me and my kids and how we do things and what doesn't. You know, every classroom has a style, a fit, a way of living so to speak and some things just don't work for everyone.

I have been thinking a lot about how to organize files. I hate filing. I am not a filer. I am awful at it. I end up stacking and stacking papers and then (to be brutally honest) I end up chunking most of it in the trash. I need to work on that. And I did. So the other week my school was open on a Saturday and I decided to tackle the STACK. I got out 4 binders and my 3-hole punch. I took out the STACK and separated it into 4 stacks. The 4 core subjects I teach are math, science, social studies, and language arts. I divided the stack into those 4 groups and then I decided that I would put the papers into the four notebooks. Then I decided that I will bring them home this summer and really get them organized into units, etc. I really need to work on being more organized with paper. One of my team teachers wants to scan everything and forget the filing cabinet all together. I like that idea. I could put it all on flash drives and back them up (of course) and that way I don't have to keep up with papers. I'm still figuring out how all that would work for me.