Over the last couple weeks, I have spent several hours in my classroom organizing and getting rid of stuff. It is amazing how much stuff a teacher can accumulate in just a few years. Lots of my stuff came from fellow teachers, garage sales and thrift stores, and the rest is school property. When you teach all subjects, as most primary teachers do, it takes lots of stuff.
Yet, you must be organized and know where things are, otherwise things go unused, and sometimes are wasted. My artistic/eclectic ways of thinking tend to see great potential in things better left in the bargain box in someone else's space. At home, I have adopted the following policy: If I bring in an item, some other item must go out. I cleaned off my bookshelf a few days ago, and have 24 credits after bringing in a new bathing suit, 2 plants (for the yard), a backpack, and a hat.
It's time to use this same policy for my classroom. I gave away 3 trunk loads of stuff last week, mostly books. I set myself at zero credits right now, which means something has to leave the room before I bring in ANYTHING new.
As far as books, I have decided to only collect certain authors or topics. Here's a partial list: Clifford, Little Critter, Dr Suess, Henry and Mudge, Biscuit, Dora, Kevin Henkes, Seasons, Senses, Weather, biographies, ABC's, diversity/acceptance, Jobs, Dinosaurs, Cultures and Traditions, Fairytales and Fables, Poetry, Songs, Ted Arnold, Eric Carle, Leo Lionni, Ezra Jack Keats, Doreen Cronin, Mo Willems, New Mexico. Books for read alouds need pictures that can be easily seen by all my students sitting in the floor in front of me. The only exceptions are the chapter books I will read from daily.
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