Teacher organization doesn't happen by accident! Here is a set of my favorite and newest teacher organizational tools. This makes a great starting place to plan the school year and keep your weekly and day to day stuff under control.
If you're looking to add a little organization to your year, I recommend starting here.
Let me lay out each tool for you so you can choose the ones most beneficial to you and your planning style.
1. Teacher planning calendar
Let's start with the big picture. I sketch out an entire year. I like to fill in the things I know that I won't want to miss out on and as we start school, I add student birthdays, meeting dates, fire drills and field trips.
This two-page spread calendar is my saving grace and keeps its all-important place in my binder.
This is my go-to planning tool and where I start each school year.
It's a two-page spread binder planner that covers 17 months! It lays flat in a planning binder and is a handy planning tool.
You won't forget to plug that staff meeting reminder into your lesson plans if you consult this calendar each time you plan your lessons.
"FINALLY! I have been scouring the internet for the perfect teacher calendar and I have finally found it with this great product. I love that it is colorful but not distracting, clean, organized, and the space is well planned. It is a calendar that actually works for a teacher." - Buyer
There is an editable version using Powerpoint (or Google Slides) if you like setting as much up digitally before printing.
There are digital stickers you can add ahead of time or print as many as you want to use throughout the year to mark special reminders.
Some included stickers are:
- first day
- last day
- reminder
- field trip
- birthday
- assembly
- staff meeting
- no school
- vacation starts
- vacation ends
"Third-year user! I love this product. Thank you for the colorful updates. So fun!" - Lia G.
2. Make your own lesson plan template
If you're anything like me then you hate to re-write things every week into a lesson planning template.
This template is an Excel file or a PowerPoint file where you can edit the times and box lengths to fit your weekly schedule at a glance. These are what I use as my daily lesson plans with a handy sidebar to keep everything I need all on a two-page spread.
After printing, I simply handwrite in all of my plan details and I'm set to go! This is my daily and weekly sanity saver.
"I had a blast getting the page set up for exacting what I need! Can't wait to start using it!! Thanks "- Mrs. White's Firsties
3. Staff meeting notes paper
Meetings are a way of life in the working world. This blank page staff meeting notes paper has a cute border on the top that coordinates with these other teacher organization tools.
I like to draw, jot down reminders, and create lists for myself during a meeting. This note paper gives me the room to do just that in my planning binder.
It also includes a grade level meeting page too.
"Looking forward to using these to take notes during meetings! No more searching for a notebook... it will be in my planning binder!" - Traci G.
4. Free to-do list
Having a place to write things down and cross them off can save you so much time. You can work more efficiently during your planning times or prep periods and get out the door!
Always keep a free printable weekly to-do list on hand. I recommend either putting them in your binder (and then get rid of them after they build up a little) or print a whole bunch and bind them yourself to make a quick to-do list note pad.
You can track what you want to accomplish, what will have to get moved to next week, who to call back and what absolutely ranks top priority.
"These are so cute! Love them and will be using them to get my planning started and to stay organized this year. That was one of my "New School Year Resolutions." Thanks for the free download." - Wendy
So there you have my top teacher organization tools! I hope you find them helpful as you think and plan. You've got a year-long planner, weekly/daily lesson planner at a glance, binder covers, to-do list, and notepaper to round out the stash.
If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
More Teacher Organization
- Binder Basics {How to Make a Teacher Planning Binder}
- First Week of School Lesson Plan Bracelet
- Organizing Teacher Materials for the Week and Quarter
- 6 Things You Should Have for a Sub
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