From Files to Binders

Like most teachers, I have acquired LOTS of materials since I started teaching. I have resources from team teachers that retired, from current co teachers, my director, and other miscellaneous things I have come across. Over time, all of these papers have piled and piled...and piled themselves into filing drawers. To be exact, I have  had 102 different theme/lesson folders...INSANE, right?!

 Drawer Number 1

After reading various blogs on organizing lesson plans, I decided to jump on the binder bandwagon. I was kind of hesitant on this idea originally because the way our curriculum works, we teach a new theme every week, so there are four-five a month, but they also change each year. 

Many fellow teachers organized their binders by month. Mine are alphabetical by theme. I basically transitioned all of my papers that were in files into standard page protectors. Being that I am a preschool teacher, we also do at least five art projects a week. I like to keep project examples so, I will usually do the project while I am lesson planning so that I have it to remember for the next year. I realized that these just took up an insane amount of room..and don't fit into page protectors so I snapped pictures of all of the projects (349 pictures later..) and added these pictures to the corresponding page protectors. 

 Getting ready to transfer the papers...

And, Viola! Here we have:

Three, two inch binders

58 tabbed dividers

90 themes

5 hours of hard labor

a very satisfied, organized, and happy teacher. 

-Sarah