Bright Idea: Homework Crate

Today's bright idea is all about homework. Does anyone else just dread this word as much as I do? I feel like no matter how much or how little I assign for homework, I can't please everyone. Additionally, homework is a pain in the rump to keep track of. Although I don't have kids, I know that sometimes Friday mornings can be hectic and homework doesn't get put in the folder, planners don't get signed, etc. etc., so I came up with a system that has been working well in my classroom. Now let me quickly explain one thing - this homework crate is only used for my spelling and fluency homework, as it's not really time-sensitive homework. I have yet to find a perfect solution for math homework, so suggestions are gladly welcomed.

Every Monday morning, I send home 2 pieces of paper - one is their spelling list for the week (which includes a variety of activities for them to choose from, and a box for the parents to sign off the assignment each day). This page is nothing fancy - just something that a teacher in my district made. If you search TPT, you can find lots of free spelling homework pages :) The second page is a fluency sheet (again, you can find many on TPT, or your reading programs might have some included - any fluency sheet will work.) Now, the reason that I don't feel like these are "time sensitive" is because when we take the spelling test on Friday, I will quickly be able to figure out who actually studied -- I don't need to see their homework to know that they practiced (or not, as the case may be). Same thing goes with fluency, as they are progress monitored on dibels every week (thanks to a fabulous parent volunteer!) If they are making progress on dibels, I know that they are practicing their fluency at home.

My homework assignments are always due on the last school day of the week (which is usually Friday)... But my students know that it is not marked late if they forget, or their baby brother spills his dinner on it, or the dog eats it.... I give them a new paper or their parents just write a note. It's all good :)

Here's where the crate comes into play. Each Friday, my students line up and put their homework in their assigned folder in the homework crate. The first few weeks this takes a little bit of practice (maybe my third graders will catch on faster than my second graders did?!) I bet you can see where I'm going with this.... The KIDS are organizing their papers for me!!! Do you know how much easier my life is now?! THEY are responsible for putting into THEIR folder :) Which means less papers for me to sort through and keep track of from week to week. I check the crate at the end of each term and simply count how many pages they have turned in (our terms are usually 9 weeks, so they should have 9 of each papers in their folder). I make each page worth 10 points, for a total of 90 points for spelling and 90 points for fluency (give or take, depending on how many weeks we have). I only have to check homework 4 times per year!

To make your own homework crate, all you need is one file crate (Walmart and target always have them on sale during back to school time), then a hanging file folder and a Manila folder for each student. If you number your students, then you can just number the folders and use them year after year (and if you don't number them, maybe THIS POST will convince you to!) If you don't number your students, or if you think it will be too confusing, you can use the clear tabs that come with the hanging file folders and put the students' names at the front of each folder. Ta-da. Your life just got 10 times easier.

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook or Instagram for more great ideas.  For more bright ideas more than 100 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

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Bright Ideas: Recess Check-out Chart

Welcome to another month full of bright ideas. Today I'm going to share a quick idea to help keep recess equipment organized and know who has your equipment during recess, while also allowing everyone to have a turn using the recess equipment. Many of you probably already have a card pull chart (or some other type of color-coded behavior system) already in place in your classroom, and this idea builds on that concept. Here is a picture of my card pull chart....  Let's not discuss the fact that it is ripped and falling apart... This baby has been with me through 3 different schools over 8 school years, and is on its last threads.... I plan in making a new one this summer. Anyway, the card pull system is used school-wide at my school, so it's something I have to have in my classroom anyway...

Okay so about recess.... I was getting tired of my equipment being lost and scattered all over the playground and field, and I was tired of the same few kids always taking the soccer balls and kick balls. It was exhausting to try and keep track of who had and hadn't had a turn, and that's when my bright idea was born! Because my kids already had a number on the card pull chart, I just wrote each of their names and numbers on a large craft stick and stuck it in the card pull chart behind their cards, and quickly glued some pictures of the equipment on empty pocket envelopes, and created a recess check out chart!

Here's my recess check-out chart. As you can see, it's nothing fancy. And before you ask, no, I don't have the graphics available for you to print.... I might make a cutsie packet at some point, but I seriously just opened a blank word document, searched for the graphics I needed, and quickly printed them.  No time for cute fluff!

Here are my check-out chart rules:

1. You must be on green to check out equipment.

2. You can check out equipment once a day.

3. If you do not return the equipment at the end of recess, your stick is moved to the "lose a turn" spot for the week (or until lost equipment is found and returned.)

4.  If equipment is permanently lost or damaged, your stick might be thrown away or left in "lose a turn" spot for more than a week.

5. Only the recess chart helper or the teacher can reset the recess chart.

You can use these rules in your classroom, or use mine as guidelines to create your own. I think the rules are pretty much self-explanatory, but it will quickly explain how I use them. Every child starts on green each day, so rule #1 goes with that. If they can't follow directions in class, they can't take equipment out to recess. You can decide if you like this rule or not. It works great in my room, especially since I don't have a ton of equipment to begin with. Once they have had a turn, they must return the equipment to the recess basket, and put their stick in the "already had a turn" spot. That gets reset every day, so they know that they will get another turn tomorrow.... The great thing about this is that the kids are learning how to SHARE!! They are learning to plan ahead and play with others... I often hear them talking and making plans for who will check out equipment for which recess, and it gets them playing TOGETHER.

Rules 3 and 4 are rarely needed.... But for some kids, bless their hearts, it doesn't matter how many chances I give them, when they check out equipment, it doesn't come back (or worse, it gets kicked over the fence, into the road, and run over by a semi... True story!) so, for those rare occasions when they just can't follow directions, their stick goes to "lose a turn" for a while. If their stick is there a LOT, or if they damage multiple pieces of equipment, I have been known to throw their stick in the garbage can.... Again, this is rare, but it HAS happened. Yes, I'm *that* mean! Lol!

Rule 5 -- I am super forgetful and don't always reset the sticks at the end of the day, so I added a "recess chart helper" to my helper chart. The recess helper can reset the sticks if I have forgotten (which is pretty much every day...) Kids love to help, and I'm always thankful for their helping hands!

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you like this idea, please PIN it and spread the bright idea with others :)

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Click the graphic below to read all about testing goody bags from Heather at "2 Brainy Apples", or see the linky below to hop by grade level.

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Bright Ideas Blog Hop!

Welcome to the "bright ideas" blog hop.... today I wanted to talk about what I call "school-year resolutions".  So here we are, one month into 2014... and we've already failed at keeping our new year's resolution.... those 5 pounds that magically appeared over Christmas break don't seem to be going anywhere, and the house isn't quite as clean as you'd like it to be, right? How many of you can relate? See, here's the thing about new year's resolutions.... it's hard to start something new in the middle of the school year... I've never quite understood this mentality... perhaps it's because January is cold, dark, dreary, and frozen here in Utah, so I'm not exactly motivated to do much of anything when I leave school and it's already dark outside at 5 o'clock at night... but also because for as long as I can remember, my new "year" always started in August.... school usually started in August, dance classes would start in September... so that's when I would set goals... by January, I was already working hard on my goals, and didn't need to resolve to change anything, because they were already in place (and because in my school-year mind, January was NOT the beginning of a new year.... I was still in the same grade, I was still in the same dance classes... you get the idea).  Today I'm going to share with you a few of my SCHOOL-YEAR resolutions... maybe you'll find an idea or two that you like that will make your life a little bit easier :)

Resolution #1: have more of a life outside of school.... I talked about this at the beginning of the year when I talked about burnout... as teachers, we know that our job is never done... there's always one more thing that could be done. Is it any wonder that out students think we LIVE at the school? I decided that this year, that was not going to be the case. Yes, there are days when I leave, and things aren't quite as ready as I'd like them to be.... but as long as everything is ready for the next day, I take a deep breath, walk away, and tell myself that there's always tomorrow. My friends and I organized a monthly craft group, and we've had lots of fun finding ideas on pinterest and getting together to make them... we bring a treat to share, talk, laugh, and have a great time... and best of all, it's something OTHER than school.  Another group of friends and I buy groupons for various workout classes... I've been enjoying cardio ballet as of late... (well, I don't enjoy being sore for DAYS after class is over, but it really is a great workout! Gotta get in shape for HAWAII!)  I also bought season tickets to a local theater with some of my friends... it's great to have a scheduled girls night every once in a while.

Resolution #2: Not bring school home with me on the weekend... Ok, this one is a *little* bit hard for me... But I decided it was time to stop spending my Sunday nights hunched over my table, stressing about lesson plans for the week. I am not allowed to load up my rolling cart and bring all my planning materials home with me. I broke my rule ONCE this year, and guess what... the rolling cart never even made it into my house (something about carrying it up 15 stairs from the garage wasn't all that motivating either)... so I dragged it home for nothing.  I have to have my weekend AWAY from school. Now, this means that SOMETIMES I might stay at school REALLLLLLY late... but I'd rather put in one late night than drag stuff home. One quick example: back in December, the weather forecast said we were supposed to have a really bad snowstorm on the last day of school before Christmas break...now, I knew that the school would be open for a few days over the break, but I didn't really want to spend my holiday break at school... so I stayed at school until around 7 one night, making sure that everything was 110% ready for the whole first week of January... let me just tell you, when I woke up on the last day of school before the break, and we had a good 10 inches of snow outside, I was SO GLAD I had stayed late to get things ready.... Here in Utah, we pretty much NEVER have a snow day, and this day was no exception.  It felt really good to walk out of the building at the end of the day without a SINGLE thing in my hand, knowing that the whole first week of January was mapped out and ready to go.  This was quite possibly the best Christmas present I've ever given myself.

Now, there's one little exception to this resolution... I bring papers home, but I don't correct them. My mom recently had to stop working due to some health issues, so she is stuck at home all day, and loves playing "teacher" for me (and thankfully she lives close enough that I can drop things off to her on my way home from school). I realize not everyone has this luxury, so here's a few time-saving tips to help with correcting papers:

• choose ONE assignment to grade after teaching the skill a few times... put stickers on the other pages and don't worry about a score. 
• if you have parents who want to volunteer, ask them to help with correcting papers {make sure this is okay with your administrator... we have the parents sign permission slips at the beginning of the year authorizing the students and volunteers to correct and/or pass back papers that have been graded}
• correct some assignments together with the students... my kids feel so "official" when they get to use the "correcting pens" (aka red or blue ballpoint pens from Target).  Correcting their own paper can provide the kids with a great learning opportunity... they see their mistakes and fix it with the correcting pen... then I can just quickly look over the paper they have already corrected :)

Resolution #3: be okay with just being "GOOD ENOUGH" (big surprise, right?) I'll be honest here... I look around at other blogs and definitely feel overwhelmed... I am surrounded by SO MANY amazing bloggers who are far more experienced than I am... I see pictures of classrooms on pinterest, and I wonder how many hours (and $$$) it took to look like that... I see visual lesson plans posted, and I wonder when these amazing ladies even sleep!!  I have so much respect and admiration for them, but I have to remind myself that we are all at different points in our teaching journey, and at the end of the day, my students are still going to learn and grow in my "good enough" classroom.

Keep hopping along for even more great ideas.... up next is the ever-so-talented Alyssha at "Teaching and Tapas"... she has a fun blog post ready with some "minute to win it" activities that I know you're going to love! Alternatively, you may visit the link-up below and choose a topic that interests you. There's also a great board on pinterest that is filled with "bright" ideas.  Thanks for stopping by today :)