Well, I arrived at 6:30a.m. (yeah I slept in because on a normal day I arrive at 5:00a.m.). I had my big Sonic Diet Coke and even a breakfast burrito in hand...(which I immensely enjoyed). And then I got to work on the 2 foot pile of papers on my floor - JUNK!!!!!
I have taught K, 1st, and 2nd and have tons of STUFF! Yea, yea, yea - you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't ya? I have every printable known to man for those 3 grades, old materials that aren't even appropriate for kinders, file folder games out the Wa-zoo!
But...."I made those and spent alot of time and money making those. I can't just throw them away. Plus, maybe I'll need to use those one day...or maybe I could re-purpose that activity..." NOOOOO!!!! Enough was enough!
Enough Said! In the trash they went..... and I feel so much better.
Moral of the story: Less is More....
I HATE the feeling of clutter. It drives me MAD!! I'm the teacher at the end of the year seen literally throwing things of out her room just to get it out of my room. Well, I started early this year. I have found that by keeping stuff that I could possibly use some day, I can't find the stuff that I actually could use now. I feel so much better organized by getting rid of the JUNK. Now I can easily access the materials that will help my students. It's a proud moment....
~jeannie~
Less is MORE! =)
ReplyDeleteSO true!!
Jennifer
First Grade Blue SKies
Sometimes it is so hard to part with those materials.....but I have to say it really was well worth it. I have a cleaned out filing cabinet and cleaned out shelf area. I can breathe and make good use of the materials I really DO need!
ReplyDeleteThank Jennifer for your support!!!
~jeannie~
Gasp! I've taught K, 1, and 2 also have materials for those grade levels. Hmmm, I'm not sure if I can do that, I seem to hold onto the, what if's...
ReplyDeleteit's something to think about :) Libby
I did the same over the summer! I've taught grades 1st & kinder, but for our after school program I've taught 3rd, 4th and 5th...so I had TONS of stuff. I have a very SMALL class, very small and those printables were over running my room. I was soooo hesitant to throw them out and thought of 1,000 reasons why I shouldn't but at the end of the day~ there was no question. It had to GO! I managed to put everything I kept in sheet protectors and filed them in binders. My life is much easier now...less really is more! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way! I moved from 3rd to 1st a few years ago and go rid of sooo much "stuff". There's always a new idea just around the corner!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
I Teach special education K-5 this year I'm even teaching 7-9 so I've collected soooo much stuff for every different level, but I know I love the little ones and want to stay at that level so I've been thinking about weeding out the things I don't think I will be using because you know if I need to teach fractions I will find great ideas when they are needed I don't have to have them all made and stored for years before I do need them! I'm glad I found your blog :)
ReplyDeleteAmy
TheResource(ful)Room!
DualKinderTeacher - I understand the hesitation - but you should have seen me throwing stuff away. We have these HUGE black bags - it was so full you could barely move it.... I have NOT missed that stuff!
ReplyDeleteEdana - yea I shouldn't have gotten rid of this before now....like over the summer, but couldn't let go until now :0)
Rebecca- you are so right. Especially in today's world with Pinterest, teacher blogs, etc. there really isn't a reason to hold on to all those paper copies...
Amy - welcome, I am SO glad you found me! I'm on my way over to check out your site!!
I am a spec education teacher and have taught K- 10th grades for a loooongg time! I think Spec Ed teachers are notorious collectors because we have so many kiddos that come to us with splintered skills in all the areas.We try to so hard to meet them where they are at and anytime we see something that could be "useful" we latch on to it! Now with the internet, pinterest and lovely teacher blogs like yours we can get "fresh stuff" and I have had to rid out the past year and a half before my principal had to get me another filing cabinet. Thank you so much for sharing your freebie! I can now throw out some older stuff! 8-)
ReplyDeleteI taught 3rd grade ELL for my first three years teaching. Now I teach kindergarten and first. I had no problem getting rid of book resources that I had but it was so hard getting rid of the things I made my first year teaching. But I did. I still have more to purge this year.
ReplyDelete