Organising the classroom is always a tough task as it depends on how much (or little) space you have. Of course, being organised with handouts and diaries is also something I find I need to stay on top of – so I did what any savvy teacher would do – I looked on Pinterest for ideas!
It was on Pinterest that I saw mailboxes/pigeon holes for students – awesome idea. Not being particularly talented in the building department I had a local retiree make me this gorgeous cupboard.
It was made in two pieces – boxes for the students which are big enough to take an A4 ring binder – and storage underneath to keep your own things away from others!
In my first year I tried putting laminated name labels at the back of each mailbox. What I found was that it was difficult to quickly find the correct one. I had started with them in alphabetical order but with students coming and going it was out of order by the end of term.
So this year I trialled something new. Using 50mm bulldog clips I labelled each with a student’s name and colour coded the names (black for general and red for then students who got notes). I chose to attach them on the side so nothing got caught and it worked much better. You can buy the template I used on TPT.
Ooh I like the idea of using clips. My mailboxes are smaller but I have a similar problem being able to find the correct box quickly with names at the back. The worst thing I tried was numbers – I could never remember which one belonged to whom!Thanks for sharing.