Clean up

Clutter in a classroom really bothers me. If the room is well organized it helps me to focus and be inspired, better. Otherwise I’ll just be thinking about what I need to do to clean up the room. I’m sure that some students feel the same way. Having students help clean up is essential because I can’t do it all by myself.

The first time I taught, the lesson took longer than anticipated and we ran short for time. The students left as their parents picked them up and I was left with a huge mess to clean. In a real classroom setting this would not work very well. I will only have about five minutes in between classes and that will not be enough time to do it all on my own.

Students need to be assigned different areas to clean at the end of each class, everyday. I found a cleaning chart online that assigns people to different tasks. It was a magnetic board and labeled the different tables in the room with numbers. Magnets with tasks such as “sweep floor” or “clean sink” could be moved to different sections when needed.

Look at this beautiful classroom I found at: http://www.1canoe2.com/2011/03/during-the-day-i/

In my classroom I could assign tasks to different tables and change the tasks weekly or monthly. Everyone will know his or her job without having to ask me what to do. I will evaluate each job before they can be dismissed from my room. This will help to keep my room clean and organized, making it a better learning environment for everyone.