Time Saving & Useful Classroom Tools (Part 1)

Let’s talk about tools and items that made my life easier as a special education teacher! I know that when you work in a self-contained classroom you are most likely working with multiple grade levels, multiple curriculums, different needs, and various staff! The amount of workload can be overwhelming. So, I would always ask myself… How can I simplify or find ways to make things easier in the classroom?

​I’m going to share some of the things that I utilized in my classroom that made my life easier. 

Mailbox Organizer

I used a slot mailbox organizer on my arrival table. Each student was assigned a mailbox. During arrival students would place their School/Home Folder and their agenda inside their assigned mailbox. I also would place home notes, homework, any type of communication, and any paperwork related to the student in their assigned mailbox. When it was close to dismissal everything each student needs was in their assigned mailbox.

I also had some of these in my centers to organize student's work, paperwork or copies for the center activities. It is a great organizational tool. 

NOTE: If you have more than 10 students, you can stack 2 together (make sure to tape the connection, you can also glue paint stirring sticks to stabilize together)

Affiliate Link: ​https://amzn.to/3ZGB9U6

Desk Trays

I used these trays throughout my various centers to place student completed or finished work. Students were trained on placing their completed work in the finished trays. This helped keep us organized. At the end of the day, we would collect the work to file, sort, send home, or put away. 

Depending on the type of center, I would only have one tray per center or one tray per student. For example, in my writing center, I had a tray for each student because there were multiple activities that each student was expected to complete. This helped keep their work organized, and it was a time saver since we didn't have to sort out the activities per student. 

Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3mnOsue

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Date Stamp

Invest in a self-inking date stamp! Stop spending time handwriting dates. It is important to track when activities are completed. After you collect all the work from each center's finished tray, use this stamp to quickly put a date on top! I promise you will thank me. 

Dating work samples help us see the student's growth. It also documents when you have implemented curriculums and your hard work. 

Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3KZ2QDC

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Sign Here Tabs

As educators, we often need a lot of parent or caregiver signatures. However, sometimes or often parents will miss the highlighted signature spot. These tabs stick out!! The great thing is they can be reused over and over if returned. 

You can keep this by the mailbox where communication or paperwork is sent out for your students. 

Affiliated Link: ​https://amzn.to/3mz9Cpf​

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​Homework Stamp

I used this stamp to help my parents identify the homework packets or pages. This was a great way to remind them that it needed to be returned. 

As well, sometimes I would send a copy of a previously practiced skills or activity and I would stamp it to compare work samples. It was very interesting what the student did in class compared to home. ;-) 

​Affiliated Link: https://amzn.to/3FLMP0l

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Home & School Communication Folder

This is a great way to provide a visual for families to know what needs to be returned to school and what stays home. It's easier to create a communication routine with families and caregivers.  

​​Affiliated Link: ​https://amzn.to/3ncJyRg

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Timers

Timers are a great way to keep yourself and the students on track. This is really useful if you have various centers and want to maintain time management. You can also use smaller timers for behavior management and student expectations. This can also help your students learn time management which essentially is a life skill.

​Big Timer  Affiliated Link: https://amzn.to/40cipMY​
Small Timers Affiliated Link: https://amzn.to/3ngn2XA​

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Here are just a few items that I found super helpful!
​I will share Part 2 of useful tools in the next blog!