Over the past several years, I’ve heard from hundreds of teachers looking for advice on how to get organized and stay organized all school year long. Many have tried getting organized in the past, but can’t keep it going. Sound familiar?

If you’re trying to unlock the mystery behind getting organized, simplifying your teaching workload, and/or how to work less as a teacher - the key is managing your time. Get control of your time and it will lay the foundation for streamlining every other part of your teaching life including getting organized and staying organized for good.

Systems. The key to achieving order and flow in the classroom. They’re also a foundational need to simplify your teacher workload, saving you time, and staying organized for good.

But what is a system and where should you have one? Let me share with you where I implemented systems in my classroom and how they changed my teacher life.

If you’re like me, you love using the “classic” paper and pencil work in the classroom. I don’t mean worksheets, per se, but having students write on paper for assignments. I like digital materials too, but for me I have always liked having students work on paper.

Unfortunately, the pandemic and our new world of virtual teaching has made that nearly impossible. Now, everything is digital, from math tests to writing prompts.

What if we don’t have those materials readily available?

Guess what? You do!

The Best Six Tricks to Keep You Organized for Good | Feel like you’re drowning in paperwork and classroom materials? Can’t find important resources when you need them? Utilize these simple steps to organize your teaching resources and keep your classroom organized for good. | everythingjustso.org

So many of you are scrambling to find resources to send home with your students due to the COVID-19/ coronavirus pandemic. And for parents, many of you are wondering what to do with kids at home.

Determine Importance: Time to Drop What Doesn’t Work | The first step in simplifying your workload as a teacher is to determine importance. Deciding importance will guide all of your decisions as an educator - what you teach, how you teach, the teaching resources you use, and how you spend your time. Dropping what doesn’t work not only simplifies your workload, but also improves your performance as an educator. Guide sheets included help you through the process. | everythingjustso.org

Women’s history shouldn’t be taught in March alone. Instead, help students celebrate the achievements of women all year long with this list of 180 children’s books.

One of the best ways to improve relationships with your students is to build strong connections with their families. With all there is to do, this can be difficult to do. Here are three simple ways to make it work.

Building personal connections is one of the most important components of being a successful teacher. When students know you care, they are more apt to listen to and learn from you. This is especially true for students who are struggling. Mentor Meetings is one classroom management strategy that really works. Partnering students with adults who care is a great way to encourage, build trust, and extend a student’s community.

When teaching character skills, it’s often helpful to start with a children’s book. To support my monthly thankful for kindness writing, I compiled a list of popular children’s books that are perfect mentor texts. These are the best children’s books I’ve found for kindness.

November and the holiday of Thanksgiving provide the perfect opportunity for sneaking in lessons about thankfulness. This simple exercise will kickstart a process that you can repeat all year long.

Communication, like in any relationship, is key to building a positive classroom community. Although we know it’s important, finding the time to talk authentically with students can be difficult. However, there are a few strategies that build relationships with students and make a big impact in classroom behavior. These three classroom management strategies (and free writing resources) are simple and are sure to improve behavior management in any classroom.

It’s easy to choose cute over substance when celebrating school holidays. But our students deserve more. Here are three reasons why choosing substance over fluff is always better when celebrating holidays in the upper elementary classroom. Plus help finding teaching resources to bring both meaning and fun when planning holiday activities throughout the year.

April is National Poetry Month. Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas to use in the month of April or all through the year, these ten simple resources will help encourage a love of poetry in your upper elementary students. Use these popular children’s books, teaching resources, and other materials to broaden students understanding and appreciation of poetry.

On Read Across America Day, move the focus from Dr. Seuss Week to its intended purpose – encouraging students to celebrate reading. Rather than focusing on one author, it’s the perfect time to create a reading day for exploring diverse children’s literature from multiple writers. Here’s how I celebrated Read Across America in my upper elementary classroom in the simplest, but most effective way.