2 Simple Tips for Helping Young Students Learn to Organize Desk Supplies

The one thing that really saves my sanity with my own organization is when I am not distracted by my students being unorganized! 

How many times have you heard this? 

When we are ready to get started on something that involves the students taking out a supply of some kind, I like them to be able to do so quickly and quietly, so we can get the show on the road. Things falling out of desks, supplies getting lost, folders getting ripped and mangled and paper/snack wrapper stuffing are a few frustrations we can all do without. I hope these tips can help your class be more organized!

Spending some time to teach the class to do these two simple things may help those of you who have an issue with desk-cluttering, pencil- fumbling students! 

Because we have desks, not tables, I require that my students keep one, what we call a READY PENCIL, in the side of their desk. The eraser side needs to be showing out and the pencil pushed in against the edge of the desk. That way it won't roll out. When it is time to take out our most frequently used supply, we just grab it out from the corner. It does not involve dragging out the entire noisy pencil box. This one simple trick has saved so much time!

Notice that the books, folders and notebooks above are all nicely stacked. This too was taught and reinforced daily for the first month of school. We divide our desk into two sections. The opposite side is for all other supplies like crayons, glue and pencil boxes.

The students have done a great job keeping their desks tidy without reminders. They still look the same after nearly two months in school. All because we took that extra time to think about and practice organization. I hope they carry these tricks with them through the grades.

To encourage neatness and organization, consider having the desk fairy visit and reward students with a special treat on (or in) their desk!

 I just had to use these cute little fairies from my friend Jen over at Teaching in the Tongass!
 You can grab a copy of the desk fairy notes {here} if you like!

If you have a great idea for organizing, we'd love to hear from you in the comments section.

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 If you have a great tip for organizing, we'd love to hear from you in the comments section.