Linky Parties Going on Now!

Happy Monday! I hope you're enjoying this long weekend! I'm linking up with Kelly and Kim's Kindergarten Kreations for Markdown Monday. Stop by their blog and snatch up some great deals before January 23rd. http://kellyandkimskindergarten.blogspot.com/2015/01/markdown-monday-linky-party-january_18.html

 

We have few teacher workdays and I need to get my files organized {the ones that never got put away from the summer} So, I 'm featuring my Binder Covers and Spines on this Monday Markdown linky for 1/2 price.

 

Another great link-up is with Student Savvy http://studentsavvyontpt.blogspot.com/2015/01/freebie-linky-party.html 

Stop by her blog to link up your favorite freebies!

 

Don't forget to link up with my blog and share any printables and activities that would be great to put in a sub tub. Check out the linky party here: http://crazycrittercafe.blogspot.com/2015/01/stress-free-emergency-sub-tubs.html

It's live until January 26th. Then you can still check out tons of great products to add to your emergency sub tub.

 

Thanks for stopping by the Crazy Critter Café!

 Don't forget to follow this blog so you'll be the first to know when I'm having sales, linky parties and giveaways! :)

Have a great week!

Time for a GIVEAWAY!

I'M HAVING MY FIRST GIVEAWAY! Today, 7/14/14 - Friday 7/18/14 at 10:00am.

 I love trying new ideas and what's better is when I can get them on sale or for FREE! So I'm trying out new technology skills and having a little raffle to give away my Binder Covers and Spines for Many Reasons and Seasons to a lucky winner! This is what you need to help get organized with some of your files for next school year. Just leave a blog comment about what you've been working on this summer to get organized and then follow my Teachers Pay Teachers store to be notified when I've posted new products. That's it! So easy to enter!

  {Click here to learn more about this product.}

 

I'm officially in "summer mode". Can't remember what day of the week it is, much less the date. Enjoying every minute of it! But I have been working on getting my notebooks and ideas together for when I start back school in August. It'll be here before I know it. {sigh} I love starting the school year, but it's hard letting go of summer vacation.
 My Pinterest boards have multiplied with pins. There are so many awesome ideas from teachers on Pinterest! Teachers are so creative!

What have you been working on this summer to get ready for the new school year? I'd love to hear your thoughts!  Leave a comment on my blog below, follow my TPT store and register to win the Binder Covers and Spines for Many Reasons and Seasons! Good luck {and hang with me as I try out my first raffle ;-)}.
 I'll be posting the winner on my blog Friday (7/18/14), so follow me by e-mail, Facebook, or on Bloglovin' to see if you're the winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for stopping by the café!

 

Let's Get Organized! Binder Covers and Spines {My summer project}

Welcome back to the Café!

My spring break is quickly coming to an end {sniff, sniff} and my week has been semi-productive {considering the NC pollen has had me down a few days}. I was in the mood to get some things organized here around the house and I also finished my project Binder Covers and Spines for Many Reasons and Seasons.  This is my newest summer project! Like I said in an earlier post, I feel like my life is one big project. :-)

This binder and spine pack contains 129 {It started as 120, then I found myself adding a few more here and there. Looks like I could've made one more to round it to an even 130. :-)}

When I made these binder covers I was thinking about common themes and topics I {and other elementary teachers} use often. Within each binder you can also create sub-categories with page dividers if necessary.

 As you can see from the picture above, many of my files are still in file folders. Talk about UNORGANIZED! Whew! It's time for me to get busy getting these files in order.

Below are some examples of the binders and spines found in this pack.

A complete list of the binder covers in this pack can be found here.

I didn't put borders on the spines because, although some binders are said to be 1 inch, 2 inches, etc., the spines are sometimes hard to fit. I've had to trim many spines with cute borders to fit certain binders, which caused the cute border to not be so cute anymore. :-(

So, to make it easier, I made these spines that could be trimmed to fit {without having to cut a border}. 

One trick I use to help keep my materials organized is to use a yellow highlighter and write a big "M" across my master copies before I hole punch them and file them in their binder. Using the neon yellow highlighter doesn't show up when photocopied! It MUST be a neon yellow highlighter, though. I've tried yellow markers before and they sometimes show up with a light gray mark. This is also good for creating keys for tests.

I hope this post has been helpful and has you motivated to get organized!

One more thing...as I'm cleaning out the duplicate papers from my file folders I put them in a plastic container. I use them as a "work for fun" basket and students can choose what they want to work on if they need something to do. I also put extra papers that I've photocopied throughout the year in this container. If my pile is big, at the end of the year I'll let the kids choose papers to take home for the summer.

Thanks for stopping by the Crazy Critter Café. Feel free to share your favorite classroom organization tips in the comments below!