Work Smarter, Not Harder # 13

Do you ever have those DUUUUUHHHH moments?  This insight was one of those times for me. 

When I first moved to 2nd Grade from Kindergarten, I lost the parapro that I had become accustomed to for 16 years.  She was an absolute jewel and took care of all the filing for me.  Suddenly, that was an extra chore added to my day.  I continued the system that we had, which was having the students file folders in a hanging file.  They were each assigned a number and when they turned their work in, I would put them in order and then file.

Well!!!

One day this past year, I walked into a friend and co-workers room (and yes, just because they are co-workers, doesn't always mean they are friends, so that is why I list both).  We had worked together in kindergarten for many years, but this was her first year in 2nd grade.  I was thrilled to be back teaching with Jennifer, even though we were on different pods and didn't get to see a lot of each other through the day.  However, we would pop into each other's room if we had a chance.  When I walked into her room, I had a MAJOR DUUUUUHHHHH moment. 

She had her hanging files set up in a milkcrate next to her student cubbies...and...

the STUDENTS...YES, the students...(gasp) were doing their VERY OWN filing of their papers.  Then on Friday, she just had them pull them out, put into their parent folder and take them home.

What could be smarter???? 

Oh, my!!!

I'm so glad I'm going to be able to save myself some time daily using her system.  I figure I spent 5-15 minutes daily dealing with this!!!

Thanks, Jennifer!!!!

Don't forget I offer specialty items for your classroom.  Kim just contacted me Monday needing a Farm Theme for her classroom decor.  I gave her several options of  graphics to choose from and we started a conversation of what she wanted.  One of the things that was so great was she had some sample pictures and ideas to point me into the direction she wanted. 

Here's how it turned out:

She told me what she wanted her bulletin board and door to say.

I was very pleased with how it turned out and so was she.

This is what she had to say about her experience on the TPT site:

I am so pleased with my custom back to school unit! It is more than I ever imagined and is going to look fabulous in my classroom. I love how Cynthia involved me in the whole process and made sure that I got a product that I truly loved! If you are looking for an affordable and cute classroom pack...look no further!

So, if I can help you with ANY kind of specialty item, please contact me!

Have a GREAT day...and continue to Work SMARTER, Not HARDER!!!