Organizing and Storing Math Stations for a Quick Change Over
By
It’s time to change out math stations, and since I get so many questions about how I organize and store my station materials, I thought I would do a quick and dirty post of how I keep it all together for a quick change over.
As I begin to breakdown stations, I remove all my materials and rubber each tier of the activity so I can keep them separate and also so that when I pull them out next year, they are already organized and ready to go.
Once rubber banded, I make sure that I have the ‘I can’ or student instruction card placed on top of the activity
and then place all the items, including the activity cover in a ziploc. Can I just say, plastic bags are NOT my favorite and are NOT what I use to organize my stations when they are being used, but for storage, they are the simpliest and cheapest things to date that I have found.
These things all go into a container along with the other math items for that theme.
They’re labeled and stored just like these Gingerbread Stations. By the way, if you need labels like these, you can click HERE to get some. They’re free.
My containers were kept in my room all together and labeled like this last year. This year, I still have the same containers and labels, but I only house my current theme’s containers at school. All the other ones are kept in the storage unit at my house. I like these containers, because with their handle, I can just grab and go. They are also the PERFECT size. If you’d like to get your hands on some this size you can find their description HERE.
How do you store and organize your station goodies for easy change over? I’d love to hear from you.
With more than 20 years of teaching experience, it is my pleasure to bring you my most favorite ideas and activities to keep young learners engaged and loving learning.
How do you store things that are not thematic so that you can find them easily? And how do you keep track of what you have so you don’t over-do one concept and neglect another?
How do you store each level in the drawer? I’ve been using baggies but would love another idea to make it easier for groups to grab and go. I also seem to be spending a lot of time teaching centers to each group to get them easy to work. How do you intro new centers and how much time does it take you?
Thank you for sharing your talents,….your wealth of ideas and knowledge.
I would love to know where you bought your aqua color chart holders. I just love them and am determined to change from royal Blue! I am on the hunt. Any help would be wonderful.
Thank you very much!
What great ideas you have! Thanks for sharing! I was wondering where you found the turquoise pocket charts, as I’ve never seen them in that color before.
With nearly 20 years of experience as a full-time kindergarten teacher, I’m committed to creating a classroom where learning is joyful, engaging, challenging, and fun. Each day, I work to ensure that my students feel successful through instruction that considers their unique interests, learning profiles, and readiness levels. I believe that students should be excited to come to class and enjoy a myriad of hands-on activities that encourage exploration and discovery.
While I continue to teach full-time, I find so much joy in connecting and building friendships with teachers worldwide. It’s why I started this blog back in 2012. My hope has become a reality as I have been able to forge relationships with teachers, sharing ideas and building friendships beyond my little neck of the woods through professional development sessions and this blog.
So by all means, take some time to look around and explore A Differentiated Kindergarten. Gather some new ideas, fun tips, and most importantly, don’t forget to reach out and say, ‘Hi!’
Leave a Reply