Ten Teacher Hacks That Make You Go..Duh!!

Some of my most favorite teacher hacks that save money and time!

This adorable little organizer is just cereal boxes and wrapping paper!  This would be wonderful to organize paper, it would also make a great turn-in box! I would use this as a turn-in box and organize by subject or class period.

Just crates and some zip ties give you a wondering shelving system! These would work great as student cubbies, or even bookshelves that are divided by reading level!

These little baskets in the desk make great drawers for the kids to put loose things in.  This would help them keep up with that pencil they seem to keep losing.

I need this for myself! This would make my life so much easier when I go to grade and file things! These drawers are fairly inexpensive. Just a little scrapbook paper to make them cute and suddenly you have a wonderful paper organizer!

Duct tape on the end of your pencils so that they don't get "mixed up" with the students pencils. Great idea!

I love this little flower to help teach time! The leaves that show the hour and minute hand sizes are genius! I also love that the petals help when you start to teach elapsed time. When you have the kids "hop" around the clock you can just tell them to draw their petals!

This, my friends, is a wonderful idea. It is the glue sponge. This seemingly strange combination can be a huge help to classroom (and child) cleanliness. This would be especially helpful for younger students who tend to drop glue bottles...

Home Depot will cut your composition notebooks in half for you! You only have to buy half as many! These would be great for math journals, writing journals, anything!

Laminated paper + duct tape border = way cheap white board!

These lovely little circles are vinyl and can be cut out with cricut.  Not only do they stick to the table, but they're dry erasable! No more passing out white boards!

These are only a few of my favorite hacks and ideas. If you have any that you think should be on this list please post them in the comments, I would love to hear your ideas! Hope everyone has a great day!

An Introduction to the Author

Hello Blogging World,

I just wanted to take the time and introduce you to myself since (hopefully) you'll be pretty involved in my life soon.  I am 21 years old and I will begin student teaching in January, 2014.  My license will be for K-6.  So far my most favorite grades to teach are 1st grade and 6th grade.  I really hope that I will be able to have a student teaching placement in 4th grade because that is one of the only grades that I haven't taught in yet.  I'm a little shy, so this is an effort on my part to become a little more open.  I'm getting married this December!!! (I'm not really a Hawkins yet, I just went ahead and put my married name so that I wouldn't have to change it later.)  My fiance is amazing and I don't know what I would do without him.  He is going to school to be a PE teacher.  He thought that elementary school would be his favorite age range to coach, but he's really enjoyed the 4th-8th grade range, which surprised us both a lot.

Okay a little bit more about me (in the form of random statements):
My favorite color is green.
My favorite food is chocolate.
If I could take any vacation in the world it would be a backpacking trip through Europe.
I was homeschooled (but I'm going to be a teacher...go figure).
I love coffee.
I believe that adding a cardigan to any outfit instantly makes it more professional.
Apparently I'm a Miami Dolphins fan..(that's what my fiance says at least).
I have a love-hate relationship with technology (mostly love though).
Dill pickle flavored potato chips are the best potato chips ever created.
I love Thirty-One and Vera Bradley equally.
I make incredibly spur-of-the-moment decisions quite often.
The Harry Potter series is a wonderful piece of literary art that should be read on an annual basis.
I always overload myself with things to do.
I am obsessed with Pinterest and Vines..
I usually start off the school year (as a student) very organized, but it doesn't usually last more than a month.
I am equally excited and nervous about teaching.
My most favorite teaching moment thus far happened while I was working one-on-one with a 1st grader.  I was helping him with a math assignment that he hadn't finished (math time was in the morning and this was right before the buses loaded).  I talked him through it and sort of forced him to think it through.  I could just see it click in his precious little brain!  I told him that his brain grew three sizes.  He said, "Only because you helped me Miss Ashlyn."  I cried..a lot.
I believe in one God, one faith, and one baptism.  If you have any questions, comments, or smart remarks about this fact let me know and we'll talk.

I am so excited about this blog.  I just hope that there are people out there who will benefit from what I write here.  I also hope to get some great insight and feedback from everyone's comments!

Side note:  If you comment anything insulting or hurtful in any way on my blog, I will not hesitate to remove the comment without question or consultation.