Let's organize those math manipulatives that are just thrown in that bin over there! You know, the one that you don't know where it came from, but it's there. Organizing can be an overwhelming process, but the great news is you only have to do it once! So, let's dive in.
WHY ORGANIZE?
Without a plan the day can be a total mess, but with proper planning it could be breezy and enjoyable. The same is true for your math tool organization. Math time can be a real headache, if you have to hunt for the manipulatives in multiple places or in a catch all bin.
Organizing your materials increases efficiency and creates a relaxed environment that all can navigate. Everything in its place allows students, substitutes, and team teachers to easily locate and use the math tools when needed.
SORT YOUR MANIPULATIVES
The first thing you want to do is lay all your manipulatives out on the floor or table in coordinated piles. All the money together, the place value blocks together and so forth. Once you can see all the tools you have, determine the number and size of bins you will need to store them. Now, is a great time to go ahead and open up your Notes app on your phone and start a shopping list! It's almost time to shop, but in the meantime you can't just leave all these manipulatives lying around. You can throw them back into whatever you had them in, until their new home has been purchased and prepared. It's time to prepare to shop for durable and stylish organization bins.
DURABLE & STYLISH ORGANIZATION TOOLS
It can be easy to get caught up in the colorful bins and containers at the Dollar Tree, but will they last you a long time? Make an investment in your organization storage materials. You want to purchase materials that will last you for the duration of your teaching career. Consider that you will pull these storage containers out repeatedly each year, so you want them to withstand all the handling they will endure. When shopping for your bins, boxes and containers I highly recommend Michael's, Target, and Amazon.
These wonderful memory boxes from Michael's are amazing and stylish for storing your math manipulatives. They come in a plethora of colors and change seasonally as well. I strongly suggest going into your local store, as they have a larger array of colors in store than shown online. I love the depth of these memory boxes because they allow you to store your class set of math tools. They are also perfect for adding smaller containers inside to organize even further. I include open pencil baskets, photo cases, and snap closure pencil cases from Michael's to organize multiple colors or styles of manipulatives within one bin.
STORAGE & ACCESSIBILITY
The design of the memory boxes are perfect for most classroom cabinet spaces. They have straight lines and edges, which makes stacking a durable and simple way to store them. You want to store them in a place for easy access. For me, on the shelves with legible labels is ideal.
Organizing your bins on open shelves allows you to access them quickly should you forget a tool. Choosing the boxes in coordinating colors to the classroom theme, keeps the sight lines clean and inviting. In pre-k through first grade, you may want to store math manipulatives higher to keep the littles ones from tampering with them. While in the higher grades, you may opt to place them lower. This would allow you to create a class job for a supply helper to distribute or return the math tools.
INCLUDE A TEACHER SET
Even before COVID, it was necessary for you to have a set of materials just for you. There's nothing worse than preparing to teach a lesson and forgetting that you allowed a student to borrow something and now you don't have what you need to teach the lesson. One way to eliminate this and increase efficiency when pulling materials to teach a lesson is to prepare a set of manipulatives within each box. Your set can fit neatly into a clear photo case.
This decreases the spread of germs since you are the only person handling them. Having your own set also ensures that all the materials that you began a unit with can be sanitized and returned to their container for the following year. This prevents planning and preparation of the necessary math tools the next year. Additionally, including an index card outlining a couple examples of strategies taught and any misconceptions that you noticed will be like gold when you open your bin again!
LABELING
Many skip this step and are just relieved that the materials are at least organized. I'm guilty of this too! My bins sat for six months without any labels and let me tell you it was annoying.
Literally, opening every box to find the fraction strips was my breaking point. Once you have purchased your boxes, take the extra 20 minutes to type up your labels and add them to the bins. Linked here are my free editable labels.
Now, you are all set with beautiful containers, bins, and labels and ready to put everything in its place!
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