"Bathroom Procedure" Christina Demonbreun, 1st Grade Teacher

"I teach first grade and in order to keep the bathroom from being an excuse to get up, I have a "chart " in the back of the room, where the bathrooms are located. My chart is on a magnet attached to a metal file cabinet. You can just tape it to the door, etc. This is very easy to make. On the computer, I type the students' names; two columns - one for boys, one for girls. The names are in alphabetic order by first name. There is a clothespin clipped to the bottom of the paper.

When a student needs to use the bathroom, he/she puts the clothespin, on his/her name. When done, he/she puts the clothespin back at the bottom. If another student needs to use the bathroom, he/she looks at the chart to see if it is in use. This prevents any lines from forming, or time wasted if it is occupied. My bathroom is in a small hallway adjoining the other classrooms, so there is no way to see if it is already occupied. I suggested this to my intern, when she obtained a fourth grade position and this is working in her class very well, too."

"Save Those Glue Caps" Eileen Ellis, Elementary Art Teacher K-8

"When students are using glue sticks, we place the stick and the lid in a margarine container. Lids still manage to roll off the table and vanish. (We have glue lid gremlins in the artroom so we now save all glue lids in our LOST and FOUND basket.) Any student may help themselves to a matching lid whenever they need one! Very simple and very effective!"

"Maths Boxes" Tracey Schumacher, Deputy Principal

"I teach 5 and 6 year olds. To make it easy for them to find maths equipment without having to read words, I photocopied 2/3 of what ever is in each equipment box (eg, Counters, blocks)and glued a picture on both ends of box. The children can instantly see what is in each box and can easily find things when asked to!"

"Classroom Currency" Cris, Elementary Teacher

"A couple of years back, I came up with the idea of using a classroom currency. I find that it makes real world connections while helping me reinforce behavior and responsibility. Students receive currency for doing their work, just as if they were working a job. I pay them a fixed salary. Students get more money when they put a great deal of extra effort into their job. They also receive less money if they do a poor job. They can use their currency to receive extra time at play, purchase things at the school store, or use it for the weekly prize bag. I have also been using the concept of banking this year. Students who do not use their currency over the week, can bank the money and receive interest."

"I'm Absent" Barbara Hall, Kindergarten Teacher

"After taking attendance I place a colored file folder on the desk of those absent. On the front of the folder I write "I'm Absent". The folders are used to collect any worksheets that are passed out during the day. The folders stay on the desk until the student returns. The day that students return the worksheets are taken out and put in planners to take home. This way I don't have to worry about students missing classwork."