Let's get it started!

That song was running through my head as I walked into my room yesterday wondering where to start!

This is my motto for this year!

When you go into your classroom for the first time(s) in the summer, do you just kind of stand there and wonder how this is all going to get done?  I do this every year and it wastes so much time!  This year, something clicked and I got so much done that first day.

I started by moving the furniture into place (not student desks, those are stacked on top of each other in the center of the room).

Then I cleared off all of my shelves (and cabinets) which was where everything was thrown during the move.  This let me organize and set up the shelves the way I need them for September.

Obviously, things I wanted stored on those shelves stayed.  Once everything else was off, I organized the stuff that stayed.

I gave tables different "assignments" so that I wasn't just dumping a giant mess everywhere...well it's still a giant mess but it's sorted by category. 

Here is the "To File Table" which is right next to the filing cabinets:

And the game/centers table:

No picture I have a small table by my desk that is holding all of the things I need for back to school like packets I need to copy, bulletin board borders, staplers.  My small group table is where my small group things are going.

I have a TON of teacher's manuals!  Because everything is individualized in my room, I have 3 different math sets/kits for 3 different grade levels (9 total)...and that's just math!  I decided to line all of these things up on top of my shelf....I don't plan on sorting through them this summer so they will stay there until I get to them during the school year.  It's important to realize that you can't do everything this summer...some things are going to have to wait!  You need to have a life too! This looks neat enough that it's not bothering me. 

Now that the shelves are free, I set up my reading group library:

and my student library: 

I LOVED starting my room by emptying all the shelves and cabinets because after one day, I had started setting up areas of the room, I can see what future projects will take the most time and space in the room (filing and games for me!).  It's saving me a lot of time...if I did one shelf at a time, I would be filing papers and putting game pieces away 900 times.  This way, I can come in and filing everything all at once.  I can pull out all of my games and organize them at once and I won't find an extra game 2 days later hidden in some corner.  

I hope this gives you a starting point if you were stuck like me!  What are your favorite getting started tips for setting up your room?