Fresh Ideas for 2015 plus a GIVEAWAY {For a Love of Teaching}

Hey everyone! It's Kim here from For a Love of Teaching! I'm here today to share with you some Fresh Ideas for 2015! I know by this point in the school year we are all noticing a few things we'd like to do differently, or if you're like me you've pinned a few hundreds of ideas on Pinterest that makes you scream, "I've got to do this!" Here at The Elementary Entourage, it's our goal to share with you some fresh ideas and inspiration to get you through the rest of the school year. Check back each day from now until the end of January for new tips, tricks, and ideas that we've each tried or would like to try in our classrooms. Hopefully, they'll bring inspiration to you, too! Stick around, because there's a very special giveaway at the end! :)

I have one problem this year that is driving me crazy!!! It's called, "THE NO NAME PAPER!" For some reason, the class I have this year is famous for leaving their name off their paper. I'm used to having one or maybe two students do this on a regular basis, and I'm even pretty good at recognizing handwriting by this point in the year. However, this year is an exception! No matter how many times I remind my students, I still get home with a handful of papers to grade with NO NAME!

I found this meme from Tracy Orman that I loved! (You can find her post on using memes in the classroom here.)  I posted it beside my turn in drawers. My 4th graders instantly loved it! However, I still have those pesky NO NAME PAPERS every week!

So, I searched Pinterest once again for this cute little highlighter idea I had seen a while back. 

This brilliant idea came from Elizabeth over at Fun in Room 4B. I remembered seeing it and thinking - what a great idea! I have no clue why I've never tried this before, but I'm now in the process of finding cute ribbon and making labels. I'm hoping this will do the trick and solve my problem!

Here's an idea I love that actually came from one of my best friends that I'm lucky enough to teach with, too!  Monica from NC Teacher Chick saw this on Pinterest last summer and immediately went to the Dollar Store to pick up baskets that would fit inside her student's desks. Her desks are now so neat and organized! 

Lose papers, pencils, sharpeners, etc. are neatly placed in these baskets. No more messy desks with papers sticking out of the sides and coming out the front! The image above comes from a photo tour of Amy's classroom from What Happens in First Grade.  She has some great ideas! This one just happens to be next on my fresh ideas list to implement this year!

Here's another idea I've not only seen on Pinterest, but also from other teachers in my school.

This idea came from Rebecca over at Create Teach Share, and I love them!  I'm constantly struggling with displaying student work in the classroom or the hallway. I love bulletin boards, but I hate changing them constantly. A few teachers in my school decided to make some of these and then hot glue them to the wall outside of their classroom. They easily change student work without the hassle of staples or tape. You can also hang these on a clothesline in the classroom. No more ripped papers from staples, and your bulletin boards don't have to be changed constantly! I love the chalkboard look, which just so happens to fit my classroom theme perfectly! These will more than likely be my next snow day project!

I hope you've enjoyed my fresh ideas! Come back for more inspiration during the month of January.  We have so much to share! 

Here's the best part!  The Elementary Entourage is hosting an amazing giveaway for one of my favorite laminators! This Scotch Thermal Laminator is perfect for the classroom and all your fresh idea projects. It even comes with 100 extra laminating sheets! Be sure to enter below to WIN! 

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