Packing Up a Classroom

Hi everyone!  My name is Cassandra and I am Mrs 3rd Grade!  I am so excited to be joining this group of amazing women to bring you All About 3rd Grade!  I have been teaching third grade since 2008!  I have LOVED every moment of it!!  3rd grade is AMAZING!!

Cassandra, Mrs 3rd Grade, has been teaching 3rd grade since 2008 and has great tips on how to pack up your classroom for the end of the year!

This year I am packing up my classroom!  It has been quite a process.  I have been at my school for my entire third grade career.  I have not only taught third grade this whole time, but I have also only been in my current classroom for this year.  Last year I just moved down the hall, so I just had kids help me carry everything down the hall, I didn't go through anything, I didn't throw anything away, and I didn't clean everything out.  Don't judge, it was a hot mess!!

The mess I left at the end of the school year in 2015 when I couldn't unpack or move into my new classroom, but had to MOVE everything to my new classroom!

This year, everything is different!!  I am not only changing grade levels, but I am also changing schools!  This has led me to a whole new level of cleaning and packing!!  I can't believe how much stuff I have!  I totally recommend going through your things every so often and purge!  I know that I hold on to things that I have had for years and have never used!

A garage full of teaching materials can only mean one thing, it is time to switch schools or grade levels!

I have been moving boxes, filling boxes, going through boxes and purging like it is going out of style!  It is a great time to start to go digital and get rid of all of those paper copies you have been hanging on to and you don't know why.  It has been great for me to go through all of my task cards, organize them, and make sure I have them all.  If I don't then I have been printing the missing ones and getting them prepped for next year.

Organize your books at the end of the school year, and then they are ready to go in August when you return for school! Wrap your shelves with fabric or butcher paper to keep them clean!

One of the amazing things that I LOVE to do to save time for next year is to organize my books ahead of time!  I have my students help me do it at the end of the year.  This way I can have them organized and ready for the next school year.  I am lucky and have been able to leave everything out during the summer.  Another great way is to have them organized and on your self and then cover your shelf in butcher paper so no one can get to them!  This way when you come back in August it is ready to go!

I hope this gave you some motivation to go and purge all of those extra papers and then get your classroom library set up for next year!!  Best of luck in the last month of school!!  You can do it!


3 comments

  1. Oh boy, you are so correct with the suggestion that we should go through our things and purge regularly... I think that teachers are the most notorious of pack rats! (LOL just the other night I announced to my amazingly patient husband that we will now be collecting plastic bottle caps for STEM activities!) Thank you for your fun post, and good luck moving schools! I'll be joining you in that fun endeavor!

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  2. Love the idea of covering your shelf with butcher paper when it is cleaned and organized. I had my students help me clean last year but it was already dusty when school started. It won't be this year! Thanks!

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  3. Your website and ideas are so helpful! This is my first year teaching 3rd grade and I LOVE it!!! I inherited a room FULL of STUFF and while some of it was helpful, a lot was not. I'm still purging to this day and it's March. I do like the idea of having your kids help you organize the library! I did this at the beginning of the school year and it was taking me FOREVER (to the point where I just gave up and had to move on to something else). I've come to the realization that kids really do enjoy helping their teacher.

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