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   3 Simple Ways to Stop the Overwhelm and Begin Creating Systems that Help Your Classroom (Almost) Run Itself!

Let’s face it. Teaching is an extremely rewarding profession, but we all know that it can get VERY overwhelming at times. Maybe it’s a few weeks into the school year, possibly a few months, but at some point that state of overwhelm creeps in. It’s totally normal, but it’s also important to make sure you take time to destress and create plans to help get things back in order. 

3 Simple Ways to Help Your Classroom Almost Run Itself Blog Post

Sometimes it may seem like a fairy tale to think about what the outside world thinks we teachers do- leaving right after school, getting restful sleep, and happy to walk in the room each day. What if instead of feeling like things aren’t working, there’s too much stress, and feeling tired ALL the time, you could instead make that fairy tale a dream come true?! Trust me when I tell you it doesn’t have to feel so stressful. It’s not only possible but together, we’ll make it happen! Let me share with you three easy steps to go from ‘doing it all’ to your classroom *almost* running itself!

#1: The Power of Labeling 

So let me just tell you my secret right now. The KEY to making classrooms *almost* run themselves, is allowing students to have the power and autonomy to do it all. Sound scary? It absolutely is! But don’t be TOO scared, because I promise when you learn to let go, it is ALL worth it! 

One SUPER simple way to empower students to have more ownership of the classroom is by labeling absolutely everything. Not only is this a great way to develop more natural ‘sight words’ for their classroom, it creates the autonomy for students to be able to navigate and learn independently. Don’t be afraid to spruce up your labels with visuals AND words! Do what your student’s need and watch the shift!! Organizing spaces for STUDENTS is one of the most crucial things you can do to start having your classroom *almost* run itself. 

labeling the classroom

 Let me paint a picture. Imagine you have a classroom, beautifully labeled in every way, and your students can use those labels to freely get what they need. This means, no more getting crayons or Band-Aids, interrupting whole group instruction for a broken pencil, or students wasting time because they can’t find something. Why? Because their classroom is set up for THEM! They can do it! Let them step into their power! With THESE editable labels, you can design and organize your space so that your students own the room. 

editable school supply labels

Editable School Supply Labels

Later we’ll get into how to teach students expectations so you don’t have to worry about them not treating materials properly, and/or using things they don’t need. So do it! Label ALL the things and see the workload it takes off of YOU! Just like we tell students, work smarter not harder, it’s time for us to take that advice too. 

#2: Making Mornings Marvelous 

Building a positive, and supportive classroom climate helps ALL students thrive and grow. No matter what time of the year it is, relationships ALWAYS take priority. Especially when you think about what the last three years have looked like in school! So how can we turn stressed monotonous mornings into marvelous ones? Two words… Morning Meetings! 

Classroom Community Ideas

Morning Meetings get students excited to be at school in the morning (which we know isn’t always the case), they help build and maintain connections, and it creates a dedicated space for emotional check-ins with students. The great thing about Morning Meetings is that they are SUPER easy to implement AND you can pick and choose different components of a morning meeting to fit your needs. Start with a few or even just one. As you and students learn expectations, add in more! It will quickly become one of the most cherished times of the day together. 

Now the biggest question is, how does this help my classroom almost run itself? The answer is simple. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Students don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” In order to have true autonomy and trust in your room, students need to feel loved and valued. It is a HUGE piece of your classroom almost running itself. THIS is going to be one of the most powerful tools you have. Once you have the solid relationships in place, everything else comes easy. 

how to create classroom management systems that work

#3: Expect the Unexpected

Remember when I said we’d get into teaching expectations? Well here we are with the icing on the cake! It’s time to talk about the importance of having high expectations for ALL students. How do we do that? By teaching them EXACTLY what is expected of them and SHOWING them what that looks and sounds like. 

Think about an area or procedure in your classroom that you know could be better. Maybe it’s sharpening pencils, transitioning to centers, or your whole group time? Whatever it is, using this “looks like, sounds like” framework is a quick, easy, and effective way to immediately change to desired behaviors. By explicitly modeling clear and concise expectations, students will know exactly what they need to do and YOU get to reap the benefits! Get back more time to do what you love… TEACHING! 

procedures anchor chart

Does this make you more excited to learn more?! In my FREE webinar coming up, I will teach you EXACTLY how to thoroughly think through the process of labeling, implementing morning meetings, and teach students expectations to have your classroom *almost* run itself. It is designed to give you everything you need to transform your classroom WITHIN the same week! Not only will you walk away with easy ideas to apply the next day in your classroom, but you will also walk away with TONS of FREEBIES to make your life easier! Join us at the webinar on July 6th at 12pm EST or July 6th at 8pm EST or July 7th at 3pm EST by signing up HERE! 

I really hope you enjoyed learning 3 ways to stop the overwhelm!  Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Back to School Teaching Timeline FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how-to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me  @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram. 

beginning of the year teaching timeline checklist freebie

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Cheers to the weekend! 🥂 What are you looking Cheers to the weekend! 🥂

What are you looking forward to this weekend?
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One of my favorite tips from @missingtoothgrins 😂

What candy is your favorite to collect this time of year? 
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It’s World Read Aloud Day! 📖 @scholasticinc It’s World Read Aloud Day! 📖 

@scholasticinc has live read alouds ALL DAY!! 👏

Check them all out now with the link on my profile. 

What are you reading aloud today to your students?
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At the happiest place on Earth! 😍 What’s mak At the happiest place on Earth! 😍

What’s making you happy this week?
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I mean.. it’s not wrong. 🤷‍♀️😂
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The 100th day of school is HUGE! It’s a time t The 100th day of school is HUGE! 

It’s a time to celebrate all the hard work and learning done together. It marks an important time that signals that we’ve spent more than half the year together! 

There are so many fun, engaging, and simple ways to celebrate that make it a memorable experience for students. 

Swipe left to see some of the fun ways we’ve celebrated together and learn easy and engaging ways now with the link on my profile or drop a 🤩 and I’ll share the link!
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Save this for easy and fun 100th day ideas! The 1 Save this for easy and fun 100th day ideas!

The 100th day doesn’t have to be overwhelming, there are TONS of easy and low prep ideas to help your students have a blast and make it easy to plan for YOU.

🌟 Have a scavenger hunt for 100 items (erasers, candy, etc).
🌟Stations are my favorite management hack for the 100th day. They rotate through fun activities all day while you get to spend more time with each group.
🌟 Pocket chart games are easy and engaging. Students work together to hunt for the special item while practicing number sense, recognition, and patterns.
🌟 Would you rather is an easy way to get kiddos up and moving while connecting. This is a great no prep time filler!
🌟 Crowns are the perfect and quiet activity to show off all their learning and make a great keepsake. 

Learn about these activities and more with the link on my profile! You can also drop a 🥳 and I’ll share the link!
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Well this should be fun! 😝 What is something yo Well this should be fun! 😝 What is something you say 2451 times a day as a teacher? Let us know below! ⬇️
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It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳 Grab thi It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳

Grab this adorable and no prep color by code activity.

It’s an easy and engaging QUIET activity that students can enjoy as morning work, a time filler, fast finisher, or even as homework!

Grab your FREEBIE now with the link on my profile or drop a 🤩 and I’ll share the link!

When is your 100th day? Let us know below! ⬇️
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Cheers to the weekend! 🥂What are you looking forward to this weekend?•••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #disneyteacher #igconnect4edu #teacherssupportteachers #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherstyle #teachermomlife #teachertravels #teacherweekend #teachermom ... See MoreSee Less

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One of my favorite tips from @missingtoothgrins 😂What candy is your favorite to collect this time of year? ••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips #igconnect4edu #teachermemes #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherhacks #classroomfun #teacherhumor #teacherquotes #classroomcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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It’s World Read Aloud Day! 📖 @scholasticinc has live read alouds ALL DAY!! 👏Check them all out now with the link on my profile. What are you reading aloud today to your students?••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips #igconnect4edu #worldreadaloudday #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #scholastic #classroomfun #makelearningfun #readaloud #classroomcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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I mean.. it’s not wrong. 🤷‍♀️😂••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #teachingtips #igconnect4edu #teacherssupportteachers #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherhacks #teachermemes #teachertruth #teacherquotes #teachershare ... See MoreSee Less

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Lindsay Sauer

6 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
The 100th day of school is HUGE! It’s a time to celebrate all the hard work and learning done together. It marks an important time that signals that we’ve spent more than half the year together! There are so many fun, engaging, and simple ways to celebrate that make it a memorable experience for students. Swipe left to see some of the fun ways we’ve celebrated together and learn easy and engaging ways now with the link on my profile or drop a 🤩 and I’ll share the link!•••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers #teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofig #igteachers #iteach #iteachfirst #kindergarten #igconnect4edu #teachershare #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #makelearningfun #100thdayofschool #teachertips #classroomfun #100daysofschool #100thday ... See MoreSee Less

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  • Are you looking for ways to teach kindness to kids in the classroom? Today, I’m sharing my favorite teacher tips on helping your early elementary students understand kindness in the classroom. Some of my favorite kindness activities for kids is setting expectations and modeling kindness. We love reading, How Full Is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and more. It’s important to role play ideas for kids in the classroom. Kindness anchor charts are great to create during whole group and small group lessons.
  • Do you need some ideas about teaching money to your first grade students? Check out my favorite teaching tips on money for kids. First, have your students watch some BrainPop Jr. videos and books about money for kids. Money anchor charts are fantastic to use during math whole group to better K-2 students' understanding. The CRA Math Model is perfect for understanding money for kids. I also share my favorite math centers like money puzzles, money bingo, and math money games!
  • Have you been looking for end of year classroom community activities? These classroom community building activities are perfect for your K-2 classroom! I love creating an end of year anchor chart so students can write down their favorite memories of first grade. K-2 students will love the balloon bulletin board countdown with themes. Early elementary students enjoy creating a reflection writing craft, first grade end of year memories, would you rather end of school year game, and much more!
  • Have you been wondering what the benefits of reading aloud to children are? Today, I will share why reading aloud to children is important. Reading aloud increases children's vocabulary, building fluency, and reading comprehension. It’s important to teach elementary students how to choose the just right book. I love doing interactive read alouds and think alouds during my picture book reading. Check out how I incorporate writing about reading, building my classroom library, and reading at home.
  • Do you need some ideas about teaching money to your first grade students? Check out my favorite teaching tips on money for kids. First, have your students watch some BrainPop Jr. videos and books about money for kids. Money anchor charts are fantastic to use during math whole group to better K-2 students' understanding. The CRA Math Model is perfect for understanding money for kids. I also share my favorite math centers like money puzzles, money bingo, and math money games!
  • Have you been wondering what the benefits of reading aloud to children are? Today, I will share why reading aloud to children is important. Reading aloud increases children's vocabulary, building fluency, and reading comprehension. It’s important to teach elementary students how to choose the just right book. I love doing interactive read alouds and think alouds during my picture book reading. Check out how I incorporate writing about reading, building my classroom library, and reading at home.
  • Are you looking for ways to teach kindness to kids in the classroom? Today, I’m sharing my favorite teacher tips on helping your early elementary students understand kindness in the classroom. Some of my favorite kindness activities for kids is setting expectations and modeling kindness. We love reading, How Full Is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and more. It’s important to role play ideas for kids in the classroom. Kindness anchor charts are great to create during whole group and small group lessons.
  • Have you been looking for end of year classroom community activities? These classroom community building activities are perfect for your K-2 classroom! I love creating an end of year anchor chart so students can write down their favorite memories of first grade. K-2 students will love the balloon bulletin board countdown with themes. Early elementary students enjoy creating a reflection writing craft, first grade end of year memories, would you rather end of school year game, and much more!
  • If you want to know more about the science of reading, now is your chance. Today, I will share why the science of reading is important to learn and understand for our elementary students. The 5 essential components that make up reading instruction are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. For K-2 students it is important to spend approximately 40% of your instructional block focusing on phonemic awareness skills and phonics skills.

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