Are you ready to learn some easy must know classroom setup hacks to make classroom setup a breeze? You will learn all about our favorite must know hacks to save you time and get your classroom ready for the whole school year! Make sure to save this post and check out the freebie below! So what’re we waiting for? Let’s dive into these great hacks!
Hot Glue Hype
Tired of things constantly falling off walls? Can’t find anything that actually sticks to wall types like concrete or brick? Hot glue is your BEST FRIEND and an amazing classroom setup hack to know. I’m telling you, I have never found ANYTHING that sticks like hot glue. Not only does it work on various wall types, but it also stays all year long. The cord can be a problem, however they now have cordless hot glue guns. HERE is my favorite!
Line it Up
How many times have you tried lining up sheets perfectly only to find that you have to start over… again. It can be SO frustrating trying to line up those pages perfectly. I have a super easy classroom setup hack that makes a WORLD of difference. You are going to line all your pages up on the floor and count until you get to the middle. Then you start in the middle and work your way out. It works every single time and your pages are perfectly lined up!! Grab these alphabet and number posters for your classroom!
Easy Bulletin Boards
I am going to teach you some of my FAVORITE must know classroom setup hacks for making bulletin board setup a BREEZE. Let’s first start with my favorite tools to use. If you need to take down or fix a bulletin board, you’re going to want to have these go-tos in your pocket. A staple remover like THIS can make or break a bulletin board that needs to be fixed. No more tears or ripped pages! Hate cleaning up all those staples that have been removed? Try a magnetic wand instead! Just wave it over the staples and like magic, poof all picked up with no stratches or scrapes!
Sick of the glare from laminated sheets around the room? Say bye bye to that with this super easy classroom set up hack! Spraying your sheets with matte spray takes away all the glare. THIS is my favorite matte spray to use. There are also matte laminating sheets and they are a GAME CHANGER. Whether you want to spray your laminated sheets, or simply laminate with matte, you’ll be SO much happier with the result. See the difference below!
When it comes to coverings, Better Than Paper is our absolute go-to classroom setup hack when it comes to decorating the bulletin board. Not only does it last what seems like forever, but it also doesn’t show staple holes. It’ll last for YEARS to come! Some other things that are easy and inexpensive to use are Dollar Store tablecloths or fabric.
This next classroom setup hacks is to ensure you have straight letters on the wall. Laying down your bulletin board letters and taping over them helps from having crooked or uneven letters and spacing. Take a look below to see how this works. This bulletin board header says, “READING”. Before stapling the letters on the board, I laid them out on the floor and gently taped a strip down the middle (it works best when letters are laminated). This keeps all your letters perfectly in place. After taping, I grabbed the tape by the ends and gently taped to the bulletin board. With the tape still attached, I stapled each letter on the top and bottom. When finished stapling, I gently removed the tape and voila! Perfectly straight and lined up letters! It makes a difficult job SO much easier!
Want a cute bulletin board for back to school that’s ready to add student work? Laminate brightly colored sheets, I love Astrobrights, and attach a clothespin to the top.
To start add these adorable FREE “Amazing Work Coming Soon” signs and you have a beautiful bulletin board that’s ready to add student work! Grab these cute FREE signs below!
Whiteboard Must Knows
Not sure how to get all those things to stay on the whiteboard? The answer is magnetic tape! It is a game changer for the whiteboard. The best part is it comes in a regular tape dispenser so all you have to do is grab a piece, stick it the back of your page, and boom! It makes it easy to change things out like schedules or dates, or make it interactive for your students. you’ll learn more below. Grab our favorite tape HERE!
Use that magnetic tape to make your whiteboard interactive for students! You can easily add your visual voice levels, your daily schedule, center rotations and so much more. Utilize all your classroom space to help make students independent. Magnetic tape makes creating interactive whiteboards a breeze! It’s an amazing classroom setup hack.
The last of the whiteboard hacks may be my favorite. Have you tried using magnetic rods?When talking about making your whiteboard interactive, magnetic rods help make that easy too. You can display anchor charts that students can flip through, you can create learning displays, and the best one yet… flip calendars! Never worry about writing the date AGAIN. All you have to do is flip from one day to the next! Make it a student job and take another thing off your plate. Grab an editable one HERE!
Get Those Systems in Place
One HUGE classroom setup hack is to work hard to get the systems in place you want to have for the whole year. While it may be a lot of work in the beginning, you’ll thank yourself later when everything has a home and you have procedures to keep things where they should be.
For example, when it comes to classroom and student supplies, we have some great organizational systems we use. As you can see there are a lot of visuals to support students at the beginning of the year so they have access to EVERYTHING they need. This helps alleviate a lot of stress as the teacher because they can get what they need, when they need it. Since everything has a home, it’s easy to clean up and organize at the end of each day. Learn more about classroom setup and organization HERE! Click on the pictures below to snag our visual labels!
Just like student supplies, make sure your things have a home too. When setting up your classroom, create more spots than less for all those pesky papers and things. The more places you have, the less things will pile up! Using the Michael’s cart is a great way to store and organize weekly pages, as well as things to be copied, and of course extras just in case. Grab labels that perfectly fit the cart HERE!
How do you feel about center organization? Do you love it or dread it? Spend the time while setting up your classroom to GET THOSE SYSTEMS in place. You will thank yourself when you’re half way through the school year and everything is still organized! Learn all about center organization tips and tricks HERE!
The last tip for classroom systems is definitely the classroom library. This is another place in the classroom that can quickly get out of control. Want to teach your students how to be independent AND keep your library organized all year? Try THESE classroom library labels. They help students keep the library organized and even when a few books get out of place, it’s super easy to find their proper place with these visual stickers. They help students maintain the space and they can do it by themeselves. You can learn more library tips HERE!
Dollar Spot Finds
The last must know classroom setup hack has got to be the Target Dollar Spot. I’m telling y’all as much as I dread the classroom school supplies being setup in July, I LOVE seeing all the Target Dollar Spot finds for teachers! It’s where I get all my bins, must have school supplies like mini erasers, adhesive pockets, and more!
Speaking of, these adhesive pockets are a MUST HAVE in the classroom library. They work perfectly for easily changing out book bin labels and so much more. I always stock up on them during back to school season so they last the whole year!
Now before you zoom off to try all these amazing classroom setup hacks, make sure you snag the Ultimate Classroom Organization Bundle . You’ll have ALL the things you need to get your classroom setup and organized for the whole year! All the amazing things mentioned in this blog are included in the bundle. Even better, since it’s a growing bundle, you’ll get everything ever added FREE!
Ultimate Classroom Organization Growing Bundle
I really hope you enjoyed learning about our favorite classroom setup hacks! Make sure to save this post so you have it when you’re ready to setup your classroom or you need a quick reminder. 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 Amazing Work Coming Soon Signs 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.
To follow me on TPT and get all the latest updates on HALF OFF new products, click HERE!
Love these ideas but don’t want to lose them? Don’t forget it, PIN it below!
Spread the Love
*affiliate links included. Which means I get a small commission if you buy something with no cost to you.*
Leave a Reply