Organization

I’m in the middle of doing a two-week, Faith Camp for kids behind in their religious education.   I’ve been thinking a lot about organization.  Rob and I took over a classroom at our church.

My organization style is more ‘pile-file’ than anything else.  I like kits—boxes organized with all of the materials ready.  I want title in large letters on the outside of the box.  Please note the box with bingo games, bingo chips, and candy prizes.  (I seldom have time for Element Bingo; if I did, I would have a labeled box ready.)

My lessons are usually a list of titles for activities and labs.  I look at the list and pull the kits or equipment.  I check that the links are posted in Google Classroom for the kids.  Then I check for the lesson masters or print from the Google Drive folder.  Our library has free copies.  I keep a library bag in the hall closet with master to make copies regularly.  

These strategies have helped improve my organization.  I still have to print out materials occasionally during class or run upstairs for a lab component.  But, the more organized I am the smoother things run.  Truthfully, my chief management style is to keep kids busy.  The one tip that has helped me run any class or Camp is to have more things to do than the kids can accomplish.  I usually pull six activities form each class, knowing we’ll never get that far. In the case of a two week camp, I planned over 50 activities, songs, games, and crafts.   Hey! I’m covered!