Saturday, August 10, 2013

Classroom Reveal Part 2: Library Organization

Part two of my classroom reveal is all about the library. I happen to be a little obsessive about children's literature, and have amassed a pretty large collection of books. I had a pretty good system in place for organizing them, but was getting a little tired of all the multi-colored baskets, so I decided to streamline everything. Here's a peek:
I swapped out my colored baskets for white. I think this gives it a clean look.


I kept my books organized by genre, authors, etc... but I wanted the look to be color-coded but easier on the eyes. I decided to use a small space on my new basket labels for the color codes. From left to right, this is a close up:

I always get the question from other teachers or parents, "How do the students know where to put the books back?" My answer to that is coordinating book labels. I make matching stick-on labels that I print on Avery shipping labels. I had a super parent volunteer come to school and place the matching stickers on every single book in my room.

Finally, I went through a few ideas for attaching my labels to my baskets. I started with book rings, but didn't like how they looked and how they labels swung around. I decided to use plastic cable ties that I found at Big Lots for less than $1. Since my baskets are white they blend in pretty well.

If you're interested in my basket/book labels, you can find them in my stores on TPT and TN. They come with pre-made labels as well as a fully editable file of each color so you can add your own labels if you'd like. 

I'm so excited to have this section of my room finished, and love the way it turned out!

2 comments:

  1. Wow, that's a lot of books and baskets. It looks great and so well organized

    Heather
    room 4 imagination

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  2. I just got all new *matching* book baskets for this year too and I'm dying to see how it looks all set up! I'll be going in this week to work on it. My biggest fear is that they are the wrong sizes for the shelf and I'll have to revert back. Crossing my fingers!

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