When Lakeshore Learning reached out to me about sharing their back to school products, I was super excited and immediately thought, “Well, this will be easy!” I’ve been using their materials in my own classroom for years, and have nothing but great things to say about them.
I still remember the first time I ever stepped foot in a Lakeshore Learning store many years ago. It was the summer before my very first year of teaching. If you’ve never shopped there before, Lakeshore is like a teacher’s wonderland of all the things you might want or need for your classroom.
I especially love Lakeshore’s products for organization because of the great quality- I have some very functional items that have withstood many years of use! It could be easy to spend hours browsing in store or online, so I’d love to help narrow your search with my top 5 Lakeshore Learning favorites for classroom organization:
1. Neon Heavy-Duty Paper Tray
“A place for everything, and everything in its place.” That’s the dream, right? These stackable bins can be used for anything and everything paperwork related.
They help keep those mountains of paper piles from forming and make it so that you can find what you need quickly. I’ve loved using these as “turn it in bins.” It’s where I’ve had students turn in their work when it’s completed.
If your students often forget to put their name on their paper when they turn in finished work, you can also take it to the next level with one of these bins by displaying a sign like this next to it.
It’s a super helpful visual reminder, and the action of having to highlight their name is an effective second line of defense.
2. Neon Help Yourself Book Bins
When it comes to organizing a classroom library, you want students to be able to quickly find the type of book they’re looking for. No matter how you personally choose to organize your books (by author, by level, by genre, etc.) these book bins from Lakeshore can help expedite the “book browsing” process. I love the bright pops of color they give to a classroom library!
In my own classroom, I’ve found over time that my favorite way to sort them is mostly by genre, and some by author/series if I have a lot of books that fit that particular category.
3. Neon Connect and Store Book Bins
Another one of my favorite must-haves for the classroom are individual student book bins. Not only do I love the bright colors (they even match the book boxes I shared above!) but more importantly, they are a functional item that students use on an every-day basis.
Students can go “book shopping” in your classroom library and keep the books that they select for the week in these book bins. When they go to read independently, with a partner, etc. they can just go grab their book bin to take with them to sit on the carpet or wherever they’re choosing to read.
You can label these with student numbers to be able to reuse each year. I actually label them with the kids’ names, even though it’s a little more work to switch them out each year. Students LOVE having a personalized book bin with their own name, and a caricature that looks like them!
*Tip: Print the labels on regular paper, and put clear packing tape over the top to attach. I personally prefer this over using label paper, because this way it’s easy to switch out the labels each school year (no teacher wants to sit around having to scrape off a class set of sticky labels that don’t come off easily). Another option is to use the little pocket adhesive inserts that the book boxes already come with.
4. Neon Store-It-All Rotating Caddies
There are so many different types of classrooms, but they all have at least one thing in common, and that’s a variety of supplies! From markers, pens, glue, scissors and everything in between, it definitely helps to have an organized way to make supplies easily accessible. You can throw all kinds of often-used items into these (again, brightly colored) spinning caddies.
I have regular markers pictured above, but I’ve also used one of these for all of my white board markers at the front of the room. You can quickly find the color you need, and it keeps them all tidy and organized in one little spot.
5. Neon Heavy-Duty Storage Box
Storage solutions for the win! No matter how minimalist any teacher might try to be, the truth is that you do end up accumulating a bunch of random STUFF. I love these storage boxes for all those odds and ends you don’t know where to store. Math manipulatives, art supplies, you name it.
A cabinet, cart, or any type of storage space will look much less “scary” inside when all those miscellaneous items are stowed away neatly into storage bins.
Lakeshore Learning Sale & Coupon Code
Hopefully you might love some of these classroom organization as much as I do! And maybe even love Lakeshore Learning as much I do, but that would definitely mean a whole lot of love (because I’m clearly a super fan)!
If you do choose to hop over to Lakeshore Learning either in person or online this back to school season, now is a good time because they’re having their biggest sale of the year! If you have your eye on anything that’s not already discounted though, make sure to use my coupon code (6392) for 20% off any single non-sale item.
Coupon code valid through 9/12/2021 for one-time use in stores or online. Limit one coupon per customer. Not valid on items with shipping restrictions. Other exclusions may apply. Visit bit.ly/3bbUXIj for details.
Wishing you all the best this new back to school season, and happy organizing!
