I confess: http://www.pinterest.com takes up 90% of my time during the summer.
I go nuts pinning about cute new scarves that I can wear in my arctic classroom, the latest and greatest organizational tips for keeping my room neat, and a billion lessons that I want to buy from Teachers Pay Teachers. When I started my account I practically blinked and had a thousand new pins on my "classroom" board.
Then the year started.
And the parent emails came...
And the papers had to be graded...
And the report card comments needed to be personalized...
Catch my drift? I wasn't finding the time to go back through those awesome ideas and actually USE any of them. So this past year, I started a new method that has been insanely helpful. I sorted all of my boards by classroom subject area.
I go nuts pinning about cute new scarves that I can wear in my arctic classroom, the latest and greatest organizational tips for keeping my room neat, and a billion lessons that I want to buy from Teachers Pay Teachers. When I started my account I practically blinked and had a thousand new pins on my "classroom" board.
Then the year started.
And the parent emails came...
And the papers had to be graded...
And the report card comments needed to be personalized...
Catch my drift? I wasn't finding the time to go back through those awesome ideas and actually USE any of them. So this past year, I started a new method that has been insanely helpful. I sorted all of my boards by classroom subject area.
Having some organization has breathed life into my pins again. Now when I get a flashback to an awesome geometry lesson idea I saw months ago, I don't have to dig through thousands of pins to find it. PLUS, with the amazingly useful new search feature at http://www.pinterest.com, you can search through your own boards to find the pins you vaguely remember from your summer pin sessions.
Although I have been teased by a friend (or two) about the large amount of boards that I have, the time it saves me is worth the friendly teasing. If you haven't set up your boards this way, it's not too late! Pinterest allows you to select multiple pins at a time and move them all to a new board at once. So just grab all of your math ideas, and start a new math board. Keep going until everything has been sorted. Investing the time now will pay off later on!
In addition to the typical subjects (math, literacy, science, art, etc.) I have found it helpful to collect boards on the following topics:
During work week (what we lovingly refer to as our first week back, without students) I have made it a habit to go through all of my boards and print out any amazing lessons or ideas that I want to file with my units. This way, nothing gets forgotten in the excitement of the school year.
Your turn: what tips do YOU have for utilizing your Pinterest boards? Leave a comment below with any ideas to add!
Happy pinning,
Kristy
Although I have been teased by a friend (or two) about the large amount of boards that I have, the time it saves me is worth the friendly teasing. If you haven't set up your boards this way, it's not too late! Pinterest allows you to select multiple pins at a time and move them all to a new board at once. So just grab all of your math ideas, and start a new math board. Keep going until everything has been sorted. Investing the time now will pay off later on!
In addition to the typical subjects (math, literacy, science, art, etc.) I have found it helpful to collect boards on the following topics:
- Beginning of the Year
- End of the Year
- Classroom Decor
- Classroom Organization & Paperwork
- Technology
- Holiday Celebrations
- Daily 5 / Literacy Circles / Book Clubs
- Behavior Management
- Community Building
- Drama / Theatre Arts
During work week (what we lovingly refer to as our first week back, without students) I have made it a habit to go through all of my boards and print out any amazing lessons or ideas that I want to file with my units. This way, nothing gets forgotten in the excitement of the school year.
Your turn: what tips do YOU have for utilizing your Pinterest boards? Leave a comment below with any ideas to add!
Happy pinning,
Kristy