Want to be a more organized teacher?
Hands down, one of my top strengths as a teacher is classroom organization. I had to get pretty creative with my organization systems, because I had a really tiny classroom! On top of that, our school was inside a church building, and we had to break down our rooms every Wednesday and Friday so they could use the rooms for church. Even for a pretty organized teacher, this was a challenge!
Hands-down, one of my absolute favorite organization tools for the classroom was my 3-tiered rolling cart. Not only is it functional, it’s super stylish, too! These days, many teachers have (at least) one of these carts in their classroom. Whether you have one and don’t know what to do with it, or are thinking about getting one, today I wanted to share with you a few ways to use this cart in your classroom.
Become a More Organized Teacher with a 3-Tier Rolling Cart
Art Cart
When I first got my rolling cart, I initially used it as a traveling art cart to store all of my craft supplies! I loved the idea of using it for this as a way to organize all my craft supplies and keep them easily accessible.
I used baskets, buckets, and other containers on each shelf to hold my supplies. The materials on my art cart included:
- Scissors
- Glue
- Popsicle sticks
- Pom-poms
- Brown paper bags
- Paint
- Glitter
Things we used more regularly like markers were not kept on the art cart, but instead in their table caddies for easy access.
I loved having art supplies easily accessible so I didn’t have to pull it out of a closet or drawer every time I needed any of these items. Students knew exactly where to find things. And, since the cart has wheels, I could easily move it around my room if I needed to unload several materials at once!
Classroom Library
If you have a large collection of books in your classroom, this may not be the best solution. However, it was perfect for me! As the math and science teacher, I didn’t have quite as big a selection of books as my ELAR teaching partner. Plus, since I needed to be able to put my library away every Wednesday and Friday, this was the perfect solution.
I organized my books into six main categories with two categories on each shelf. I labeled the shelves accordingly and used a laminated piece of paper as a divider between the two sections on each shelf. (Initially I had planned to use bins on each shelf – but they ended up not fitting!) I absolutely loved my little portable library!
Small Group Supplies
Another idea is to use your cart to organize small group supplies. I haven’t personally used it in this way, but I love the idea! The organized teacher can easily have all their small group supplies in one place and easily accessible.
Things you might include on your cart for small group supplies could be:
- Highlighters
- Whiteboards
- Dry erase markers
- Flash cards
- Math manipulatives
- Math toolboxes
- Anything else you commonly use during small groups!
I love how Brianna from A Bubbly Classroom organized her cart for small groups in the above picture! She kept all the supplies she needs as a teacher on the top shelf, including highlighters, pencils, etc. On the second shelf, she keeps her math small group materials, such as clocks and large play money. On the bottom, she had all her reading small group supplies, including highlighters and reference charts.
These are just a few of the ways you can organize your classroom using a 3-tiered cart. The best part about the cart is that it is so versatile, so there’s no limit to what you can do with it!
If you don’t have one of these amazing carts yet, click here to purchase mine on Amazon.
Do you have one of these carts? If so, share how you use it in the comments!
**Disclaimer: For your convenience, this post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that, at no extra cost to you, I receive a small commission when you click through and make a purchase using one of my links.
