Utilizing Your Teaching Cart

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This is my first year teaching at a bilingual school as the English teacher for Kindergarten. This means that I am a pop-in teacher and require the ability to move easily and take the necessary supplies with me wherever I go. Because this is my first year teaching this way, I took to Pinterest to find convenient and practical ways to have a learning station cart.

The very first thing I realized when looking online for a cart was that the pre-made teacher ones from places like Lakeshore are ridiculously expensive. Although they have great functionality, I wanted to branch out and see what other teachers found useful and that would be kind to my/school's budget.

Currently, I have the use of a similar cart such as this 10 drawer rolling cart. It's proven useful thus far, but having three classrooms this year I'm not sure how long these wheels will last. Also, the drawers easily pop out leaving me with trays falling from time to time. Although it isn't 100% ideal, this year I am learning to adapt to what I've been given and being grateful. However, that doesn't mean I can't find new ways to trick it out to make it more than just a drawer cart.

Here are a few ideas I found around the web...

Maximizing space and purpose.

photo: unknown

I'm not sure who this picture belongs to (and if you find out, please let me know so I can give credit!!), but I love how they took a projector cart and attached a whiteboard to the side. I also love that a pocket chart easily can be attached as well since those are two things I anticipate using the most with my classes. It's helpful to organize on the inside as well as on top of the cart.

This particular cart uses hidden storage on the inside, but I'm looking for a way to incorporate the goodness of a 10 drawer rolling cart into a design like this one. I will be running learning centers soon and the teacher before me used her 10 drawer cart for the materials for her different center rotations.

Hmmm.....

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Outside/Inside Organization

I found this idea from a teacher on Twitter by the name of @Srta_Will (who as you can guess is a Spanish pop-in teacher). She has this system down and her use of a shoe organizer for supplies is wonderful! Another great tool for the sides of the cart, which creates easy access for students!

What I can also appreciate is here ascending file organizer she uses on top of her cart. It makes filing student work a breeze or even prep materials for lessons. I see she uses a chime for transitions and can easily wheel her cart from class to class.

Top of cart organization

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Since I have 3 classes this year that means I have 42 students to track their work.

Thankfully I'll be incorporating a LOT of interactive notebooks for whole group lessons that will lead into center choice work. I am also looking to find a convenient place to keep such work and in a way that's organized. I've already had a system like this with hanging folders to keep finished work that'll be filed to go home each week. I plan to continue this idea until I find something better.

Also, these crates with hanging folders are great for student portfolios! In kindergarten it's always nice to track student progress with their writing or other skills and this is an easy way to do just that!

There are so many unique ways a teacher on-the-go can adapt their carts to their specific needs. I am in the process this year to find new and innovative ways to make my little drawer cart more useful. I'm always open to ideas and should you also be an on-the-go teacher, or pop-in teacher, I'd love to hear your tips, tricks, and advice!