Teacher Home Supply Station

I used to stay up late. Not crazy, all-night late, but 1am and I were not strangers by any means.

Consequently, I also used to get up late... like, sleep in ‘til noon every chance I got. 

Then I became a daycare teacher... 

All of a sudden, my day started at 5:30am 5 days a week. I needed to be on the road by 6:00, and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 6:15, when my program opens every day. I hated it. I loathed my alarm clock. Especially in the winter when the sun doesn’t even rise until 7am. But in the past two years I’ve gotten used to it. I even find myself chipper in the morning... singing along to the radio, having conversations with my cat. What has happened to me?? Have I become a morning person? *shudder* 

Regardless of my apparent ability to adapt, I still don’t like doing things in the morning. I just want to get up, get dressed, and go to work. This is why I created a “supply station” in my home. 

Every Sunday I look at my program plan for the following week, and fill each of my Dollarama bags with the supplies I need to bring from home for that day’s activities. At the end of the week, the bags get emptied and the process starts all over. 

Because of my beloved supply station, all I need to remember in the morning is which day of the week it is (which can be difficult sometimes), and grab the corresponding bag. They’re even labelled and colour coded to avoid confusion. 

It’s funny when sudden changes make me do something like bring my green bag on a Monday. The kids look at the bag with utter confusion, knowing that it’s the wrong colour... knowing that something has changed. The horror! But overall, it’s a very effective organizational tool.

How do you make sure you remember things in the morning? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!