Idea Notebook

Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Idea Notebook

I love to gather new ideas from blogs, observing in other teacher's classrooms, in books and magazines....the only problem? How to store it all? How to keep all of those ideas organized in your head? Each January (which is when I start planning for a new school year) I get a new, fun notebook. I try to get something small enough to carry around, but big enough to write in. Usually, this ends up being a
5x7ish size. I get one that is cute and easily recognizable so if I put it down somewhere, I'll be able to find it quickly. Then, I take a small post-it note pad and tab some pages into sections for each month we are in school.

When I spy a cute idea, I just turn to the tab for the month in which I'd use the idea and jot it down. Sometimes, I include a sketch or other information to make the idea clear, and then I always include the website where the idea was found.

I use my notebook in planning for the month. That way, I am always on top of the cute and wonderful ideas I find on the web. This year's notebook is a Dr. Seuss one, found at TJ Maxx for $5.99. It's only the 4th day of January but I am already filling it up! How do you organize your "found" ideas? Alicia