How can teachers implement Molly Lynch’s Tidy Time routine?

Implementing the Tidy Time routine in your classroom is a great way to keep things organized and teach students about responsibility. Here's how you can do it:

1. Make it a Daily Routine: Dedicate the final 7-10 minutes of the school day to Tidy Time. This is when students tidy up the classroom before leaving for the day.

2. Start with Desks: Have students start by tidying their own desks. This includes picking up loose papers, putting away crayons, and arranging books and folders neatly. This helps reduce the number of lost items.

3. Incentivize Students: To motivate students, you can introduce the concept of Desk Superheroes. If a student's desk is particularly clean, they receive a small treat like a fancy pencil, a sparkly sticker, or a "Bear Hug" certificate.

4. Pack Up: After cleaning their desks, students pack up their backpacks for the day. They gather any papers and books that need to go home and fill their backpacks.

5. Assign Jobs: Once backpacks are packed, students return to the classroom to find out their job for the day. Jobs can include tidying the library, picking up scraps off the floor, wiping off tabletops, and cleaning the classroom patio.

6. Display Jobs: You can display the jobs in a way that works best for you and your students. You could write them on the board, hang them on a poster, or even project them on a slide. The important thing is that each student knows what their job is.

Remember, it might take a bit of practice for students to get used to the routine, but with time, they'll pick it up. And to make things easier, I've created a free Tidy Time template that you can use in your classroom. You can grab it from my blog.

Does that help? Do you have any other questions about Tidy Time?