Ideas for A Clean and Healthy Workplace

Keeping a clean and healthy workplace or classroom is always a challenge. I know for many, especially where a hundred or more people can rotate through during the day, this can be nearly impossible. But adding the concern on all our minds as we look at returning to a bit more normal life, especially amid the Covid pandemic, means we need to up our game. So, let me share some ideas I’ve tried or seen for maintaining a healthy workplace or classroom and see if any will work for you or can be adapted to suit your purposes.

KEEP IT SIMPLE Many of us put in a great deal of effort to create a welcoming and homey workspace, especially in a classroom. Wall décor, comfortable furniture, knick-knacks and so on. But this can be additional items to have to clean or move to clean. I would suggest taking a close look at your space, determine what items you really need and would be worthwhile and hold up to frequent cleaning and store the rest. You can bring it out later or rotate the items. I stumbled into minimalism several years ago for health reasons and decluttered 70% of my home, then rolled that into my classroom. I cleared so much stuff from my room that both my coworkers and my school leadership came by to ask if I was quitting. But even with so much of it being cleared, my room was welcoming and functional. My students told me that they felt relaxed in my room since there wasn’t so much around them. If much of what you must put up is school or district mandated, have a conversation with leadership to find out what can be adjusted. I opted to digitize my required wall posted items and had a scrolling PowerPoint on repeat so it was always posted. With that information, announcements, and our daily agenda all in one location, it made student life easier since they could come in, prep materials, and watch the board and get all the information.

SELF-REGULATED CLEAN UP No matter how clean an environment we start the day with, at some point, if someone passed through, it would need cleaned again. Sometimes, we just missed them leaving and a new person coming in, other times, there just isn’t time and isn’t a health requirement, especially outside the food industry. There’s couple of options for this. One is to have a bottle of sanitizing spray cleaner and a batch of rags. This is good for a small turnover area. You can get cleaner from your supply order or any local store, shred an old towel or t-shirt into cleaning size scraps or purchase a pack of cleaning rags, then have a designated bucket for clean and dirty rags, then take them home and wash/sanitize as needed. Another option is prepackaged alcohol wipes can be a great way to allow people to clean their area before or after use. I have had these on hand for years in my classroom, especially in my computer lab areas. I encouraged students to wipe down the equipment before and after use and, if they had a cold or sneezing and sniffling from allergies, it was encouraged to clean before leaving for the next one coming in. I often ordered them with my supply order for the year, or you can find them online at Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2ZQltl5 for a reasonable price, this pack of 200 individually packaged alcohol wipes are only $6.25. In secondary, these will go fast, so check with your supply office to see if you can find larger quantities for a better price or go with the spray and rag option.

WRITING UTENSILS Most businesses and classrooms have a need for utensils for people. While many carry their own with them to the classroom or to businesses, some will not. There are a couple of options to choose from. First, you will need to decide if they need a pen or pencil to complete the tasks. For pens, pick up an inexpensive pack of pens from any office supply location (Dollar Tree, Walmart and Target all have packs for a reasonable price) and then you can clean them—one idea I saw was to have a clean pen bucket and a place to put used ones that can be sanitized. For pencils, take advantage of golf pencils so they are pocket sized and can be kept. You can find these on Amazon, as well, ranging from .04 to .06 cents per item—it’s cheaper in larger quantities. You can get 144 for $8.69 here https://amzn.to/30DZiO9 or 864 for $38.99 here https://amzn.to/30A9Wpn

SUPPLY KITS FOR PROJECTS In some places, like a classroom, people may need to have access to something beyond a writing utensil or computer. Since these tools can be useful in the learning process, we obviously don’t want to eliminate this element. Some parents will be able to provide their children with their own supplies, but they may get forgotten or lost overtime, they may not get cleaned, they may run out and need replaced. I found that keeping a kit for each student in the class with all the things they’d need to be very helpful. I had a plastic pencil box with scissors, a ruler, highlighter, markers, etc. in the box that could be easily wiped down or sprayed with disinfectant and left to dry overnight. If you have only one group coming through, these could be labeled with their names, so it limits contact and use. If your classes rotate, having two class sets can be helpful so one can be sanitized and drying while the other is in use. I would have these labeled either with the students using or at least the class periods/seat numbers so that limited contact could also be managed. Then just have a place for clean and used ones to be deposited. For math, science or other STEM classes, printable resources for rulers and protractors could also be helpful, then they can just be disposed of. I know that not all teachers will have time to manage the supplies, so appointing a supply or sanitation manager to the task can save you that time. I have always had a student or two that sanitation and organization was important to and they were eager to volunteer.

SEPARATE ENTRY/EXIT POINTS Having your visitors/guests/clients enter and exit in separate locations, especially at peak flow times, can also help manage room flow and proximity. In some locations, you will have multiple points of entry and can just designated one for entry and one for exit. If you happen to have an adjoining office or classroom, working with your neighbor to have one room be for entry and one for exit could work with this flow, but that will depend on when your groups will enter/exit or if you want that many people coming through your space. If this is not a viable solution for your situation, just be sure you have a procedure in place, such as for those entering to wait until someone exits.

TURNING IN WORK PRODUCT In an office or a classroom, there is a lot of material that can get passed around. If access to electronic devices are an option, this can be a great way to minimize contact. If paper items are a must, student created work could be best so there isn’t a lot of passing, then have a designated drop spot on the way out the door or, for small groups, have clipboards they keep all their completed work product on and can hang on a board or put in a drop spot at the end of the day. You could have their graded work to return as well as the new work for the next day on the boards as they come in. Another alternative to check for understanding without additional paper, you can use dry erase boards that are in their kits. A cheap way to make these is with a sheet protector and piece of paper!

EFFICIENT CLEANING For some of you, this may be a given, but if not, let’s talk about how to clean efficiently. The best method is to work from top to bottom and from back to front, or your exit point. Start by making sure clutter is kept to a minimum or that everything is put in its place first. Then, simply start at the top in the location farthest from your exit. For example, I would start at the back of my room and disinfect my computer station, then stack the chairs and sweep that section out. I would then move to the reading station and clean the books and return them to the shelves, clean the shelves, and sweep the floors to the pile from the prior section. I continued to the cubbies, the supply counter, then finally the student desks and stack those chairs. Finally, I would go and spray all the stacked chairs with disinfectant as I was leaving so that I didn’t have to breathe it in, and it would clear by morning. I would speak to your custodial staff about the floors—some would sweep and mop anyway, but I had some that just didn’t have time for both and, if I swept, they would make sure it got mopped. When all else fails, you can take care of it or see if there is a volunteer student or parent that may be willing to help and save you time. Have all your supplies with you and work your way out of the space. Be sure to have someplace to deposit your cleaning materials and clean your hands when you finish.

DON’T BRING IN MORE THAN YOU NEED This is straightforward. The more you bring in, the more you’ll need to clean. Since my classroom always had a lot of traffic, I got out of the habit early from bringing in much other than my lunch, car keys, and ID tag. I kept my emergency meds on sight in case I needed them.

DON’T TAKE WORK HOME This is a hard one for teachers. Don’t do it. First, your job is stressful enough and you are ON a lot. Your time off is for your family, your mental and physical restoration, or anything you want it for. If there is grading or planning, allocate time for that before or after work. I gave myself an extra hour each day to complete these tasks and I assigned tasks to certain days. Check out the blog I did on this topic here managing-your-time-effectively or you can watch the video (back when I had time to make videos) here A2T Assigning Daily Tasks .

HANDWASHING We will all be doing a lot of this and soap can get expensive to replenish. Maybe you will be blessed with parent donations or can order a large refill bottle with your supply money or get lead money to purchase. Perhaps you will just purchase on your own. If you are looking for a less expensive alternative, grab some inexpensive bar soap and your potato peeler from the kitchen drawer. Scrapings will be all they need for single use washing and can be tossed if any is left, eliminating a soap dispenser to clean. For storage and distribution, get a small set of tongs to grab a piece from the container and avoid reaching in.

I hope some of these ideas have helped or inspired you. I’d love to hear any of your ideas, tips and tricks that work well so I can share them with others! If you are looking for other ideas, I blogged about this at the start of the epidemic in March, so have a lot more classroom specific tips at maintaining-a-healthy-learning-environment

For other ideas, tips and tricks for your classroom, check out my blog at www.addictedtoteaching.com or check out past YouTube videos by finding me at Sonya Barnes – Addicted to Teaching

How You Start Your Year Matters

Sonya Barnes July 25, 2019

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and that is especially true for teachers and how they run their first day, or first week, in their classrooms. We have a ton of curriculum to do and, if we have been teaching for more than a few years, we have covered the expectations every year, so it can seem quite tempting to rush through it and get down to business. But I don’t believe you should do that. It may impact your entire year, at least, that has been my experience when I gave in and rushed through. Yes, I know that many districts, schools and administrators push to start getting into the curriculum ASAP, and I don’t disagree that you should, but that doesn’t mean it should be the focus. Shift the amount or type you do each day. The first day is, as a former supervisor taught me, is all about “getting them in, getting them fed, and getting them out”. That’s all you are going to accomplish while they learn the new routine and work out any logistical issues, no matter what grade level.

I suggest to have something quick, fun and related to your subject area to do that first day, and, if it’s a get to know you activity, make sure it’s not something that another teacher they will have them do that day—they can only do so many line up by birthday or two truths and a lie activities in a day. I teach multiple subjects, so I see some of the same kids twice. If you also have multiple preps, that is something else to keep in mind when planning. I like to do a few different things that allow me to get to know them, see how they work with others and what their foundation and interest in the subject area is, and their learning/working styles without them even realizing I’m assessing them.

For example, in my Intensive Reading classes, I will ask them to write down a book that something about it stuck with them, changed their life, etc. and why as I circulate and interact with them, then they share that with their table and, if they want to, with the class. Then I share that my book was Harold and the Purple Crayon because it showed me that I don’t have to try and fit into the world but that I can help make the world fit for me since I think and learn differently. We then spend time making a poster as though we are Harold and draw a world that we would fit into that aligns with our goals and write a quick blurb about it and we hang these up as a reminder. This takes us several days. In my ELA classes, I have them write a postcard they will get on the last day of school, they draw a picture of what they did over the summer on one side and write a note about their goals on the other, then I hold these for them until the last day. On another day, I will have several quotes cut out on the table and have them choose the one that best fits them (they can share one) and share why with their tables and with the class, if they want. The rest of the week I will have them do a round robin writing activity on various genres and topics (a humorous bad day of school, a scary holiday experience) and each writes one section (beginning middle end, or use the plot elements) but they must add onto what another group started. In both subject areas this is worked around teaching and practicing school and classroom procedures, setting up computer programs or access that we use, and creating and organizing their portfolios. The end of the week I have a “quiz” on it and do something like go on a scavenger hunt to find the question and their answer leads to the next one and if they aren’t in order when we review, we reteach. I also make a classroom tour video of all these things and post it to my Google Classroom so that they, or their parents, can see where everything is (this is also helpful if a new student comes in and needs a crash course). I give out tons of sincere praise and compliments, bragging about what their former teachers said, positive observations I’ve made, and entertain them with my terrible memory of names.

There are so many ways to start your year off right so that you can teach your students about rules, expectations, procedures, rewards and consequences. And it will take excessive repetition since some will not have had positive classroom experiences previously so won’t pick it up as quickly. There are many games and activities that have been handed to me over the years that I have an entire file folder and computer file filled. I have so many that most I never even use, like get to know you ice breakers—I teach at a K-8 school so they know each other so well that they are counting down their last year to get away from each other and meet new people instead of the same 90 kids they’ve grown up with.

If you teach with a team, look at ways that you can make life easier and parallel what you do to make it easier for your kids. I remember one year we were expecting a group of kids that we were warned would be a behavior challenge. Our team sat down and looked at our classroom management processes to see if we were confusing them and creating challenges. We compromised and aligned what we did as much as we could so that we all had as many things the same as we could. We then made a PowerPoint Slideshow for our team and we all used it to guide our procedure instruction for the week. We were able to nip a lot of issues in the bud from the start just by simplifying their lives and giving them less to remember because that repetition reinforced the learning. It was personally rewarding to find that I worked with a team of professionals as dedicated as I was to student success and willing to find compromise from practices we’d all held for years to help them succeed.

I encourage you to truly reflect on your teaching and leadership style to see if there are things that you could modify or adapt to activities, and plan for, then it is easier to work in those activities. For example, do you give a quiz on terms, places or dates for your subject area regularly throughout the year? Instead of a paper-based assessment, turn it into an activity with dry erase boards, relay runs to the board, or telephone game to the teacher. Talk to other teachers at your school, in your social circles or in an online community (may I suggest the Facebook group Addicted to Teaching? 😉 ) and brainstorm ideas. Go to teacher sale sites and find things you can print and use again for several years or rotate through. Take those worn out icebreaker worksheets you’ve used for years and turn them into an activity to get them up and moving and allow you to see them in action—that visual data can tell you so many things about your learners in just a few minutes. Whatever you choose to do the first week, let me stress this part—make sure it aligns with things you will do in your class all year. Nothing is harder on a group of kids than having a teacher do “fun” team-based things the first week, then nothing but independent book work for the rest of the year (this is a bit of hyperbole to make my point, or so I hope). It can really jeopardize the rapport you build with the kids that first week and those relationships you have with your kids are key to having a successful or stressful year. A good rapport can decrease behavior issues and increase support from them when you have evaluations or those not feeling so hot days that we all have. Keep in mind the idea that if it isn’t fun or interesting to plan, teach or grade, it probably isn’t a fun or interesting way to learn. As kids change, we may have to compromise things we have always done for the sake of a stronger classroom environment that supports a new generation of learners. In education we are blessed with a fresh start each year, so make the most of it and you will benefit from it all year long.

Have You Been to Eduporium Yet?

Guest Post July 18, 2019

Finding new and affordable educational technology tools that align with the concepts you’re trying to teach and the standards you’re required to follow can be tough. Especially as new technologies are released seemingly by the day with slight or significant variations from previous models, it can certainly be challenging for teachers and tech directors to keep up with what’s worth their while. Keeping this in mind, the experts at Eduporium stock all of today’s latest EdTech in one place – an easy-to-access online store where educators can learn about and purchase all of the STEM tools they need. Oh, and they also offer a discount on most of those items exclusively for educators!

What makes Eduporium unique is that they don’t simply scour other stores and place every single EdTech tool they find on their own store. Their experts are actually doing the research, searching for the most useful tech tools, testing them out themselves, and corresponding directly with those vendors to make sure it’s a worthwhile product for enhancing 21st century education. Once that determination has been made, they then negotiate the lowest price possible and get it on their store for educators to easily find it and save when they make their purchase. [

Eduporium is a reseller, but they specialize in offering those EdTech tools with the greatest potential and add to their own value in the education community by offering free consultation, personalized technology bundles, and an Educator Discount of as much as 20 percent on technology items that’s available to all classroom teachers, principals, librarians, tech specialists, and makerspace facilitators. Knowing the importance of hands-on learning, they work directly with educators from some of the country’s largest districts and recommend only the STEM tools they need.

The Eduporium store includes the classic EdTech tools for engaging students in deeper learning as well as those that have been just released. Having established working partnerships with many of today’s top EdTech vendors, like littleBits, Wonder Workshop, Ozobot, Sphero, and more, they’re able to get new products onto their store and into classrooms quickly. Among the kinds of STEM tools you can find on the Eduporium store are robotics, coding kits, 3D printers, drones, virtual reality systems, circuitry sets, engineering tools, and more!

Take the Ozobot robot, for example. It’s one of the most widely used STEM tools in elementary and middle school classrooms. This tiny robot can be used to teach students how to code using color codes that they can draw with markers on paper. It can also be paired with a computer or tablet and students can build their own programs on Ozobot’s online learning environment, OzoBlockly. As new updates and releases are announced for the Ozobot, such as Ozobot Classroom, Eduporium is always on top of informing their customers about the latest information.

If you’re looking for any other options from today’s top brands in STEM education, Eduporium is a great place to look. They sell the Dash and Dot robots from Wonder Workshop, for example, which are great for introducing elementary students to coding. Eduporium also has the Cue Robot from Wonder Workshop, which middle school students can use to learn text coding! In addition to the robotics tools, Eduporium also supplies coding and electronics kits, including all of the top kits from littleBits. These electronic LEGOs are great for teaching circuitry, perseverance, programming, and inventiveness!

Not only does Eduporium offer educators an easy solution for all of their EdTech shopping, their advice and consultation help ensure that teachers don’t waste their time or money. To learn more about this company and to check out their extensive store with all different kinds of EdTech, click here!

This is a guest post. Andy Larmund at Eduporium reached out to see if I would share information about their company, products and services offered. After communicating back and forth and browsing their website, I was excited to share his information and I look forward to finding ways to work their products into my classroom this year, though! Note: This is not a paid promotion.