I am excited to share classroom organization ideas for kindergarten and preschool small groups! It can feel challenging to keep small group materials organized when you are constantly rotating and switching up activities. But do not worry, teacher friend! I have some inspiring ideas and tips to share, with no requirement to have everything color-coded in rainbow order. Although, I personally LOVE color-coding!
Before racing to the store to buy all the things to organize your small groups, you will want to have your small group routine figured out. The 5 Steps To Setting Up Successful Small Groups in your Preschool or Kindergarten Classroom is a free resource that guides you through planning your small group routine. If you want your small group routine to run like clockwork, check out my blog post, Everyday Classroom Management for Small Groups: Useful and Efficient Strategies. I share a variety of management strategies for setting yourself and your students up for success!
Now, let’s chat about classroom organization ideas for kindergarten and preschool small groups! I have tried many different small group organizational systems over the years. Some of the systems helped me manage the process, while others felt cumbersome and clunky. Establishing a system that works for YOU is the most important. I am not here to sway you one way or another. Rather, I will share a variety of ways to organize small group materials, leaving the big decision of what you will implement, up to you!
Have you heard the phrase, “A place for everything and everything in its place?” As a type A personality, this phrase brings me so much joy! I visualize a storage space that can fit all of my teaching materials in labeled bins, stacked neatly on shelves, arranged in order of the months. If you could see my face, you would laugh at my goofy grin! A girl has got to dream!
Keep that phrase in mind as we explore classroom organization ideas for kindergarten and preschool small groups. The ultimate goal is to implement a small group organizational system that will work for you and your classroom.
Teacher-Led Small Group Organization
Organizing materials for your teacher-led small group is essential! You want to be sure that you have all of your materials within reach. Leaving your group for even a moment, to grab something you forgot, will interrupt the flow of your teaching and your students’ learning. Check out these classroom organization examples for keeping your teaching materials nearby.
Organize with Baskets & Bins
Baskets or bins can be used to keep your teacher-led small group materials ready to go. The number of baskets you need, depends on the number of groups or activities that you instruct during a week.
A pre-k example: I teach one small group activity in the morning and one small group activity in the afternoon. I need two baskets, one for each activity. My assistant also teaches one small group activity in the morning and one in the afternoon. She also needs 2 baskets. My students go to only one small group activity in the morning and again in the afternoon, rotating to a different activity on the subsequent days. For the week, I would need a total of 4 baskets to house the teacher-led activities for the week.
A kindergarten example: When I taught kindergarten, I met with small groups during our literacy block. I met with 5 groups of students each day. The students rotated through activities, so during each rotation, I met with a different group. For the week, I needed a total of 5 baskets to hold my teacher-led activities.
In your basket, include your lesson plan, documentation/assessment page, visual directions, and any copies, manipulatives, cards, etc. that you will need to teach your lesson. Toss in student name cards and school supplies (pencils, crayons, etc.) that are needed. Teacher materials like a clipboard, pens, post-its, and paper clips can be thrown in too.
You might consider having a separate caddy that holds essential supplies and is ready to travel with your basket.
When it is time for you to instruct your small group lesson, grab the basket (and possibly your supply caddy) and sit down and teach. If you can set your small group baskets out ahead of time, even better! If you have an additional staff member in your classroom, they could set out the lesson and any materials before small group begins.
Choose a place for your small group baskets to “live” when they are not in use during small group time. I found it most convenient to keep my small group baskets on a shelf near my desk. Having all the baskets in the same spot allowed me to quickly change materials for the following week.
Organize with Carts & Drawers
Rolling carts can be utilized to organize your teacher-led small groups. If you do not have space for baskets, a rolling cart might be the answer for you. They don’t take up much space and you can get them with 3, 4, or 5 tiers. The “tiers” act as baskets to hold your materials.
I use a 3-tiered rolling cart to hold teacher-led small group materials in my pre-k classroom. The carts have been life-changing! They hold all my teacher-led small group materials for the week. It is a breeze to grab it and roll it over to my small group table. When not in use, they “live” behind my desk, which is handy for changing out materials for the following week.
Here is how I organize my teacher-led small group cart. The top tier of the cart is home to supplies. I have a caddy full of essential school supplies (crayons, markers, scissors, pencils, glue sticks), a stapler, tape dispenser, and sticky notes. I also have a magnetic pocket that holds teacher pens, permanent markers, and students name cards. These items are always on the cart. The caddy of supplies is reserved solely for small group time. It is not to be used during any other time of day. This way, I ensure that I always have the supplies I need for small groups.
I use the 6 compartment supply caddies. Before I put supplies in the caddy, I first place a clear plastic cup in each compartment. Then I place the supplies in the cup. This allows me to grab only the supplies I need out of the caddy. If I need crayons, out comes the cup of crayons. Putting all the supplies out (when you don’t need them all) usually ends up with someone cutting their paper instead of writing their name. It is possible I have experienced this before…oops!
The middle and bottom tiers of the cart house the small group activities that I teach. As explained above, I teach one small group in the morning and one small group in the afternoon. The middle tier is where I put my morning small group materials. The bottom tier is where I place my afternoon small group materials. I include my lesson on a clipboard, a documentation/assessment page on a separate clipboard, visual directions, and lesson materials (copies, manipulatives, cards, etc.).
You can utilize the cart to fit your specific small group needs. Hypothetically speaking, if my small group routine incorporated rotations (as described in my kindergarten example above), I would use book bins on my cart. Each group would have a designated book bin where I would keep the lesson and materials. Another option I would consider using is a 5 drawer cart. Each group would have its own drawer to hold the lesson and materials. The 5 drawer cart typically doesn’t roll as well as a metal tiered cart, therefore, I would keep the 5-drawer cart right next to my small group table.
Small Group Bookshelf
A bookshelf provides lots of space to hold small group materials. If you have the space and available furniture, you might consider this option for your classroom.
The options for what to store and how to store those materials are limitless! Think about what you utilize the most with your students during small group time. Place those materials in easily accessible containers or bins. Clearly label each bin so you know exactly where to find what you need.
One way to keep a bookshelf looking neat and tidy is to use uniform bins or containers. Choose containers based on their function for your needs. Using containers that have a similar appearance in size, color, and shape will not only be pleasing to the eye, it will help you find your materials faster.
If your small group bookshelf is “teacher touch” (only a teacher can touch the items on the shelf), consider placing it behind your small group table, or cover it with fabric when not in use. Of course, be sure to explain your expectations to your students regarding the small group shelf.
Independent Small Group Organization
When an independent small group area is organized purposefully, students will engage in learning for a longer time and they will know exactly where to find or put away materials.You know what this means, right? You get to teach and not manage! *Happy teacher dance!*
If I was only allowed to share one word with you regarding organizing your independent small group area, that word would be, “proximity.” Without a doubt, having materials accessible to students at their independent small group location is top priority.
We want to avoid students wandering around the room looking for something they need, interrupting your small group lesson, or simply doing nothing because they couldn’t find the thing they needed. Therefore, materials must be available in the independent area and in a consistent location.
More Baskets, Bins & Carts!
You can apply any of the previously stated organizational ideas (from the teacher-led small groups part of this post) to independent small group organization. If you do not have a permanent space available (like a bookshelf) to hold independent activities, you could utilize the bin or rolling cart organizational ideas.
If you prep and organize the independent activity in a bin, I suggest having an adult set out the activity before students arrive at their independent group. Otherwise, students will most likely all try to get the materials from the bin at the same time. Yikes!
For example, in my pre-k classroom, one of my independent small group areas is often sensory based. Some of our go-to sensory activities include individual sensory bins, kinetic sand, or play dough. Before students arrive at this independent activity, my assistant will set out the necessary items. For play dough, first we set out a tray, place a bag of homemade play dough on the tray, and set out the caddy of play dough tools. This ensures that students are able to get started right away when sent to their small group area.
Another great alternative to a bookshelf for storing independent small group activity materials is a rolling tiered cart. A tiered cart can be rolled to the small group area when it is needed and tucked away when not in use. It essentially is a mobile bookshelf. Students are able to easily access the materials from the tiers of the cart.
10 Drawer Cart Organizational System
If you have a bookshelf available to use for your independent small group area, use the tips from earlier in this post about containers and bins to organize your bookshelf.
In my classroom, I do not have a bookshelf available for my second independent group. Instead, I utilize a 10 drawer cart, which permanently stays in the independent small group location. Each drawer of the cart has a different alphabet activity. Since my program requires me to teach letter of the week, this independent center stays the same every week, however, the activities get changed out to the current letter we are learning about. My pre-k students can pick any activity from the cart by removing the drawer. They take it to the table or they may choose to sit at the rug with a lap tray. When they are finished with the activity, they put all the materials back into the drawer and put the drawer back on the cart. Then they choose another activity from the cart. My students are able to access the activities completely independently during this independent small group. There is never a question on where to find materials.
Read more about my independent alphabet small group activities by skipping on over to my blog post How to Create Powerful Hands On Alphabet Activities for Independent Small Group.
If your students rotate through multiple groups during your small group time, be sure that your materials are in a consistent location, so there is no question where to find the activities.
When I taught kindergarten, I implemented the daily 5 framework during my literacy block. I had 4 independent areas that I planned for the week. My students rotated to writing, word work, read to self, and listen to reading. During those times, they were expected to be completely independent while I met with small groups of children, so my organization needed to be top notch!
At the time I taught kindergarten, I used wooden shoe shelves stacked on top of each other for a “bookshelf” and paper trays as the containers to hold my activities. 10 drawer carts weren’t a thing yet. If they were a “thing,” I definitely would have used them! Those shoe shelves with containers “lived” at each of the independent areas. My students ALWAYS knew where to find their activities.
Get More Small Group Inspiration!
Implementing an organized small group routine will benefit everyone! You will be more productive while planning and prepping your small groups. Your students will know exactly where to find materials, which gives them more opportunities to engage in learning activities. So take all the knowledge you have acquired revolving around classroom organization ideas for kindergarten and pre-k small groups and put it into action! Happy organizing!
