Oookay, let’s be honest: Kids are generally a mess when it comes to organization. Even most adults struggle with it! Organization a skill and a mindset that has to be taught and practiced.

When I decided to go back to work fall of 2022, I noticed that my students struggled mightily with organization. I would instruct them to retrieve a book from their desk, and it would either take them a very long time to find it or it would be “lost”. They could never find what they needed when they needed it. This would inevitably end up with students interrupting my instruction because they needed help finding something. After being frustrated with this cycle for a few weeks, I tried to think of a solution. I remembered being in primary school having, you guessed it, a Desk Fairy! Elementary school me never knew when the desk fairy would visit, so I always had to have my desk in order. This was very motivating for me and my classmates, so I decided to try it with my own students!

Organizing Their Desks

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First, I had my students take everything out of their desks and place their items on top.
Second, I instructed them to throw away any loose papers.
Third, I had them divide their desk into two parts: the left side and the right side. I clearly stated which items belonged on the left and which items belonged on the right.
Fourth, I made a desk diagram on the board and went reviewed it with the students repeatedly. You can see this diagram below:

Fifth, I gave each student a Seat Sack to put on the back of their chair. This is where they stored their iPad, headphones, and a few other items.

Now that everything had a place, there was no excuse for not finding what they needed right away.

Sixth, I introduced the students to the concept of the desk fairy. Boy, did this get them excited! This was exactly the motivation they needed to maintain a clean desk. The anticipation for the fairy’s first visit kept them on the edge of their seat.

Materials for the Desk Fairy

A few days later I purchased a “fairy door” and put it on the wall in the back of the classroom. I also found a free sign that read “the Desk Fairy is watching”, and placed it by the fairy door. If the kids didn’t believe in the Desk Fairy before, they certainly did now!

The Desk Fairy Paid Us A Visit

Soon enough, the Desk Fairy paid the students a visit. I purchased notes from the Desk Fairy on Teachers Pay Teachers and I printed them on Astrobright Colored Paper. The Desk Fairy inspected my student’s desks and determined which one was the cleanest. She left a note for them along with a small prize. When the students noticed the visit upon returning from recess they were ecstatic. Even better, they wanted to know what they had to do to get a prize. I told them that it was simple: “Keep your desk neat and organized”.

Success!

I’m happy to sat that today, my first graders are able to maintain tidy desks! With a visual tool (my diagram) and the right motivation (the desk fairy), we’re able to make this work.

Do you have any strategies that you use to help your students stay organized? Share them below!

The post How to Make Your Classroom Exciting With The Desk Fairy first appeared on Smells Like Teach Spirit.

This article, along with many other articles on Smells Like Teach Spirit, contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through the links I earn a small commission.  Clicking these links does not cost you anything extra but it does help with the cost of running this website and it helps keep great articles and freebies coming your way. Thank you!

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that most kids prefer outdoor recess. They love playing on the playground (aren’t playgrounds so much better now than when we were in school??), running on the pavement and using other fun recess equipment they may not get to use at home. The school yard is their oyster. But what happens when recess is moved indoors due to weather or another issue? Some schools have an extra gym area where students can go for indoor recess. Most schools have indoor recess in the classroom. If you get stuck covering your own recess, here are our tips to help make it more bearable for everyone!

1. GoNoodle

GoNoodle is a website that provides fun videos and interactive activities for students from kindergarten to fifth grade. The videos are specifically designed to encourage movement throughout the day. The website has a variety of categories and topics, one of which includes “indoor recess”. There are countless videos in this category to choose from, and they vary in length and focus. My students LOVE doing GoNoodle videos during recess. It’s fun and helps them find that energy release they missed from not getting outdoor recess. GoNoodle is free! All you need to do is create an account. Click here to get started!

2. Coloring Books

Coloring books are always a hit with my students. I get my coloring books from two places: Dollar Tree and from Creative Clips on Teachers Pay Teachers. Dollar Tree has so many choices! I usually only get a few because I use them for free choice time on Fridays. Creative Clips has seasonal coloring books which I download and print, then keep in the students’ folders specifically for indoor recess time. My students are only allowed to use crayons for traditional coloring books because markers bleed through to the next page. But for printed coloring sheets the students can use markers if they wish.

3. Board Games

Board games are always a fun way to pass the time! It is also a great way for students to work on their interpersonal and communication skills. They can also learn to work together on a team and what it means to develop a strategy. When choosing board games you can stick to the classics like Candy Land or Connect Four or newer games like Apples to Apples. When introducing board games to my students, I always restrict the number of players for each board game by taping a notecard with the number of players to the front of the board game. This way, there are not too many students playing one board game. Click here for a list of my top 10 board games for indoor recess.

4. Whole Class Games

Playing games as a class is a blast! They are fun and exciting, and you won’t hear your students complain about boredom during indoor recess. My favorite game to play with my students is Heads Up, 7 Up. They love the mystery of figuring out who picked them. Some other games to play with your students include, charades, hot potato and Simon games. Don’t have the energy for leading a game? Turn on some music and turn the classroom into a dance floor!

5. Indoor Recess Cart

My indoor recess cart is always a hit with my students. It has a variety of hands-on activities for everyone. I can’t quite remember where I purchased my utility cart (Michael’s, maybe?), but here is a similar one on

I keep all of the activities in narrow plastic tubs purchased from Dollar Tree. You can also purchase them from Amazon. I always inform my students how many of them can use an activity at a time. For example, only 3 students may use Play-Doh and 4 students can play Uno. Each activity also has a designated area – Legos is played on the carpet, magnetic tiles are at student desks, Play-Doh is at the small group table and Mr. Potato Head is used in the classroom library. To dismiss students to choose an activity from the recess cart, I call their names from my bucket of popsicle sticks. For a list of all the items I used to make my indoor recess cart click here.

5 Tips to Surviving Indoor Recess

Indoor recess can sometimes be a challenge but when you’re prepared, the kids have a great time and it goes by quickly. There’s no need for complicated activities, just ask the students what they’re interested in doing and go from there. How does your school handle indoor recess? Share in the comments below!

Are you looking for more ideas? Click below to follow our fine motor Pinterest board for more ideas!

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