Student cubbies are an important part of every classroom, allowing students to keep their returned papers and sometimes their backpacks and coats in one convenient location. Whether you want small cubbies just for returning assignments, or larger cubbies, we’ve got ideas for helping you put them together and make them look great.
Six Student Cubby Organization Ideas
image via Rainbows Within Reach
Many teachers are faced with the challenge of a lack of space, and in those instances, small cubbies are necessary. We’ve compiled a few different ways you can create a place for your students papers and work, without using up a lot of valuable floor space in the classroom.
Plastic Storage Towers With Drawers
Plastic storage towers with small drawers can be used for many different things, but having a cart with a drawer for each student is one way space-restricted teachers are making cubbies work. Many times, these plastic towers are lightweight and even have wheels, allowing you to move cubbies to a convenient location based on how you’re using the classroom space.
Homework Boxes from Magazine Holders
If you have a countertop or closet space where you can keep small cubbies for your students, try stacking magazine boxes horizontally. Lay them sideways and stack them 3-4 holders high to give yourself a mailbox-like space for returning students papers and projects.
Student Binders With Name & Picture
Want students to be able to take their cubbies back to their desk with them? Try using binders! Give each student a binder and use it to return assignments and keep important papers. When it comes to parent-teacher conferences, you can even grab the binder and show them what you’ve collected for each student.
Tips for Decorating Student Cubbies
Functional Decorations With Paper & Tape
Paper and tape are a teacher’s best friends, and make it very easy to create a cubby system that looks great with the classroom theme. It also makes personalizing the cubbies for individual students more fun. Give each student a color, number, photo, or animal and make the cubbies stand out with decorative tape and colored paper.
Student Photo Booth
Take a picture of each student on the first day of school. Instead of assigning them a color or name to remember, simply put their picture on their cubby. This works especially well for students who cannot read yet as they can find their cubby just by seeing their own smiling face looking back at them!
Themed to Fit the Classroom
Use borders, letters, and images that match the classroom decor and decorate the cubbies. This will make them blend in to the overall classroom theme, rather than standing out as a purely functional tool.
