Are you nearing the end of the school year getting ready to run out the door? Maybe you’re already enjoying those glorious summer days filled with sunshine, peace and quiet. Either way, thoughts of prepping for the new school year might have already popped into your brain. That’s where I come in to help! If you’re here you’re ready to learn 4 easy ways to summer prep for the new school year. Why not get ahead, while still enjoying your much deserved break. Let’s dive into this quick and easy read so you can get back to enjoying your summer vacation!
Tip #1: Get Organized
Getting organized is always a time consuming piece that you’ll never regret. I promise you’ll thank yourself later so much if this is the only tip you take. Spend time decluttering spaces and really truly PURGE items. This can be hard. I know I’m guilty of keeping those cute things that I *might* need one day. My advice, part with it! Create designated piles to donate, trash, and keep. Go through ALL the things and get rid of it if you haven’t looked at it all year, never opened it, or it didn’t work out.
During this process, it’s a great time to take inventory of your school supplies. What do you have a lot of? What do you need more of for next year? Are there things you realize you use a lot of that needs to be added to the school supply list? This is a good time to get all those things in order so you can restock during all those back to school sales! When you do this type of summer prep for the new school year you’ll be amazed at how relaxing it’ll be coming back.
I like to create piles of things that need to be taken home. Over the summer, I make it a best practice to take home all the well-loved items and give them a deep clean. This includes reading stuffies, scissors, whisper phones, and other heavily used items. They deserve a fresh start too!
Once you have everything you’re going to keep in the classroom, it’s time to reorganize them so that when the next school year comes, you’re ready to start fresh with an easy to navigate space. Learn more easy organization ideas HERE!
Tip #2 – PD by the Pool
Summer prep for the new school year isn’t just all things in the classroom, it’s professional developing ourselves too! Is it just me or isn’t it the best feeling to sit by the pool, gain a little teacher knowledge, all while sipping your favorite drink? Check out the Beginning of the Year Teacher Survival Guide. This guide goes into extensive detail on how to successfully set up your classroom for the entire year. You’ll learn how to create a space that flows and stays organized, strategies for building a positive classroom community, and all kinds of information on classroom management and instruction! This guide will have you SET and help take some of the overwhelm and pressure off. You’ll walk into your room on day one with a plan of action and ZERO stress.
Want video PD instead? Check out the in-depth video version of the book! I talk heavily about preparing for the first six weeks of school in my Building a Student Centered Course and it really is the secret sauce to having your classroom *almost* run itself. If you take the time with students to build those rules, routines, and procedures, this will help your students hit the ground running when it comes to instruction. How? Because they know what is expected of them. Thinking through things like carpet time procedures, hallway procedures, and bathroom procedures, are just a few but very important things to think about. After watching you’ll walk away with:
- Your first six weeks of school planned out
- Your classroom setup and ready to empower students to take charge of their learning
- A toolbox FULL of ideas to help you build a stronf, positive classroom community
- Solid systems in place for you to have your classroom *almost* run itself
- Plus TONS of bonuses including a supportive Facebook community of educators
Above all else, you’ll walk away feeling planned, ready, and more confident about beginning your school year with students! Join us HERE!
Tip # 3 – Lesson Plan
Now this one you may think sounds crazy, but hear me out because it’s a game changer! If you take the time to plan and prep the first week of school, how amazing will it feel to step foot in the door with everything already prepped, copied, and planned out?!
I’m sure you think I’m insane to ask you to even THINK about what in the world you’ll be doing during the first week of school. But I actually DON’T want you to think about it because I’ve already done it! That first week will be building our community, getting to know each other, enjoying some great read-alouds and the planning for it all is a LOT. However, I’ve made that easy for you too with the First Week of School Kit! Everything is prepped, organized, and ready to go in this neat and tidy tub. It’s so easy to create your own and use it year after year and I’m telling you it’s a GAME CHANGER. Summer prep for the new school year made easy!
Another thing that makes me feel super prepared for next year is going ahead and getting those first week plans and copies DONE! You’ll thank yourself profusely later because you won’t have to think about it all summer. As a result, you’ll have so much more time setting up your room next year and you’ll get to do so in a relaxed manner. Check out these first week essentials HERE and of course the back to school survival kit HERE!
Having a solid plan in place will help alleviate A LOT of unnecessary stress. One thing that I’ve found that helps to combat that is to be OVER PREPARED. That’s right! By overplanning, I’ve discovered that I’m less stressed, and the students are always engaged in something.
Check out this exclusive Teaching Timeline Freebie. This helps you create your plan for back to school starting a month before school starts. With this timeline, I’ll help you plan through the weeks before school starts, setting up for meet the teacher night, and then the first six weeks of school. You’ll be ready to walk in the doors on day one with students and have everything ready to go. Grab your freebie below!
Tip #4 – Reflect and Let Go
The last and final tip before heading outside for some fresh air is a little self care tip. Take time to celebrate things that went well for you this year, reflect and take notes about things you want to switch up for next year, and let go of what you can’t change. This could be things like classroom setup, organization ideas that didn’t work, etc. After you’ve taken the time to reflect and celebrate, walk away from the school year and leave it behind. It’s important to rest and recharge over summer, spend a little time developing professionally, and enjoy your time away from students in order to come back fresh and inspired. Let go of the stuff that didn’t work out. One of the best things about being a teacher is that you get a new start each year with students!
I really hope you enjoyed learning some quick tips to help you THRIVE for the upcoming school year, all while enjoying your summer break. Who knew summer prep for the new school year could be so easy! Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Back to School Teaching Timeline FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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