Tag: back to school

The Ultimate Back to School Checklist for Teachers
teaching

The Ultimate Back to School Checklist for Teachers

Essentially Better Living1 Comment

All those in favor of teachers getting time to work in their classroom on staff development days, say “aye!” Teachers everywhere hope and pray for this scenario. Yet in reality, we find ourselves immersed in non-stop PD for every one of these days. After years of hoping, I have made the shift to coping and problem solving. I’ve created a master list of “things to do before school starts,” that I want to share with you here. It will mean you have to come in and extra couple of days. But if you will execute this list, your stress level will be significantly lower. Not to mention, your attitude will be SO much better for it! Consider doing all of this TWO WEEKS before school starts. So that the last week of summer is YOURS.

Pro-tip: Copy these lists to your Notes app on your phone and make it a clickable bullet list. Feel free to edit and make it your own. It is so satisfying to mark each of these complete! You will also have it saved for next year and every year!

Clean and organize

  • Buy needed supplies for classroom + paper towels 
  • Order label maker tape/batteries 
  • Order new planner, desk calendar
  • Keys to room 
  • All furniture in place 
  • Clean counters, cabinets, drawers 
  • Curtains up 
  • Scrape old letters off white board, hot glue off surfaces, remove old staples
  • Restock desk, teacher station
  • Reorganize supplies
  • Re-label class period on drawers, trays, bins
  • Label supplies
  • Re-label days of week for makeup work station, trays, bins
  • Inventory classroom needs and make list of these

Room Decor

  • Locate Anchor Charts for first unit
  • Word Wall for first unit
  • Calendar bulletin board
  • Student work bulletin board
  • New white board letters up 
  • Put up posters
  • Student supplies organized and accessible

Technology

  • Connect to printer and projector, and test
  • Power on Clear Touch and log on
  • Doc reader set up 
  • Sync and test microphones
  • Plug in all power strips
  • Connect extra monitor
  • Turn in technology work orders
  • Able to video record from Doc Reader?
  • Update teacher website for new school year

Other/Sanity Maintenance to do BEFORE Beginning of Year PD. (These are those things you think admin should give you time for. But they can’t. Their supervisors expect them to plan PD for us. I remind myself of this so I can be at peace and have a better attitude on these days.)

  • Lesson plans turned in for first week
  • Set up Google Classroom/Class Codes
  • Update Parent Letter
  • Update Syllabus
  • Update Daily Slide for first day
  • Copies for 1/2 day and first full day, back to school night (including syllabus and parent letter)
  • Back to School Night slide show
  • Amazon Teacher wishlist with QR code for parents
  • Seating Charts – (If rosters are available)
  • Candy for first week of school treats
  • Schedule library class visit
  • Put in for days off -appointments

This is your master list for teachers to do before the first day back. If you have other things that you do to prepare, please share! I hope these lists will give you a smoother start to your year. I also hope that you will feel less stress and more at ease this new school year.

If you appreciated this post, follow me on WordPress so that you will get email notifications for future posts. Also check out my list of Overlooked Teacher Gadgets You Need for Setting Up Your Classroom. Have a great year!

Overlooked Teacher Gadgets You Need for Setting Up Your Classroom
teaching

Overlooked Teacher Gadgets You Need for Setting Up Your Classroom

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You’re getting ready to set up your classroom. You’ll be sure to have a stapler, bulletin board border, and all of those cute and obvious items you need. As a veteran teacher, I want to share with you a few small overlooked items that make a huge difference! They make your life EASIER! I am also linking to my Instagram Stories so you can see them in action!

  1. This magnetic staple remover. It is so much better than the claw type. The claw version will tear up your border, paper and cute items! This removes the staple with minimal damage.
  2. Magnet wand. Have you ever found yourself on your hands and knees picking up stray staples? Have you ever swiped a bunch of staples into your hand only to be stuck by one? If you have, your wheels are already turning wondering why this item isn’t already in your life. This magnet wand is just what you need for picking up all those staples you remove from your bulletin boards.
  3. Putty knife. Need to scrape vinyl letters off your white board? This tool is your best friend. It makes quick work of the job so you can move on to something else. I use it for dozens of other small jobs around my room as well. Must have!
  4. Magnetic level. If you need to apply vinyl letters to a white board or any other magnetic item, this is priceless. They will go on straight, effortlessly.

Check out my Instagram Stories (“Teaching 2” Highlight) to see these gadgets in action in my own classroom. Follow me for more ideas!

These tools can make your job easier and help you be more efficient. If you appreciated this post, follow me on WordPress. You’ll be sure to get an email notification for future posts that way. Also check out my post, Master To Do List for Teachers Before Going Back to School. I am an Amazon Affiliate and can receive compensation for the items included in this post.

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Stop saying back to school means summer is over.

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summer

I have seen so many posts, articles, and commercials in the past week mourning “the end of summer” or dreading the start of school.

But school starting doesn’t mean summer is over. It really isn’t.

And I don’t just mean that according to the calendar, summer isn’t over until September 22.

I would liken the “school starting/summer is over mindset”  to the “TGIF mentality” where folks seem to live for the weekends. But does it really have to be summer, or the weekend for us to enjoy life?

I propose a different way of thinking, a different perspective:

Why can’t every day be great? And why can’t a school day be a day full of fun?

As a parent, my girls and I pack in fun as much as we can after school hours. We plan to swim, hike, explore and play outdoors through at least mid-October. The last two years we’ve done what I call “Monday Funday.’ It’s where I intentionally take the kids somewhere fun and it gives us something to look forward to, while others may choose to wear their “I hate Mondays” faces.

Or, challenging myself here, as teachers, what if we these weeks left of summer as days we can take our students outdoors for activities and hands-on learning?

I hope you’ll join me this school year and soak up every bit of summer. And make every day a joyful one, even Mondays.

weekend