Making the most of Summer for Teachers!

Finally the countdown is over and summer is here! 🙂 I hope we all have had some time to enjoy the start of our break and get rid of all that crazy stress the end of the school year brings. Definitely relax and take some time to catch up on doing things that you love! Visiting friends and family, traveling, exploring Chicago, and spending time in Michigan are just a few of my favorite things to do during the summer.

As the first month of summer settles down, many of us are starting to think about next year and how to manage our time during break. It can be difficult to balance obligations, vacations, maybe a summer job, personal time, and work you want to get done for the up and coming school year. As much as it’s called a break, much of our time is already filled up! Managing all of this can be really difficult and the only way I am most effective is by having a monthly agenda and a consistent weekly schedule (when possible).

I bought this awesome weekly/monthly agenda at target and I absolutely love it! It gives me a full month view with room to tentatively write things in and then it has individual weeks, where I write more in depth. We all have a lot keeping us busy, so I like to color code my planner. As you can see here, I have four colors. Blue is travel plans or visitors. Purple is blogging and prepping for next year. Green is work, tutoring and babysitting. Yellow is fitness and Orange is personal things! Color coding helps me stay organized and not overwhelmed with my schedule. My coworker introduced me to these awesome pens that come in an assortment of colors!

Things you can Prep in Summer 

• Teacher Binder:  Sasha has a great blog about using Binders to stay organized.  In preschool I keep a Teacher Binder with lesson plans, student IEP Goals, daily schedule, emergency contact information, sub plans, health alerts, and any other important notes.
• Student Binders– If you know ahead of time your students for next year, creating their binders is a great way to get a head start.  These binders include parent information, phone numbers, health information, any other important information, assessments, and student work. If the student receives special education minutes, I keep a copy of their IEP, collaboration minutes, and data charts in these binders.
• Student Schedules- For the most part my student’s schedules are similar each year. Over the summer, is a great time to make these. Here is a list of different types of schedules you can make for your students!
• Instructional Material- The summer is a perfect time to get a head start on new instructional material for next year. I spend lots of time making new file folder activities and adapted books.
• Plan Curriculum and Lessons-  Summer is a great time to plan preschool units/themes. If possible, try and meet with your team and plan your first few months back. This will help tremendously at the beginning of the year, so you can focus on your classroom!

• It may be helpfully to pick something each week to focus on. Example: First week of July is curriculum planning. Second Week focuses on making teacher and student binders. Third Week is making schedules. Fourth week is designated for making new materials, etc.