The Top 5 Ways Teachers Can Prepare for Back to School
It’s that time of year again. Stores are bursting with colorful notebooks and superhero lunch kits. Families are planning their last weekends at lakes, oceans, amusement parks, and pools. Parents are counting down the days until their kids are no longer driving them crazy with claims of being bored.It’s back to school time!
And, teachers, now that you’re refreshed after a little time off, we know you’re looking forward to the first day. This year is full of promise. This can be the year you stay organized, eat healthy, get to the gym, volunteer for all the positions, and still get a full eight-hours of sleep.
Because you’ve got big hopes about this year, here are a few things you can do now to get ready for heading back to school.
1. Reflect on last year.
While you are looking forward to the new year, consider looking back to last year. Knowing where you’ve come from can help you set goals about where to go.
Think about all of the things that went well. When you look back on last school year, what makes you smile or feel proud? Did you have a particularly good rapport with your class, establish a strong sense of community, support exceptional learners in new ways, or connect with colleagues to help students achieve their best? Consider how you can continue to grow in those areas that are already strengths.
Then think about things that happened last year that make you cringe. Maybe you had trouble with classroom management during transitions or you didn’t feel prepared to lead a staff development meeting or you wanted to try student-led conferences but never found the time to organize them. Choose one action that can make up for something you wished you’d done better last year and plan how to implement that right away this year.
2. Update your website.
Don’t wait until you are back in the classroom to update your website. If you already know what your upcoming units will be, share those on your landing page.
Don’t forgot about the calendar — include the dates of school events or holidays as well as possible field trips.
Take a look at the About Me section of your website and see if it needs a little sprucing up. Consider adding information about yourself to share with students and parents to help them really get to know you as a person. Share a little about your educational philosophy and teaching style.
Add a list of age-appropriate books that you recommend. Parents love reading lists! You can also add links to educational software and apps like Lalilo. Parents will appreciate the recommendations on how to help their children at home.
3. Reach out to students.
When your website is ready to go, send an email or a snail mail letter home to students and parents. Invite them to check out your online space. Include information about back to school night or meet the teacher night, too, so you can meet in person. Don’t forget to include some fun information about yourself as well as what they can expect from you this upcoming year.
4. Plan your personal life.
By the time back-to-school rolls around, you probably already have a good idea of what your academic life will look like for the next nine to ten months. The school calendar has been released for over a year, so you know when you have planning days, parent-teacher conferences, and, of course, vacations.
Now is the time to focus on planning your personal life. Make sure your family has a shared calendar that not only includes your school schedule, but also has the dates of personal events. Plan a weekend getaway with your family now so you have something to look forward to when the magic of back-to-school begins to wear off.
Don’t forget to schedule time for self-care and important appointments. Book your doctor appointments, dentist appointments, massages, pedicures, and acupuncture services in advance. Doing this now ensures you’ll make time for yourself this school year.
5. Relax and rest.
With the beginning of school planned out and your personal life in order, take the last week or so before going back to school to rest and relax. You’ll need all the energy you can muster once you’re back on the clock as a teacher for 8 to 12 hours a day. It can be easy to forget how exhausting teaching is after you had a summer to relax.
To make sure you’re not going into this school year frenzied or stressed, set aside some time each day to relax and unwind however you please. Read the book you know you won’t get to this year. Lay in a hammock and take a nap. Binge watch your favorite television shows. Bake a ton of cookies and freeze them for later.
Whatever you choose to do, enjoy yourself. Starting off the year feeling great puts you in the right mindset to have the best school year ever.
Curious about what other teachers are doing to prepare for the upcoming school year? Many are checking out how Lalilo can make a huge difference in their students’ phonics and comprehension learning. Check out this app made for teachers by teachers!
This article was written by Amanda Ronan : https://www.amandaronan.com/
