We are fully in B2S mode around here! The supplies have been purchased, the teacher’s gifts are ready, snacks and ziplock baggies are busting out of cabinets, and pencils are sharp. Our kiddos have one more week of summer fun with their Grandparents (ahem, thank you Grams and Gramps) while Jason and I head back to work.
Our district asks teachers for five work days ahead of students’ arrival. Generally, those days are designed in halves, spending a portion in teacher professional development or meetings and another in your own classroom preparing. In between, there are the nonscheduled things like collegial chat about summers or incoming students, a former student “helper” coming in for a visit, a sit-down with special education about needs for a child, committee work, team meetings, online safety trainings, and copy machine frenzy. Time flies!
Today, I am sharing how I begin the back to school routine as a teacher. Over the years, I have settled into a process that makes me feel prepared and ready.
Prepare your physical space first
Teaching takes heavy mental lifting. I can’t do that unless the space around me is serene and organized. So the first thing I do is head in on a weekend day that is not a work day (these are polarizing words, I know …) because the quieter it is in school, the better. I wear crummy clothes and tennis shoes and arrange all the furniture. Over the summer, custodians move things and clean the carpet. So, every fall, I move bookshelves, desks, and tables back into place. I decide what needs to go, what stays, and if I need replacements. Depending on class size, I try to leave an open space in one corner for the class to sit and gather. This is where my rocking chair and easel go. I reserve part of the room for the classroom library. Another corner is designated for small group meetings and another, my desk. I put student desks into groups rather than rows (saves space and encourages partner talk). I think about where and how I teach, how we will physically move in the room, and what kiddos need to see.
Add warm, comfy touches
As a teacher, you spend many hours in your classroom. It becomes home #2 during the year. So, comfy touches are as much for you as they are for your students. I want to feel happy, cozy, and safe in that space, and kids do too. Lamps are cheap and easy to find but make a huge difference. I have four lamps placed around the room. They give a soft glow and are the first things I turn on when I walk in. Next, invest in a plant, and make watering it a job for the students. Having something green and alive is wonderful. So many of the surfaces in the classroom are hard, so think about where you can soften with blankets or pillows. Yes, this comes with the extra responsibility of taking them home for washing every so often, but they make the day to day feel nicer. I throw a quilt over my rocking chair and have a small pillow on my desk chair. For students, I like the college style dorm pillows with big backs and arm rests. When we have reading or writing workshop, I pull name sticks out of jars and those kiddos take a pillow. Take the time to hang border around whiteboards or closets, and think about adding pictures or posters of beautiful or fun things that are not necessarily instructional (a landscape or cute emoji faces).
Organize supplies for your student centers
When I have areas ready in the room, I can think more clearly about things students will need in those spaces. When I consider my writing center, for example, I know they will need access to different types of paper, highlighters, pencils, and sticky notes. I also include art supplies there (extra markers, colored pencils, silly scissors, stickers), reference books, and clipboards. For math, we need easily accessible dry erase boards and expo markers. For reading, we will need a place to store book tubs and reading journals. They also need easy places to find sanitizer, kleenex, and bandaids. I am fortunate in that I teach an older grade, so they are capable of independence in so many parts of our day. I try to use this to my advantage and put them in charge of daily and necessary routines. So, one area in the room becomes the attendance and lunch count area, and students are completely in charge of it. I need magnets, an updated class list, and attendance papers there. Finally, I double check my indoor recess inventory of board games and make sure they are in a place where students can easily get to them.
Work on your calendar
When my space is ready, I will sit down at my desk and work on my calendar. I will also set out a notepad next to me for catching notes and “to-do’s” that I will inevitably come to as I start digging in. On my calendar, I will write important dates (conferences, meetings, test windows, report card due dates, etc) so I can backward plan. Typically, this helps clarify priorities. For example, if back to school night is on a Monday, I know teachers will be crammed into that workroom and in line for the copier to get their handbooks and letters finished that morning. For me, this is a clear indicator that I should move up those things to my Thursday or Friday to-do list so I can avoid the crowd and feel ready. Or, if conferences come one month after the first day of school, I know there are certain assessments and lessons I want to accomplish ahead of time so I have personalized and significant information to share.
Get your technology ready to rock
It’s the absolute worst to have a solid lesson planned with super cool graphics only to find your cords aren’t right, the projector isn’t talking to the laptop, or the audio has decided to crap out. Tech and I have a love/hate relationship, but I truly do appreciate having it in my classroom. I also know that I need to commit undivided attention and time, before students arrive, to set things up and test things out to feel comfy and ready to go. This is one thing I try to do when others are busy in their classrooms and the hallways are quiet. I aim to do it before back to school night so I am not scrambling the day of in case I need help from our district support team.
Close the door and plan
Now it’s time to shut off the overhead lights, turn on my desk lamp, and play a little music. It’s time for the big thoughts and plans. If I am going to make any major changes (a schedule shift, a different approach to content, a new curriculum), I start there. I keep a notebook for each school year, and this is the place I maintain notes from new trainings and thoughts or plans I need to think through. I consider why I want to make changes and jot notes for the execution of those shifts. I may also pause to create an invitation for a team meeting if the change is collaborative or shoot out an email for advice. I also peek at my incoming student list and make sure I am aware of any major or unique needs before I plan specific lessons and activities for the first few days, in case I need to make adjustments. Then, I dig out the beginning of the school year files and start to pencil in what our first few days will look like. As I plan, I will think of supplies or copies I need and jot those down on my to-do list. Like most teachers, many of my first days’ activities involve community-building. But I also am planning how to introduce each of the content areas and how to build expectations around those learning standards for the year.
Names List
As an elementary teacher, I write names on lots of things! These include name tags, desk tags, popsicle sticks, bookmarks, reading tubs, folders, labels, job charts, bulletin board cutouts, student trinkets and gifts, and more. Before school begins, this is one of my favorite things to do, because the repetition of writing names helps me know them. I have learned to keep a separate list (not the to-do list) called “Names.” As I plan, I jot down the places and things that require name labeling on this list. But then, I wait until the day before school begins to actually write them. I have learned that class lists change constantly up until the first day. If you are type A and a slight control freak like me, I also like my lists alphabetized and numbered in sequence. Best to wait until the bitter end to ink these in 🙂
Over-plan self-care time
As soon as school starts, it is oh so easy to forget the good things you did for yourself this summer. In order to continue exercising, reading, meditating, walking, and staying present, I need to be planned. For example, if I really want to get up and get out for a run before school, I need to lay out my exercise clothes the night before, in addition to my earbuds. If it’s a hair-wash day, I set my alarm fifteen minutes earlier than normal. Or, if it’s Jason’s turn for a morning run, then I know I can read my book instead, but I need to pack an after-school bag with exercise clothes. Saying no to extra work commitments is key here, too. Things like exercise, reading, cooking at home for my family, having homework time with my kids, and daily walks are things I am not willing to sacrifice. I have to choose what to lean into at work and what to lean away from in order to balance my days. Being overworked and under-cared for is not a badge I want to wear.
Try to Remember
Then there are minutes or hours or parts of whole days when I grandly leap onto the Struggle Bus, because, well, this is a hard job. I suppose I try to remember then, why I am here. I look at the collection of antique school bells my mom has collected for me and smile, because every year the kids love them. The big one makes an obnoxious ding, and I will inevitably let each student ring it because they will all ask. Because they are kids. And they love life and silly sounds and hugs and receiving a compliment and a piece of candy from a kind teacher. And they want to be good at something, and to be recognized for who they are, and to be welcomed into a corner of the universe for nine months that they can call their own, and to be loved. Even on our hardest days, there is always the why hidden within us somewhere, waiting to be heard again.
Have baking ingredients on hand
And some nights I will forget all of that and brood away in my discontent. So, sometimes you just need to bake a batch of cookies.
