We have celebrated the 4th of July so I know you have ALL gone to your schoolhouses begging for the key to your classroom so you can start bringing all your June ideas to life! I love that our brains have the down time for ideas to swirl with a fresh new school year ahead. I have put together 5 Teacher Things to Do In July that will get you back into the swing of things as you begin to plan for your new students. And that have probably been on your to do list for a while!
CREATE AND SEND A POSTCARD TO YOUR NEW STUDENTS
Our team created a postcard to send to our new students that would get them excited about the first day. It also let them know who we were and that we were ready to have fun! Another example is a favorites postcard. This one let the students know a little about each of us. It also gave us something to talk about the first day when we met everyone. I did two to a page and printed front/back on card stock so it was inexpensive. The color photo one I took to Staples to have printed because INK! It was still less than $20 and that is money well spent to start building those relationships!
SOAK UP THE SUNSHINE AND READ A BOOK
I add to my summer reading list all school year and make big plans to read all the books! Most summers that list does not get checked off, but I love to read all the inspiring teacher books I can get my hands on! I also like to throw in a trashy mystery while I soak up the sun. So if you haven't gotten all your summer books read, get out there and read while you still have time!
MARIE KONDO THE PILES OF THINGS ON YOUR DESK
Tidy up your space! I know those piles of papers do not bring you joy! Thank them and file them!
ORGANIZE ALL THE THINGS
A couple of years ago, I transferred all my files into binders. I organized everything by unit and in the order of my interactive notebook pages. I did it all through the year instead of in one big swoop and I think it really helped me get rid of things I had not used in years. We teachers really like to keep things that we {may} use someday!
I need to clean up my binders and make new spines and covers after using them for two years. I also want to F I N A L L Y get my task cards, games, paper anything out of the waffle box from the cafeteria!
I have had my eye on these photo and craft boxes for a while. I caught them on sale so I bought TWO! I can't wait to get all these zippy bags organized into the little plastic boxes and then I can label everything!
RAE DUNN YOUR TEACHER TOOLKIT
The teacher toolkit has by far been one of the best things I added to my classroom. I love how students can get what they need all in one place. It perfectly holds all the most common things they ask for. With the toolkit, they can just get what they need!
Now that I am in an office instead of a classroom, I Rae Dunned my toolkit to be a little more adulty! I changed some of the labels to things I frequently use. If you don't have a teacher toolkit, you really need to get one!
I hope your summer is amazing and that these 5 Teacher Things to do in July get you organized so you can get to the fun stuff...like decorating and running 47 gagillion pieces of Astrobright paper through the laminator!