We are midway through July and the feeling of dread is starting to set in for many teachers, for they know that in a couple of weeks their summer vacation is over. Professional development is coming up, soon after that, students return. Even if you love your job as a teacher, you will probably find yourself bemoaning the end of your break.
Regardless, the end is coming, and you can fight that sense of dread by being prepared for school to start back.
So, what should teachers do before they go back to school?:
1. Lesson Plan
One of the biggest lifts on teachers is preparing lessons night in and night out. Turning in lesson plans is a daily drain on energy and valuable time outside of school. Why not prevent this headache by having your lesson plans finished? While you have the time, it’s probably a good idea to create or edit your lessons; after all, you will have much less time during the year.
2. Call your future students’ parents
If you are lucky enough to work at a school that gives you a class list before the school year starts, then you should use it. Building relationships with parents is a lot easier when you are not calling home for bad behavior in your class. Use the class list, call parents, and establish a connection before you need to use it.
3. Organize your classroom
Many teachers wait until the week before school starts to decorate and organize their classroom. It’s okay to wait; however, it is much easier to create effective classroom decorations and systems when you are not pressed for time. Additionally, you have more time to internalize the layout and systems of your classroom, so you are better able to articulate them to students.
4. Prepare your sleep cycle
The biggest shock to the system for teachers at the end of the summer is the reality of waking up at 6:30 a.m. in order to get to school and prepare for students. This doesn’t have to be a shock. You can start training your body to rise at your regular wake up time now, and you probably should. You can either gradually push up your wake up time or rip the bandage off and simply start waking up at your normal time. Just remember to keep yourself awake the whole day as you won’t be able to nap when school starts back.
5. Enjoy yourself
While it is important to do some work to make sure you have less work during the year, you also want to make sure you are enjoying the end of your break. Whatever makes you fulfilled as a person, you should do it while you have the free time and no other obligations.