THIS YEAR SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR!!

Here are four organization tips and activities that the busy teacher can do at the end of the school year to get ready for the next school year.

Start with your bulletin board! Keep some student work from May to use for August bulletin boards. You might have students in May write letters to the future students in your class. This is a cute and easy idea for one of those bulletin boards you will need in the fall. You might use the topic “What You Need to Know about Ms. ______ to Survive”, or some similar thought.
Inevitably, there are forms that we send home to parents! Why not get those papers all set to go now!? One paper many teachers send home on the First Day is the “Getting Acquainted” form. This quick questionnaire allows parents to share important information and their thoughts about their child. Hold onto these papers and revisit them a few times throughout the year so you can look back at what they’ve said!
What about those folders you use every year!? Create those Take Home Folders in May that you use for your kiddos to bring their homework, permission slips, and other important papers to-and-from school in. The fancy smancy poly folders from Office Depot are a little more expensive than others, but they last ALL year. And while you are at it, perhaps there are other folders you wish to prepare.
Clean out the junk you don’t use. Do you have a whole shelf in your tiny classroom closet dedicated to broken geoboards? Not needed. If you didn’t touch it this year, it might be time to find a new home for some of this stuff. What about that box of old fabric scraps? GONE! Little hands love helping with projects like this. It will feel good!

Again, the more prep you do now, the easier it’ll be on you in August! But, regardless of how you prep for the next school year, I hope you and your family have a wonderful, much-deserved summer break! Remember to take time for yourself, refresh yourself, and rejuvenate yourself so that you are ready for another amazing year with a new group of students you will inspire!