Summer’s are to teachers what the off-season is to any athlete. It’s a time to rest and enjoy some downtime. But it is also a time to prepare for a new season. For athletes, the off-season is when they train, watch old videos of themselves and learn new skills. Okay, I’m not an athlete so I have no idea if that’s what athletes do. But I do know teachers! And the summer is the perfect time for teachers to learn how to prepare for a new school year (and of course, rest).
I believe that if you prepare in the summer, your school year can run much more smoothly.
Of course, you cannot prepare for everything that will come your way in the upcoming school year, but hopefully, these 3 tips will help!
Don’t forget to download my free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success!”
How to Prepare for School over the Summer-Tip #1-Curriculum Map
Curriculum mapping is a must for teachers! If you already know what grade you will be teaching, then you can curriculum map.
Summer is the best time to curriculum map because it takes a lot of time. However, if you are willing to spend the time over the summer to map out your year, your planning will be that much easier during the school year, when you have countless other things that need to get done!
Curriculum mapping is not done enough in teaching. Click here to read about other common mistakes teachers make.
Because it is summertime, I will try and make curriculum mapping as fun as possible. Some ideas you could use if you choose to curriculum map over the summer are:
-Planning outside
-Getting your teachers together and having a curriculum mapping party
-Getting some pretty office supplies (did someone say Post-It’s?)
If you do decide to curriculum map over the summer, you need to download my free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success!”. Get it here!
Tip #2-Find Cheap/Yearly resources
Summer is the perfect time to go on a hunt for cheap resources. There, you will also find cheap books, games, and toys that can be put in an indoor-recess bin for your students.
There are also tons of sales for teachers during the year. For example, Teachers Pay Teachers will have a back-to-school sale over the summer. Most teacher sellers will put their resources on sale in the summer months. Click here to follow my store and to check out my resources.
What I mean by yearly resources are resources that will be used throughout the entire school year. Check out some of these resources here:
How to Prepare for School Over the Summer-Tip #3 Professional Development
The summer is a great time to learn! My third tip for teachers over the summer is to attend professional development workshops and events. Try to attend 1-3 conferences, if possible. Many events for teachers are geld virtually, which allows you to save money and travel time.
I suggest picking one of the more broad events, such as a Teach Your Heart Out conference, which has multiple sessions on a variety of topics.
I would then say to pick a more focused professional development opportunity. For example, if you feel you need help with Behaviour Management, try and find a seminar or workshop that can teach you new strategies to better manage your students
Professional Development opportunities are also great because they allow you to connect with other teachers. Click here to join our Facebook group, created for elementary ELA teachers!
Final Words…
Summer is a time to recharge for teachers. Take time to relax and enjoy being child-free (sorry for you momma’s reading this!)
However, summer is also a fabulous time to get some things done that will make the school year less stressful for you.
Please comment below if you have or plan to use any of these tips over your summer vacation!
PS-Don’t forget to download your free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success” before you go!
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