Back to School Count Down

As I prepare to return to school on Monday after being off for what feels like ages, yet still not quite long enough, I find myself conflicted. I've been planning lots of new lessons and I can't wait to teach them, yet I still want to be home in my cozy bed. I suppose the same is true for most of us.Alas, much like the students, the calendar says we go back, so we go back - ready or not.

This year I must say, I am feeling more prepared than years past and there are several reasons.The first is that I stumbled across one of my oldie-but-goodie books by Harry and Rosemary Wong that I have used each year since I started teaching, How to Be an Effective Teacher, The First Days of School.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

If you haven't read it, it really is a must read, regardless of your experience level. I've been teaching for well over a decade and use it every year. The book is tabbed and dogeared and well loved. It's full of helpful ideas for how to start you year off right with your students at any grade level.I pulled mine out and started to refresh my mind about what I need to do to prepare to have students again - everything from how to ready the classroom to how to greet students.

Another reason I am feeling a bit more up to the task is that this is the first year in at least the last 5 that I will have three day of paid teacher prep, not just one (yes, ONE!) day to set up my room. Budget cuts hit our district hard and we are FINALLY having furloughs and pay restored. So, I don't have to spend as much time during my summer going in to prepare my room. To be fair, one of those three days will be spend in district wide meetings, but I am actually excited about doing that!!!

 

Finally, I made a commitment this year to not overspend on school supplies. I was fortunate to find composition books on sale at both Target and Staples this year. I've decided that this year rather than giving away my hard earned cash to the students in the form of supplies, I will have them for sale in my classroom store. Students who don't have supplies, such as the glorious comp book that I have my students use for their Interactive Student Notebooks can get them directly from me if they don't have them by the first Monday. I hear other teachers in my district do this and I think it's high time I tried it too. I will let you know how it goes.

While I may like to lie in bed and drink my diet coke until noon every day (ha-ha) while on summer break, I am finding that these few simple discoveries are helping me shift from the summertime mindset to preparation for "school days are here again". So, not matter when you start your year (some of you may already be back in school), when its time to shift into gear, consider checking out the book, The First Days of School, and thinking about what changes you need to make this year to make your year the best it can be.

Happy New School Year!

By the way, I just joined BlogLovin.com.