School may have just gotten out, or you still might be in session depending on where you live, but it’s never too early to start preparing for the upcoming school year. While you may not be allowed into your classroom just yet, there are still plenty of things you can do to prepare for the upcoming school year! Here are five things you can do to prepare for next year that will help start you off on the right foot for the upcoming school year.
Test out some new apps for the classroom
Distance learning will probably be in effect to some extent during the fall season, if not for the entire school year. Use this time to test out some new apps that might become a big part of your student’s classroom experience! Remember that you don’t just have to look for apps that your students can use! There are plenty of apps that can make keeping track of lessons or time management a breeze for teachers!
Convert some of your lesson plans into a digital option
You may have to do some or all of your teaching remotely during the early part of the upcoming school year. This means that rather than wait until the school year starts, you can prepare some digital options in case your classroom suddenly gets moved online! This might be something simple, like keeping digital copies of your worksheets or trying to find ways to make lessons more flexible.
Be ready for testing
Testing and teaching the standards to your students isn’t something that will get postponed forever. While your students may have gotten a free pass or your district may have been more flexible during the spring, this won’t translate to the upcoming school year. This means you’ll need not only to prepare lessons that are flexible for both a digital and in-person classroom, but you’ll likely need to prepare both yourself and students for testing.
Start thinking about open house and back to school
I know it feels so early to be thinking about going back to school and open house, but it will be here before you know it! However, there is probably going to be many different guidelines than we’ve had in the past for how these are handled. Many of these might be done in waves or online instead of the usual meet-and-greets and regular open house setting. Make sure that you adapt your open house and first day of school plans to accommodate social distancing guidelines, and be prepared to move some of these into a digital format if necessary.
Don’t forget to RELAX
Of all my years teaching, this one is hands-down one of the most stressful I’ve ever had! Make sure that you take some time to do a little relaxing and practice self-care. Sleep in a little later, and take some time to do something for yourself! Don’t over plan your days or spend your days just preparing for the next school year.
While fall might still be in the distant future, make sure that you keep these things in mind to help prepare you for the next school year! These are great ways to help prepare you for the upcoming school year without adding too much to your to-do list this summer.
Click HERE or below on the image for free advice for a Teacher Summer during Covid-19!
