Hey there!

Our official last day of school was last Friday, and as teachers, we were done as of Wednesday. Hooray! I know a few of you are like me and already fully into summer mode while others are still counting down the days until break officially starts (you've got this!) 😅 So if you’re still in survival mode right now, feel free to save this email for later and come back to it when you're ready (and in the meantime, don't forget to grab your End of the Year Awards! I'm obsessed with all the new additions this year). 💛

One thing I always find interesting this time of year is how differently teachers approach summer.

• Some teachers completely shut school mode OFF the second summer begins.
• Some slowly start organizing ideas halfway through July.
• ...And some of us get the random “I should reorganize my classroom library at 9:30 pm” urge out of nowhere.

I'm definitely a mixture of all three!

NOW: Before I go any further. Let me make myself very clear: I don't think any teachers should feel at all obligated to do anything over summer. This is definitely a YOU DO YOU situation!

Personally, I’ve found that doing a few small things during the summer makes the beginning of the year feel so much calmer for me. Nothing extreme. Just future-me favors. I've written about it here!​

Here are a few things I do try to knock out before August rolls around:

🍎 Reflect on what actually worked last year​
This is usually when I rethink anything that felt clunky or exhausting or just not worth it. How can you refine or adjust things in your classroom? Think about your schedule, classroom management routines, and parent communication.

🍎 Decide on my core routines ahead of time​
I like narrowing down the things I want to consistently do daily/weekly/monthly so I can establish routines quickly from the start. I have been refining things like my morning routine for years and implementing other routines like spiral review, fluency practice, and letter writing!

🍎 Restock and refresh essentials​
Printing out new task cards, replacing missing game pieces, refreshing centers, organizing supplies… all the little things that somehow eat up tons of time in August.

🍎 Organize the classroom library and print reading response bookmarks​
I love checking for genre/topic gaps and keeping an eye out for cheap books at garage sales or thrift stores over the summer. Here is a HUGE list of books to keep an eye out for and free bookmarks to print and prep over the summer. ​

🍎 Prep emergency sub plans​
Nothing fancy. Just enough so I’m not panic-writing plans while I'm inevitably sick someday in October. 😅 Here are my tips for prepping a sub binder. ​

🍎 Bookmark First Week of School ideas​
If you like getting a small head start, my free first week lesson plans and activities are still one of my favorite things to revisit during the summer.

🍎 Summer PD
​I actually LOVE a good summer PD! I also have a few of my own that I've created -- check them out here!​

BUT… there are also a lot of things I intentionally do not spend my summer worrying about:

🙅‍♀️ Fancy name tags
🙅‍♀️ Perfect bulletin boards
🙅‍♀️ Pre-made anchor charts

Honestly, students help create most of those things with me throughout the year anyway, and I’d rather save my energy for the things that actually make a difference in our day-to-day classroom life.

Okay, now I’m curious…

Are you a summer prepper?
Or are you fully closing the laptop until August? 😂

​I'd love for you to chime in the conversation over on Facebook! I genuinely love hearing how different teachers approach this season.

Mary