Tips to Pack Up Classroom & Prep for Fall




Hi Friends!

My school year is now OVER!  Woo Hoo! Well.except for that pesky teacher planning day on Tuesday.  But then, I’m home free!

It is so tempting to close up you classroom quickly!  Why not?  We're tired, given 110% of ourselves, and we're ready to relax, refocus, and rejuvenate ourselves.  Before you close up all "willy nilly",   I'm sharing some great tips to FOCUS on that make that START of your school year so much easier!
Whether you are new to teaching or just looking for some great ways to pack up with a plan, I wanted to share a few things I do that make my life so much easier when we head back to school in late summer (never Fall, huh?).


Recover your bulletin boards.
Imagine your packed up room: stacks of boxes off of the floor, items hidden in nooks and crannies, etc.  And all you REALLY want to do is make your room cute.
So, when we pack up for the year, the very first thing I do is strip my bulletin boards and put up fresh paper.  Sometimes I spring for the fadeless paper at the local school supply store, but I mostly use fabric!.  Whatever you choose, recover your boards & add your favorite border.  If you KNOW how you are dedicating the space-go ahead and add your headers and such.
THEN, I put a layer of cheap plastic table coverings over the wall.  It protects the color, keeps out the dust, and it is ready to roll when you walk in. Peel off the layers and you immediately have a fresh looking room.


Prep for Orientation
Do you have one of your days of planning dedicated to a Parent Orientation?  We sure do-usually the last day of our pre-planning days.  And usually all of those days beforehand were spent in meetings and training.  AAAH! Don’t let panic set in during those days. Make those copies NOW!  I usually wait for the welcome letter to be copied: you never know who on your team might move over the summer.  You CAN copy the generic things that are important for your parents: a parent questionnaire, classroom policies, etc.
I also like to use the last few days of school to have my kids fill out a fun booklet for NEXT year’s students!  It keeps my kids busy in a fun way on the last few days of school AND it is a nice welcome for mu future kidlets.  A bag of goldfish saying "You are O-Fish-ally a 3rd Grader" and the booklet is a homerun!  And school hasn’t even started yet!


Copy for the first few days & weeks
The beginning of school is the perfect time to start with your classroom routines.  If your curriculum isn’t being updatedmake those copies now!
Morning Work
First Reading Test
First Math Test
Spelling Inventory Checks
3rd Day of 3rd Grade Booklet
Any Open House crafty things you like to display-do these on the first few days when you have down time
Put them all together in one place and you won’t be waiting in line at the copier or frustrated when it jams and you’re waiting for the copier dude to come fix it!


Bring your “To-Go” bag
Have any summer projects that you want to work on?  Laminated task cards? Rework your basal with a different approach? Folders to prep for your students?
As I pack things away, I have my biggest Thirty-One tote waiting nearby.  As I put away my manuals and such, I will put anything I want to take home in the tote.  Sheet protectors and binders to organize units, labels to print over the summer, pocket folders that I’ve already laminated, etc.  There is nothing worse than wanting something that is packed away!  Even if you can get back into your roomwhere the heck did I put it?  Will I get to everything? Probably not.  But at least I know where my supplies are and I have a place to put the things that I complete over the course of the summer, too.


Pack that ONE special box
Think ahead-what will you need first? Stapler? Pens? Mahvelous Tape? Screwdriver?
Put all of those essential supplies together in one place:  a certain shelf, a labeled box, a dedicated cabinet.  When you walk in that first day, it will be great to grab those essential elements right off the bat.  No matter where you start in recreating your classroom-you will have whatever you might need.  I learned THAT one the hard waylots of opened boxes.  CHAOS!!

I hope that helps you a bit as your school year winds down.  I know my neck of the woods ends a bit early and hoping this will ease that transition from school year-to summer-to back-to-school!




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End of the Year Autograph Books


Hey y’all!

Can you say.T-E-N DAYS!!  Woop! Woop! I have really grown to love my kidlets this year (but don’t we always?).  Yet.who can resist the thoughts of sleeping late, sitting poolside, reading, puttering around the house, and drinking that second cup of coffee at HOME and not at school!?!?  Not this girl1

As I start to wind things down and prioritize what I have time left to do, I usually do some sort of “Memory Book”.  They are a great way to reflect over the year, get out the markers and scissors.  I began thinking though that what my kids really NEED is an autograph book to get signatures from their friends.
This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!

Why the thought?  
Well, we do have yearbooks the kids can purchase and THOSE kids always get friends to sign it at recess.  What about the OTHER kids?  It always made me feel kind of bad for them.  And I was that mom in elementary school who would rather buy the class picture than the yearbook. 

So, my idea was born!  And sharing it for my:

I really love all of the great paper bag booklets out there are TPT.  All you need is paper and lunch bags from Target!  

I started thinking that lots of the teachers at my school might want an Autograph booklet for our kids who don't order yearbooks.  So.my quick little four page, quickie, Saturday project turned into this big thing!  Might as well share it, right?

Step 1:
Distribute the pages & 2 lunch bags

This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!

Step 2:
Fold the two bags in half.  Staple. (Pretend you see a staple in this picture.  SOMEONE has hidden the at-home stapler.  Grrr)

This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!

Step 3:
Cut & Glue the cover pages to the outer parts. 

This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!

Step 4:
Cut & Glue the inside pages in any order.

This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!

Step 5:
Decorate and Grab those AUTOGRAPHS!

This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!



Granted.four pieces of copy paper per kid might be a lot.  In the end, I think it is worth for ALL of my kids to hop around getting signatures from their friends and teachers. 
This End of the Year Paper Bag Autograph Book is the perfect activity for the last few weeks of school!  I love that I can create a Teacher memory page, too!


 I’ve included 4 different sets of inside papers to choose from, since I’ve gone to the effort to think about what OTHER people might want.


Set 1: 
6 bordered pages with no title and no extra graphics
Set 2: 
6 bordered pages with titled “My Classmates”
Set 3: 
6 bordered pages with no title and a cute graphic on each page
Set 4: 
6 bordered pages with a spunky title and the same cute graphic

I’ve included covers and titles ranging from Pre-K to 5th grade, too!

UPDATE: May 2016
I've added a great option to this resource so that teachers can have their own PERSONAL autograph book that can build from year to year!
Includes:

  • Ready-to-Go Cover Pages
  • Editable Options
  • Full page spread to add a class photo
  • You can build from year-to-year!








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Planning for next year?

How about a quick Link-Up!

I don't know about you, but I am STILL thinking of all of the new and improved things I want to add to my classroom next year.  The beauty of teaching is the fresh "do-over" we get!

To help you out, I'm linking up with Amanda at The Primary Gal to share a few of my favorite items in my store you may not know about. Buy now and you can get your items and samples together in time for Back to School!! If you can use just one of them and make a purchase- drop me an email at 3rdgradepad@gmail.com,  and I will send you your choice of either my latest "End of the Year Autograph Book" or my favorite game style to pull out at the end of the year "Synonyms & Antonyms Bundle: I Have, Who Has".  I just don't TRUST them til the end of the year!  LOL!
Reading Street INB for Common Core 3rd Grade: https://goo.gl/zBgjZf
Multiplication Task Card Bundle: https://goo.gl/ORrpFK
Back to School Place Value Bundle: https://goo.gl/7S58yS


You have until Monday May 11th 11:59pm to purchase and email me with this offer!

If you started here...be sure to head back to The Primary Gal's post to see a bunch of my bloggy friends who linked up, too!  Hope you find something you can use!

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