T-Minus Two Weeks!!!

With the summer break wrapping up and the first administration days of the school year right around the corner, it’s time to start dusting off the lesson plans and get ready for Year 2 of teaching! I’m beyond excited to see my students, but before we get to the first day with kids, there’s a lot of work to be done. This time last year, I had just been hired to the Music Teacher position at my school, and it was a mad scramble to get myself ready for the year. Having learned from that stressful experience, I’m more than happy to have a plan in place for the next two weeks so that the prep work goes as smoothly as possible. If you’re a new or returning teacher about to start your school year, here’s a Back to School ToDo List to help set yourself up for success come day one!

Don’t Rush It! You’re Still On Vacation!

This needs to be your first thought up until the first day you are required to report to work. You are still on vacation, so use that time! Teachers often face the temptation to stay after school for hours, take work home with us during weekends, and add item after item to our plates. I won’t pretend that I don’t face that temptation during the year, but I try very hard not to give in to that mindset during the summer. If you’re a teacher, you work very hard over the course of ten months, and you deserve that vacation time, so why would you sacrifice it? Do what you need to do to get yourself ready for the school year, but make sure you allow yourself this time to rest before you start seeing your kids. If you wear yourself out before the first day, you’ve already set yourself up to struggle. 

Get The Lay Of The Land

Before you start prepping for the school year, make sure you know what your year is shaping up to be like. Take a look at your class schedule, find out if there are any changes from the year prior, and start thinking about how you want to navigate those changes. Also, figure out what changes you plan on making yourself. Maybe you’re going to start a new ensemble, or plan a field trip to the symphony. Think big picture as you’re going through this process. You need to get a bird’s eye view before you dive down to ground level and start working.

Plan Out Your Schedule For The Year

Once you have a lay of the land, map out your schedule for the year. This will include things like making adjustments to your curriculum map, setting dates for concerts and programs, or narrowing down rehearsal schedules. Keep in mind that this is all in pencil – or at least remember that you can right click and select edit on your computer – as you’re developing your plans. Things can and will change as you progress through the year, but at least this way you have a framework to work off of. 

Organize Your Lesson Plans, Resources, And Materials

After you have your curriculum map figured out, start organizing everything you need to teach! Sort your lesson plans in whatever system you prefer, gather your resources, textbooks, and start setting up your classroom! Break this task up into chunks over the course of a couple weeks as you work your way up to seeing your students. Setting everything up can take some time, and unless your classroom was left untouched over the summer, you’re going to have some work ahead of you. Teachers’ rooms are usually cleaned over the break, so there may be things that are out of place.

As you get your lesson plans, games, and activities in order, remember that this doesn’t have to be done all at once. Take a look at your curriculum map and sort everything you’ll use in the first few weeks before you work on preparing everything else. You can keep sorting as you work your way through the year. 

Write Up Plans For The First Few Weeks

Once you have your materials and activities organized, go ahead and write up your lesson plans for the first few weeks. Give yourself the chance to start ahead of the game rather than plan week to week. You can still be flexible as you move through the curriculum map. 

This new school year brings a new schedule for the Related Arts team at my school. Rather than see a class once a week like normal, I’ll see each class back to back to back over the course of three days during a given week, and then I won’t see that same class for another five weeks. To prepare, I’m going to plan the whole first five week cycle of lessons before the year starts so that I can be ahead of the game.

Get Your Back To School/Ensemble Letters Written Up

Sending information about your program or classroom is a great way to get yourself on the parent’s radar. Our Related Arts team sends home a Related Arts “Newsletter” at the start of each year, providing information to the parents about ourselves and our classes, contact information, and whatever else we feel is important to share. If your teaching situation doesn’t have a similar way of reaching out to parents, you can send home your own newsletter or information sheet so that parents know everything they need to know about you.

If you have ensembles (that aren’t a part of normal classes) or plan to start them during the year, go ahead and send home an information sheet so that parents know what they need to know. Include information such as concert dates, rehearsal schedules, and expectations for the students that are participating should they choose to do so. Include a contact sheet that parents can fill out and return to you so that you know which students are participating and how to contact their parents when needed. 

Hopefully you’ll find elements of this ToDo List useful as you prepare for the return of your kids. Here’s to a great Year 2!

Until next time…