Summer is almost here and that means it’s time to…prep for next year!
We all know that preparation is key to a successful start of the school year, but what projects give you the most bang for your buck? What type of preparation makes the biggest impact as the year begins?
If you’re wondering how to make the most of your summer prep time, check out the ideas below!
Prep for Next Year with These 10 Projects
I am a firm believer in taking time to relax and re-energize, so that should always be a top priority during the summer months. Teaching is hard and, although prepping can make a big difference, it should never be done at the cost of your own mental or physical health.
These projects should be done only after you have had time to decompress from the previous school year and only if you feel driven to prep for the new year.
Make a Guide for Your Para
When paras know what is expected of them and how they can best help in the classroom, it makes everything run more smoothly. Create a para guide or use the Para Binder templates to make sure your para is in the know right from day one!
Prep Journals
If you use journals in your class, prepping them during the summer is a great way to save time throughout the year. Whether you use math journals, monthly writing journals, or journals for science and social studies, getting them ready ahead of time alleviates some of the stress when you’re ready to use them.
Put Together Adapted Books
Adapted books can be game-changers for our special ed students, but they do take time to prepare. Summer is a great time to prep them for the school year ahead! Not sure which adapted books to add to your collection? Check out over 100 different adapted books here!
Have you heard about the Adapated Book Club? When you join you get access to over 500 read-to-use adapted books in both digital and print format! Learn more about it here!
Organize Lessons and Units
If you found that some of your lessons and units didn’t work so well in the order you taught them, reorganize them in the summer so that they flow better during the year.
Creating and Organizing Student IEP Binders
IEP binders are a wonderful way to store and organize the information you need for each student on your caseload. These Editable Student IEP Binders make that a lot easier!
Make Task Boxes
Task boxes are a staple in the special education classroom, but they take a bit of time to prepare. This summer, grab some new task boxes and prep them for the upcoming school year. Your students will love starting the year with new boxes to tackle!
Get Morning Binders Ready
Morning Adapted Work Binders have long been staples in my classroom and I can’t imagine starting the school day without them. Spending some time during the summer months to compile them is well worth the time and effort!
Start a Color Coding System
Color coding my caseload saved my life. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it made such a difference in how I was able to organize and manage my students that I highly recommend it to everyone I meet. It may sound intimidating, but you can get everything color-coded this summer so that the new school year will be amazing!
Laminate All the Things
One of the most time-consuming parts of teaching is laminating. When you’re ready to prep for next year, consider adding laminating to your list of to-dos. I suggest laminating everything that you will be using more than twice or with more than one student. Posters, activity mats, binder pages, adapted books, etc. can all be laminated during the summer to save you time and energy throughout the school year.
Learn Something New
Whether it’s a behavior management technique, a way of organizing materials, a fun story to share with your students, or a trick for teaching a confusing topic, learn something new this summer. It will help you stay up-to-date on current trends and ideas, and re-energize you as you think of ways to engage your students. Learning never stops – even when you’re the teacher!
What are some things that you do to prep for next year during the summer? Share your ideas with us below!
