Another year gone and a new one on the way

Well most of you have finished up the 18*19 school year.  I've spent many years sleeping most of the two days after school got out.  I tried hard to put away as much of the room as possible while the kiddos were there without it looking like "we are done" before that last day. No matter how I planned it seemed like I was still spent by that last day.

Many of my teacher friends are making moves this summer to new locations as the district is re-purposing the building we were in the past 6-7 years.  Change is hard and much work. Now is the time to do some fun things for yourselves.  Plan that trip, paint that bedroom, go to the wine and paint gathering, hike, sleep in, you know what you need.  Give yourself permission to do self care.

After you feel refreshed, start to look forward to your new journey.  It may be with a new batch of sweet faces, or a new school, or even a new district.  Change is hard, but it is also the one thing that is constant in life.  Plan those first weeks of school so that there are no "teacher nightmares" when school is about to start.  The first weeks of school are for setting the stage for the rest of the year.

If you spend the first weeks of school building relationships with your students and their families, you will have a smoother year.  These weeks are for introducing and teaching routines, kindness, and procedures so that all your kiddos know what to do and what to expect...they also become co-teachers in teaching new students these things when that new student arrives.

Over the summer, I will try to cover some of those things and share some thoughts on parts of starting a new year. 

Do you have anything special you'd like me to cover?  Any ideas we can all explore?   We could start a Google Group to chat about ideas.  Let me know what you are thinking.  Let me know what fun stuff you are doing to feed your spirit.

Wishing you well,
Teacher Debbie