1. Classroom Decor
The summer is the perfect time to think about and search for classroom decor ideas. I have not changed my decor theme in three years. Before that, I worked at a brand new school that did not want us to decorate, so it has been a while since I have thought about a theme and what I want to change versus what I want to keep for the upcoming year. I know I want to keep my quotes wall. I have been collecting artwork quotes that I love and turing them into an art display within my classroom. I feel that I can still incorporate that with any theme. The rest of my room has been a farmhouse style theme with shiplap and plant touches. I love it, it is calm and soothing. It has served me well and quite honestly, for the past three years, I have not really felt the energy or desire to to change that. I used to change my theme yearly, but something in me chaned the last three years with Covid. I think all of us teachers felt the extra stress of work and what we were going with and just keeping up with the required parts of teaching felt overwhelming without doing the extra work of creating a new classroom theme.
With that being said, I (think) I am moving up in grade levels next year, probably looping with my class. They will be older and I just want to give the room a different vibe and feel for the new year. This will be the 4th year I have had the oldest of my students. I started with them in third grade while teaching a 3/4 combo. The last two years I have done a 3-5 combo ( I work at a super small school that does multigrades). This year, I will most likely have 4-6 or 5-6. Still waiting for confirmation.
So, with thoughts of new decor ideas swirling in my head, I wanted to create a wanderlust themed classroom with travel posters and a retro feel. I wanted to bring in nature still with plants, but I think that fits the 60's/70's vibe I am going for. Here's a sneak peek at what I am creating. Can't wait to get it finished and posted to TPT, hopefully this week.
Currently I have 5 decor sets in my store, but I am hoping to create two new ones this month. One is All Who Wander, shown above and the other one is Junglow (Boho Jungle). Here is a peek at the other five decor sets I have created in the past. I enjoyed using my own creations in my classroom in the past.
Llama Llama
Who could resist a cute little lama theme with accents of lime, bright pink, and navy blue? This was one of my favorite classroom decor sets EVER. I loved having this up in my classroom. You can check it out in my TPT store over here.
Since I loved the llama decor so much, I created a second llama set. This one is a boho llama one. You can see it here.
What boy does not love a superhero theme. Girls can get behind it too. It is fun, bright, and adds a pop of color to the classroom. I created a superhero theme with tones of reds, yellows, and blues. Here it is.
Another theme I love to bring into my classroom is nature. I have my master's degree in outdoor education and I have done the research on how nature affects learning and behavior. I wanted to bring a touch of the natural world into the classroom through my Into the Wild Decor set seen here.
The final set I created is Selfie Classroom Decor. It is all things camera and celebrates a good selfie with muted tones. Check it out over here.
2. Yearly Plans & Set Up
When doing yearly plans, I take the easy route. I look at my curriculum and divide it by 10. Then I plug in the topics and standards for each month. Since I teach more than one level, I try to also align different math standards that go along with each other. For instance while teaching times tables to the third grade, my fourth grade will work on multiplying with larger numbers like two digits on bottom and three digits on top, while my fifth graders will work with multiplying with decimals. That way everyone in class is working on at least similar skills if possible. It is not only good for reinforcement and enrichment, but it is good for planning special activities that can reach across grade levels.
Along with my yearly plans, another good thing to take care of is a teacher communication binder. We all know how hard it can be to keep record of communication with parents. That's why getting it all organized and keeping it that way from the start can be so helpful. If you need help in that department, be sure to check out my teacher communication binders that come in three different themes: Fiesta, Over the Rainbow, and In the Trees. The binder content is the same, but with a different theme for each. These have everything I need to keep lines of communication open between myself and parents. They include an editable newsletter template, commuication record, postitive notes home with a record sheet to track who I have sent a note to, and some tags. The Fiesta set is comes in color as well as blackline, but due to the type of clipart, the other two sets are in color only.
3. First Week of School Plans
Once I have my first week of school plans down, all seems good with the world. This summer I am hoping to have those nailed down so I can transition easily into the school year without a lot of added stress. One of my go-to books to use is called The Six Weeks of School.
This book lays out nearly perfect plans for returning to school while building community and setting up procedures and expectations. The thought is that if you take the time to build this mindset during the first weeks of school then you will have an easier year with less problems. It short, you will get much more done by laying the groundwork at the beginning.
4. Hit the Thrift Stores
Thrift stores are perfect for searching for things to add to your classroom. I especially LOVE looking for books. Last summer I discovered that our town had a Goodwill Bookstore. It's pretty amazing, and it gets new books all the time. You can come out with a ton of books for between $1.99 and $2.99. Plus I believe they have a teacher discount that runs from June through July. Also the regular Goodwill Store is a great place to find old gently used board games that can be turned into learning games for the class. I definitely have scored many games there. Local thrift stores can also have some great stuff. I usually look for things in one of these categories: books, games, decor, and costumes for future lessons or transformations. It's cheap and easy.
5. TPT Wishlist
No one knows exactly when, but Teachers Pay Teachers has a back-to-school sale at some point toward the end of summer. Because of that, I recommend that you begin to save things to your cart as you find them throughout the summer. If you can hold off on purchasing them, that is even better because around back-to-school time you will find them generally at 25% off the price. That is a good deal, especially if you, like me, are purchasing many items during the back-to-school season. You can really save yourself a bundle. And speaking of bundles, look for bundled deals. This is where TPT sellers group similar items together, usually at a discount. You can check to see if the product you are purchasing are part of a bundle or not by scrolling down on the listing to see if it says that the product is also a part of another product. If so, you can get a lot more at a saving.
I know the last three years have been a killer for teachers. Covid teaching has left a lot of holes in education and vacancies in the classrooms. Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and often stressed out beyond belief. The teacher turnover rate is rising, so definitely do what makes sense for you and leave the rest behind. If that means sipping a cool soda on the beach with a great book in your hand and forgetting you're a teacher, then so be it. But then again, if you still have some energy left, maybe you'd like to try a few of these ideas for yourself.
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