It's Summertime... So Now What?

Swinging on the porch, laps in the pool, tanning at the beach or wind in your hair. Oh and then there's bike riding, hiking, jogging or just sleeping in. But is that all we should be doing in the summer? Having fun? Pish Tash!

Okay, I'm just teasing (but only a little bit). I know this is the time of year we all wait for, but there are some other activities that we should really try to sneak in during the summer. For teachers and parents, this is the perfect time for some necessary tasks. Today, I'm talking to the teachers. (I will write to the parents for part 2). So hold on tight. Here we go.


For Teachers:

• Read some new guided reading books. I know how boring it is to go year after year reading the same books with students (even the ones we once loved). Learning some new stories that can teach the same strategies is a way to spice up what you are doing with students. However, during the hustle and bustle of the school year, there is NO TIME for reading new novels, creating close reading questions and zeroing in on the best strategies to be used with each book. So, that's what summer is for. Take a bit of time over the next few weeks off to read at least three new novels that you can use to refresh your curriculum and bring your own passion for reading back to your lessons. Check out Perfection Learning and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for ideas on new leveled texts you can start reading. 
• Take some free training opportunities. Most school districts use the summer to offer optional training courses. I know that you may want to avoid training and classes at all odds, but these are designed to put that spark back in your classroom. Remember how you felt after your new teacher orientation? After teaching for some time, it is hard to get that feeling back. Attending a training class (a good one) can ignite that excitement in you again. Now, you have to be careful. Talk to people. Find out what courses are getting the best buzz before you choose one. Nothing is worse than sitting in a classroom in the summer feeling like you are being lectured about something you already know or by an instructor that is more torturous than your head in a vice. So, choose wisely. Just make it worth your while. Get excited, because you can actually return to work a new teacher (minus the orientation). 
• Organize your computer files. As the years go on, it is so easy to accumulate our files like a hoarder would rolls of toilet paper. But after a while, it becomes overwhelming (not unlike the toilet paper). During the summer break. use your time to purge old files that are unneeded. For me, that would mean purging files from back when I taught 3rd grade over 10 years ago!  Now, I am sure that this means some of you may have to take a trip to your school to complete this task, but I still think it is a worthwhile task. Although the files are digital, clearing them out and organizing what we keep is a great summer activity, because it helps you to find the files that are useful, but forgotten. Also, you make room to grow with.So, go ahead. Blow the dust of those digital files and see what you're working with.