Things you need to do before the first day of school

the first day of school is right around the corner and there is a lot i mean a lot of things a teacher has to do to make sure the classroom is ready before students show up in today's video i'm going to take you step by step on how to set up your classroom efficiently so that you are less stressed and ready to go for the first day of school if you're new here i'm rachel vincent and i share tips on how to run effective and efficient classrooms so that you can get more done and still have time to teach there are a lot of different feelings that go into setting up a classroom usually it's filled with excitement but sometimes it's filled with stress and dread because maybe you're moving schools and you have to unpack everything maybe it's your first few years of teaching and you want to do it a little bit more effectively than spending hours and hours setting up your classroom maybe you just want to get it done quickly so that you have the time to either enjoy your summer or get the other things off of your to-do list whatever your reason i am going to share with you how to prioritize your to-do list so that you get the most important things done how to have an organized set up so that you are not running around your classroom feeling like you're crazy and how to set up your meet the teacher event so that it's ready to go and you have one less thing on your to-do list just so you know where i'm coming from with this i have 18 years worth of classroom setups behind me and i'm about to go into my 19th classroom setup i have moved to four different schools eight different classrooms and six different grade levels and each of those moves brings on a whole new set of trying to fit your stuff into that room i have set up a classroom where there was literally nothing in the room except furniture no shelves no storage just desk chairs and a teacher desk i have also walked into a classroom that was full of a retired teacher stuff she left everything so before i could even start setting up my stuff i had to go through all of her stuff side note when you leave your classroom do not leave your stuff behind for the teacher coming after you they don't have time to go through it and most of the time they don't want it fast forward to today i have spent 18 years setting up a classroom and i have got it down to a science to where i can set up my classroom in about 15 to 20 hours now some people like to go in and spend a whole entire day in the classroom and get it all done in a couple of days i am more of a i like to do a few hours here and there so i don't want to say that it takes me this many days so i narrowed it down to about 15 to 20 hours keep in mind that every single classroom is different and what worked in one classroom will not always work in another because oftentimes we purchase things that fit that classroom and then we go to a new classroom and it just doesn't work the goal is just taking action doing things each day even if they're baby steps and your enemy is going to be perfection instagram pinterest social media has made it seem like we have to have these perfect looking classrooms when in reality we do not we are not creating our classroom environment for magazines or social media we are creating them for our students and ourselves so you do not have to have a perfect looking classroom there have been many years where i have started the school year with blank walls it is okay to have space in your classroom part of being efficient and effective when you go in to set up your classroom is to do some planning before you go and the first thing i always start with is creating a giant to-do list of all the things i need to do when i go into the classroom one thing i started doing several years ago was i bought a notebook specifically for back to school time and i have kept that notebook for the last seven years now i add other things to it but typically it is for classroom setup beginning of the year and it is also the place where i as i'm thinking throughout the school year if some an idea pops in my head i throw it in that notebook so over the summer and the beginning of the year i know where to look for it your brain is designed to think of things not keep thoughts in their head so getting all your ideas and thoughts out on paper is step one write down everything you need to do from moving furniture setting up desk organizing your classroom library setting up certain bulletin boards write it all down then the next step is to organize that to-do list there are many different ways to organize a to-do list at the beginning of the year we have time limits on how much time before students show up how much time before meet the teacher or your back-to-school night so there are time restraints on when you can get something done so when i organize my to-do list i like to do it by those dates i like to take that giant to-do list and say okay here are the things i need to get done before i meet the teacher before parents and students show up in my classroom things that go on that list would be like setting up furniture making the classroom library look organized even though it doesn't have to be organized having paper or fabric and borders on bulletin boards but not necessarily have the titles and everything things that will make your classroom appear like it's ready are the things you need to prioritize before your meet the teacher back to school night that list tends to be long because classroom setup takes a while and then the second list are things that need to be done by the first day of school having things like copies or labels for notebooks and student supplies isn't something that i necessarily need to have done by meet the teacher night that is something that can totally wait and happen between the time of meet the teacher and the first day of school typically we have our meet the teacher night about three or four days before our first day of school so that's something that can wait now i don't always want it to wait and i actually have time to do it before i will but it is not something that is prioritized right now during classroom setup time before our meet the teacher event i have set up my giant to-do list put all the things i want to get done before the beginning of the school year then i have categorized it by what needs to get done before i meet the teacher and what needs to get done before the first day of school and my next list are my daily to-do list of when i go into the classroom i choose three main tasks that i want to get done that day obviously there are a million things to get done and of course i'm going to work on other things in one day but i choose three things that i want that i know if i get those things accomplished that day i'm going to feel good when i leave so typically on my day one setting up that classroom furniture because you come in your furniture is everywhere because the custodians have cleaned the carpet or the floors over the summer this year our walls are paint being painted so i know that when i walk in furniture we'll be everywhere so my step one my first task that i want to get done on day one is to get the furniture back in its place so it starts to resemble my classroom my second task on that first day is to get my area my teacher area semi set up i want to get that technology plugged in so i can begin using my computer i want to make sure that i have a landing zone so as i come and go each day i have a place where i know i can find my purse and my keys and find my stapler and tape and all that so i like to get that area set up next and then typically my third task for that first day is to begin to unpack my cabinets because the end of the year we're shoving things in those cabinets to get them off of shelves and off of counters so that the custodians can clean over the summer so my next task for that day is to start pulling stuff and putting it back where it goes now keep in mind this is what i would be doing coming into a room that i have been in before now if you're moving into a classroom for the first time your tasks may be a little different your task one might be getting all of your belongings it moved into the classroom then taking inventory of what is there what you need to go through what materials are you provided by the school and so that day one might look different for you more than likely i'm going to accomplish other things that first day but those are my three big areas my second day tends to be more of my decoration day i like to begin putting up things on the wall on the bulletin boards that kind of thing because i've moved everything in its place there i feel like there's more space in the classroom i can use tables the student desk to work and line things out so that i can begin to put up the decorations sometimes that day takes multiple days depending on what you're working on but usually after that my next day tends to be a lot of like the labeling putting labels on storage boxes making sure my areas are labeled sort of organizing the space so that it can be functional throughout the school year now this next tip really is a preference i know that every teacher is different and some people need to do all of their work at school because they have small kids or distractions at home personally for me there are lots of things that i like to do at home so i don't have to do them at school so my next piece of advice when after you've made all those lists you've got your giant to-do list you've got it organized by dates things need to get done you have it organized by what you're going to do each day your top three for each day that you go into the classroom for setup and then decide what you're going to work on at home versus what you're going to work on at school during the school year i have set really good boundaries of not taking work home and working on school stuff however the beginning of the year i do not have that boundary i know personally for me working on stuff at home at the beginning of the year actually causes me to have less stress and anxiety because i can be able to check some of those things off my to-do list because i know when i get back from summer break there are meetings that i'm not aware that we're going to have there are co-workers that i want to chat with that i haven't seen all summer and so my time at school isn't always quite as productive as i want it to be so i know that getting stuff done at home makes me feel more productive and actually i am more productive so again that depends on you and what's going to work best for you so decide what you can and want to work on at home versus what you're going to do in your classroom things i like to do at home versus in the classroom are creating things on the computer cutting printing laminating making all of those things that i'm going to hang up in my classroom my classroom does not have air conditioning over the summer and those kinds of tasks i can do mindlessly here at home watching netflix so that i can get those things done and then when i am in the classroom i am i have it completed and i'm just putting it on the wall or putting it where it needs to go another thing that's really good for me to do at home before i go into the classroom is to plan how i'm going to decorate just sort of having idea and sort of seeing if it works takes up time and i know that it's not always going to work and i will have to rework it but having an idea of what i'm going to do ahead of time is beneficial and one of the ways i do that is to put a picture of my classroom wall into powerpoint and then add shapes and images over it to kind of get an idea of how i want it to look this not only helps me get an idea of how i want it to look it also allows me to figure out what i need to either purchase or create at home so i can have that prepped and ready to go so that when i do go into the classroom i hopefully am just putting it up and moving on to my next task so like we've talked about there are so many things that we have to do to have our classrooms set up and ready to go we want to prioritize the task that will give us the most bang for our book for several reasons one thing is you never know what is going to come up if there is an emergency if you get hired at the last minute or have to move positions at the last minute what are the things that you absolutely must have done before students show up to your classroom getting those things done right away will take off some of that stress and allow you to be a little bit more creative and a little more relaxed when doing all the other things that aren't we want to do but aren't necessary to teach students i've narrowed it down to five things that i think all teachers should have done first in their classroom setup and just things in general that if you have limited time or if you just don't want to spend that much time setting up your classroom this year the five things that if you get these done your students can show up and you can teach the first thing you got to do is you have to move that furniture like we said when you come in your furniture is all over the place because they've been cleaning over the summer or repairing things painting things so you have to move that furniture that's typically why it's number one on my to-do list because i want to get that done and out of the way moving shelves back things back the next thing that you have to have in place are student areas student desks tables they have to have a place to sit so if you only have a couple days before the first day of school you need a place for those students to go you need a place for them to sit and learn the third area that i feel like is a must-have is your area you need to know that you can find your materials and lesson plans and things you need to teach your students so set up your area the fourth area is the classroom library and i put a little asterisk by this because it doesn't have to be perfect and i'll tell you what i mean about that in a sec but you need to have books for your students to read so you do not have to have this elaborate classroom library set up where they have this place to go and read you just need some shelves with some books on it that your students can read so that students have something to do when they finish something early or you have the books you need in order to teach your reading lessons so you need some sort of books and some sort of way for your students to access them i put an asteroid on this because you do not have to have it organized it does not need to be categorized by genres or authors or labeled you don't have to have that yes summer is a good time to work on a classroom library and organizing it and thinking about how you want to do it but it doesn't have to be so that's why the asterisk is there because yes you need one because you need students to be able to access books but it doesn't have to be all of these social media worthy looking libraries and it doesn't have to be organized it's easier but it doesn't have to be and the fifth thing is to cover your bulletin boards they don't have to be completed they just need to visually look like they're ready so throw some paper up there i like to use fabric put some borders up and you're good to go you do not have to have a title you do not have to have things on the board we want to allow our classroom to grow with our students so having those empty boards is okay because visually it looks okay because there's a background and a border but it allows for us to put anchor charts up as we're teaching to put student work up to put the things we are teaching on the board and figure out what you want to use that board for it later make it look good but it doesn't necessarily have to have things on it if you can get those five things done then students can show up and it will be okay and honestly two of those things the bulletin board and the classroom library really don't have to be done because in reality you could still teach your students if you have nothing on your walls and if you have no books but those two things make things look like you're ready even though you may not feel like you're ready so the next two tips are things that i like to do when i'm setting up my classroom because it makes things a little bit more efficient and i'm not spending time walking around the classroom searching for the thing i need so the first thing i like to do is to create zones because i set up my tables and student areas on the first day i'm there as i am bringing in stuff that i want to set up my classroom with or decorate with i put them in a specific area so one table will be for all classroom decor things so when i go to put up a bulletin board or hang up a poster that's where all that is the next table might just be things that i purchased over the summer that i need to find a new home for the next spot might be things that as i'm going through stuff i've decided i no longer want and i need to take it out maybe take it to goodwill take it home things that i don't want in the classroom another table is for when people bring you stuff for some reason the beginning of the year everybody's gotta bring you something whether it's textbooks or things from co-workers and you're in the middle of putting up a bulletin board and somebody's like here's your workbooks for the year or here's your student folders and you're like i don't know where to put it have a zone for that so that when somebody comes in you can say hey put it on this table and that way you will be able to find it when you need it the next zone is actually not just a table or a place to put something i like to put it on a cart because it just makes moving around the classroom and setting up the classroom easier i like to create a little tool cart where i put my stapler my tape my scissors tools i might need cleaning supplies so that as i am cleaning off a shelf or putting up a bulletin board i can just move that little card around with me and then i have everything i need right at my fingertips and i'm not spending 30 minutes looking for the stapler that i know i left here you know you know it's true we all do that so hopefully now with all of these tips and ideas setting up your classroom will be quick and efficient you won't feel overwhelmed and you will actually feel a sense of relief because you are able to cross a lot of things off your to-do list personally i like to go in off-contract hours a week or two before teachers are required to be back to do all of this because i know that if there are a lot of teachers in the building i'm not going to be as productive i am a task oriented person and i want to make sure i can get those things done without being distracted by others however if you only want to work your contract hours and not give any extra time that is totally okay just know that you're gonna have to put those priority tasks around meetings and things like that that happen that first week teachers are back so that brings us to our meet the teacher and i'm including it in this video because meet the teacher happens before the first day of school and this is getting ready for the first day of school having everything ready before that first day of school so i include this meet the teacher you may it may be a back to school night a curriculum night it's the event that happens before the first day of school so if you don't have one of those you can skip past this the number one thing to remember before meet the teacher is it just needs to appear that your classroom is ready so i know for us there are several days before the first day of school and there might be areas that aren't quite ready so i'm gonna take those things shove them in a closet put up a piece of fabric over it hide it so that it looks like it's neat and organized and ready to accept students there are four things that i like to do to make sure that my meet the teacher event is ready the first thing is having sign up sometimes meet the teacher night is the only night a parent puts their feet into your classroom they may be busy they may not be able to make it to other events during the school year it may be the only time that you physically see that parent so i want to make sure that i am getting the information i need from them contact information transportation information emails allergies all that kind of thing having those sign up sheets those information sheets so those parents can fill it out that night the second thing that is really helpful is having directions around your classroom so parents know what to do often times you are talking with a parent and others will come in and you may miss them you want to make sure you still get that information you need from them without having to physically tell each parent what to do so having signs up i like to get the plastic picture frames that kind of stand up you get them at the dollar tree and put directions in so that they kind of stand up off the tables and desks so parents can see them students can see them so they know where to sign what to fill out what to do while you're busy talking with another parent the third thing that i always like to have is a wish list we know as teachers that we spend a lot of money on our classroom and so having some wishlist items that parents can decide if they want to help out oftentimes they do of course not everyone can and not everyone will and that's okay but giving the option of hey here are some extra things we could use in our classroom is always nice to have out and the fourth thing that i like to set up for meet the teacher night is the student desk i like to have those important informations that i need to have filled out on their desk or table i like to have a parent packet that they can get more information about our classroom a little gift you don't have to go to all that but having it at each individual desk or table can be really helpful because then you can easily see who did not show up to meet the teacher who you still need to make sure you make contact with them and who filled out their paperwork and those kinds of things being prepared for the first day of school is a lot of work and a lot of steps to get there and i hope that this gave you some ways to be a little more efficient and a little more effective during your classroom setup and making sure you have a successful meet the teacher night now can you imagine what it would be like to also have your first week of lesson plans completely done before you even go back for a teacher in service days well you're in luck because i have the kickstart your school year blueprint where i will walk you step by step through planning your first week of school we will plan that first day of school which is the craziest day of the year plus i will walk you through how to decide which procedures you need to be teaching when what kinds of lesson plans what kinds of activities and books you should incorporate how to build that classroom environment and community everything you need to effectively plan that first week of school there's a link in the description box or you can just go to the link that's on your screen to get that first week of school plans off your to-do list [Music]

Channel: Rachel Vincent

Views: 8,904

Keywords: teacher, classroom, new teacher, tips for new teachers, teacher tips, elementary teacher, teacherspayteachers, tpt, tips for teachers, new teachers tips, teacher ideas, classroom ideas, 4th grade teacher, back to school, first day of school, how to prepare for school, how to prepare for school over the summer, classroom setup

Id: fTOSutBX4qo

Length: 23min 46sec (1426 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 17 2022