4 Practical Things to do During Teacher Work Days
The Walmart Back to School shelves are becoming bare.
The good erasers have been gobbled up.
The class lists have been made.
School is back in session already, very shortly or in just a few weeks.
I’m going to be honest, I LOVE BACK TO SCHOOL. I absolutely love getting brand spanking new class supplies, having time in my classroom to organize, and getting to reconnect with my coworkers.
You just can’t bottle up that type of excitement and anticipation of what the new year will bring.
Sometimes, I have to admit that this can be a downfall for me. I get so jazzed on all the exciting, sparkly, fun things and forget about the practical, required things.
This year I am committing to setting myself up for success in the planning of Back to School and not just the fun things like decorating my classroom and relabeling the chromebooks.
I am committing to the practical tasks of prepping for the school year.
These tasks are things that will not only be good for the beginning of the school year but will help me out throughout the entire school year. Why?
September show season
National Convention in October
CDE season begins in November (if not earlier)
Community Service in December and the list goes on.
Don’t even get me started on the Janfebrumarch Month of the year!
If there are a few tasks I can front load that help lift the burden of those busy times throughout the year I am going to tackle them now! I asked the G&G team to collaborate on this topic so you get to hear from singleton teachers and multi-teacher departments as well as small and large chapters!
And if you haven’t heard us say this before, know that NOT ALL ADVICE will be beneficial for you. Our goal of this list is to give you some ideas to get you started and you can make your own customized Practical Tasks of Teacher Work Days that fit your classroom, chapter and career!
4 Practical Things to Do During Teacher Work Days
REQUESTS
What is the one thing we wish we had more of? TIME. There are only so many days where you get uninterrupted hours of work and most of those days are at the beginning of the year. Those glorious Teacher Work Days (that are hopefully not too marred with meetings). Here are some tasks that might save you time (and sanity) during the school year! ⬇️
Get things done early that can be done. Now, we get it. Not everything can be done early. We also know you might have some competition dates, convention dates and recurring chapter events that you need to get planned and administration approval. We are thinking of those pesky field trip requests, bus requests, sub requests and fundraising requests.
Take the time NOW to do those types of things so you aren’t rushing the week before to get all your ducks in a row.
SYSTEMS
We are firm believers that you are the captain of your culture (shout out to Germinate 2023 Keynote Speaker Ann Vote for teaching us this). But, to be a captain you must first chart your course. You need to know what the destination is and map how you wish to get there. This starts by determining your classroom systems, routines and expectations.
-Rules/Expectations
If you don’t have them, the kids won’t know how to follow you. I had a teacher once say that this creates “free and feral” classrooms. And, I’m going to bet you don’t want that. Now, we don’t have the exact formula that is going to work for you because the best rules and expectations are going to be unique to your kids. But, don’t fall into the trap of something you don’t need to prioritize.
-Computer Clean up
This truly is something I need a good kick in the butt to do. If you have a thousand screenshots, more takeaway downloads than you can count, and folders in disarray it is time to get those cleaned up. When you take time now to create some systems and organization your future self will be thanking you later this year!
-AET Clean up/out
AET is one of my favorite resources we have as ag teachers. I also know if you use it for the classroom and SAEs with your hundreds of kiddos, it can be messy fast. Take a moment to clean out old practice applications, chapter pictures and set up for 2024-25 resources. .
RELATIONSHIPS
Que that go to teacher quote from President Roosevelt, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
You might think it’s cliche or overused but it’s truly just human nature. And if we can harness some skills that allow us to connect and care for those kids in our classroom seats, we say go for it!
Here are some of our favorite ways to start building a classroom culture focused on relationships before the school year starts! ⬇️
Send cards home
An oldie but a goodie. If you have access to student addresses, sending some snail mail might be the ticket to help ease some nerves for that first day of school.
Classroom Vibe Curation
Ambiance is a thing. Providing a space that evokes feelings of calm and relaxation can help students feel safe and ready to learn. Now, I’m not saying your classroom needs to look like a yoga studio or spa. I am saying you can take some time before kids rush in on day one to have some vibes ready.
This can look like decluttering, adding some fluorescent light covers, getting some lamps, incorporating some plants, making a spotify playlist, maybe some twinkle lights, a candle warmer (if allowed), and anything else you think will add a calming environment to your little educational sanctuary.
Time with Co-workers (retreat/mini retreat)
Your co-workers are your support staff IMHO. While they might not be your secretary they can save the day on many occasions. From the “can you watch my class while I pee?” to “how are you managing those ninth graders this year?” Start the year off with some time to rekindle those co-worker relationships.
Something simple our department did in the past was go out to our favorite local restaurant the first day of teacher work days to debrief from our summer vacations. I was lucky enough to have a teaching partner and we also started “Food Fridays” where we got takeout (usually Chick-fil-A) on Fridays and reconnected after the craziness of the week.
Whatever you do, try not to take on this job alone. There are people who would love to help you and sometimes they are just a walk down the hall!
FUN
If you came to this blog just for fun activities for the first week of school, well we have some with a caveat. We know that fun is great on the first few days/week of school, but we also know that setting your kids up to be “entertained” every class period because of how you set up the first few days MIGHT be setting yourself up for failure.
Our best word of advice is to make sure that you are running your class during those first days and weeks very similarly to how you expect it to run in October and May. Which absolutely can include fun but will most likely also include your routines, habits and expectations.
The Numbers Game
Put numbers that mean something to you on the board (ex. Your age, the year you graduated from college etc.) on the board and have students guess the meaning.
CDE Stations
Give your students a preview of what career development events they can participate in by creating stations for them to test their skills!
Emoji Tattoos
Students choose emojis tattoos that represent them and put them on so they can show their personality to everyone.
Regardless of how you want to focus your time those first few days know that we have a team at G&G cheering you on. If you are looking for more specific help when it comes to starting the school year, even if it is more FFA related contact us and we will do our best to get you the resources you need to make this school year the best yet!
