School's Out for the Summer!!! What Now?

Well it never fails when the end of May/early June rolls around everyone wants to know what I'm doing with my summer.  They are pretty sure the answer is going to be absolutely nothing.  Last summer I did quite a bit of that because I spent two years working 60-80 hours a week and might as well have slept in my classroom. This year, things aren't quite as laidback.  In June, I will be teaching summer school, going back to grad school, and doing a professional development course online (the setup sounds an awful lot like a college course).  In July, I have a 5k with my family (my first) and two conferences to go to.  I also have a list of projects that I want to get done. Definitely a busy summer.

Last summer, I let the summer get away from me and didn't get half as much done as I wanted to.  We were also starting two new series and you never know how it is going to go until you get started so I felt like I was in limbo and didn't know what to do.  Not this summer.  I have a project list a mile long and I am determined to get as much done as I can.  So how do you stay motivated? How can I make sure my summer doesn't slip away and suddenly it's August and I'm back in my room with all my wishes still sitting on that list?

I started that this week.  I actually want to try during July to make sure I keep a regular schedule.  I live alone so there are no kids to keep me moving. It's easy for me to just laze around and say I'll do it later.  My goal is to work from 8-3 with a leisurely lunch break.  If something comes up, then I don't have to stick to it (I went to yoga class this morning), but just laying around on the couch isn't going to be an excuse.  This is taking some will power because right after lunch I really want to call it quits and take a nap. Remind me again why nap/mandatory rest time isn't required throughout school...

I am the queen of work while I'm watching tv or lying in bed.  While I usually opt for that on weeknights during the year because I still get to pretend I'm relaxing (pretend being the operative word there), during the summer I have cleared off my desk and made an actual work space that I'm going to use.  It makes it less likely for me to "accidentally" shut the computer and watch another episode of Gilmore Girls.

I'm bad about going and going and going until I'm burnt out.  I want to make sure the time that I do take off I really enjoy.  For example, I spent Memorial Day weekend with my family.  I thought about bringing a laptop.  I thought about all the things I could start working on from their house. I opted not to.  I decided that was my time and I was allowed to enjoy it.  GASP!!! Time where teachers don't work.  Time where we don't think about our class.  What is that? I already know there are certain times that I won't stick to my work schedule because I have other things that are MORE IMPORTANT than my classroom.  It's ok to have fun. It's the summer and I don't want to spend next year burnt out and tired because I didn't take care of myself this summer.

Do you have ways that you stay motivated to accomplish some of that to-do list during the summer?

Staining Shelves

So I am incredibly lucky that my Dad has been nice enough to build me wonderful shelves for my classroom. When I started my first year I just had two or three shelves that were hand me downs from the last room. It wasn't a big deal because my back wall had shelves that were almost five feet tall and went across most of the wall. Then I moved to my current classroom and I had a small shelf that ran the length of my back wall. I enlisted my Dad's help and he built me four shelves that spanned my back wall. Of course, a teacher can never have enough storage so this summer I wanted more shelves to put at the front of my room. This is where I plan on putting my students' individual boxes with manipulatives, books or personal task cards. It may also end up housing some of my centers.

I'm also very lucky that my Mom volunteered to help me paint the shelves. I decided to stain the shelves and I have to say they turned out great. 

In Process:

First Coat Complete:

DONE:

School's Out for the Summer...What do Teachers do in the Summer?

At the end of May my room was boxed up, my kids were headed home, and we were all talking about how great summer was going to be.  Well, it's the end of June and school is finally out for me.  Yes, I was one of the crazy people that signed up to do summer school for a month.

I can't complain because I actually enjoy it.  For a whole month I don't have a set agenda of what HAS to be accomplished.  Instead, I get to see where some of my future students are at, what skills we need lots of work on, and what I honestly don't teach well. I use summer school to be a better teacher.

I spent the first couple weeks of summer school really focusing on grammar.  Grammar is one of those things that many people I know struggle to teach and I don't always do the best job at it.  So I taught the first few grammar skills that we would be learning next year.  I found some great resources, created some powerpoints, and came up with a list of ideas for future resources I want to create.  If I hadn't taught summer school I wouldn't have been able to try some of these out on my kids to find out what was working for me and what wasn't.  Once I've refined those resources a little more I will start sharing. :)

So now that summer is over, what in the world will I do?  Anyone else have a summer "want to" list?  Mine is pretty long.  I will be spending some togetherness time with my family this summer and later this summer I will be helping my mom set up her classroom since she is changing grade levels.  The last two years she has gone above and beyond in helping me with my classroom so I'm hoping I can be half as helpful.

I do plan on doing lots and lots of reading this summer.  I love reading, but somehow it just doesn't get done as much during the school year.  On my summer list are:

1. My Dad's book (No that isn't the name of a book.  My Dad wrote a book he hasn't published yet and I am in the middle of reading it.)
2. Lies My History Teacher Told Me
3. Yoga School Dropout
4. The Bhagavad Gita
5. Fault in Our Stars (I know I'm a little late to the show on this one. Don't ask how long it took for me to get around to the Divergent series.)
6. The other five billion and one books that are on my list that I haven't read yet.

The other big item on my summer "want to" list is to add to my TPT store.  I got started during the snow days and then didn't keep creating.  I get super excited when they send an e-mail saying I've sold something.  Now I just have to get a more somethings up to sell.  I have a list of a million resources I want to create, so it is just a matter of sitting down and creating them.  Along with creating resources I also need to create some centers.  I have lots of prepackaged games on my shelves that our district has purchased, but I usually want something a little more specific for my kids.  My goal is either to find some games or centers that target exactly what I want or to create some.  Of course that means ultimately there will be lots of laminating and cutting and folders and ziploc bags and time spent on the couch organizing and putting together.  At least I have Netflix right??

What are your summer plans?