Summer Prep for New Teachers

I have noticed on social media that many college grad “education majors” have accepted a teaching position for the fall and are eager to begin summer prep for new teachers. First off, CONGRATULATIONS!! HOW AWESOME FOR YOU!!

In case you’ve just discovered this website, the whole idea I had for this blog was to help teachers, especially new teachers. I have a wealth of knowledge and experience since I have been both a teacher and an administrator. Here are a few articles especially for new teachers:

What I Wish I Knew My First Year of Teaching

20 Tips for Beginning Teachers

12 Reliable Tips for First-Year Teachers

The first thing to do is just begin brain-storming a list of things you can do over the summer. So, here’s a “brain-dump” list I just came up with that you might try…

introduce yourself to the school secretary, other office staff and custodians.
find out when you can get into your classroom and ask for the class key.
make a list of supplies already in the room.
Ask to use the Teachers’ Edition for your subjects over the summer. INSIST on this…the school might say they need to inventory, etc…but remind them you want to prepare ahead of time since you are new.
create a ‘LONG TERM PLAN’* for each subject area.
Ask the secretary how you order your classroom supplies.
Complete the list/ order form for the school-supplied items.
Go to your classroom to get a look around; desks, walls, windows, cabinets…take pictures to remember. (more than likely, you can’t get into the room right away because schools have custodians clean the rooms over the summer before teachers can have access).
Don’t put student names on anything until a week before school starts. Lists can be changed by the offiice and then you will have to re-label the item or get an entirely new one… (I learned this lesson the hard way).

*In case the item above about “long-term planning” sounds unfamiliar to you, I have an article about it that you can read here: The Instructional Benefits of Long-term Planning! Do You Know What They Are?

Items to purchase and places to shop

Before I give you a list of stores and a list of items, please consider this….not all items will be useful for the grade you are teaching, or the way you teach. I will just brain-storm a bunch of items I’ve used over the years. I taught all grades from K-6th, so I don’t have advice for middle or high school teachers (for supplies).

Also the stores I list may, or may not, be in your city, town, state or country.

Let me list the stores first…

Target
Michaels
Walmart
Dollar Tree
Hobby Lobby
JoAnns
Staples
99 cent Store
Family Dollar

Keep an eye out for the “back-to-school” sales for each store. Often you can get 10 items for the price of one at other times of the year. The store listed above are competing with each other for the back-to-school shoppers, so if you pay attention, you can find some bargains.

On another note, my dad used to always tell me “You get what you pay for.” So, if you buy the “cheapest” of a certain item, it may not be the “best” or even one that will last you very long…so keep this in mind too.

Now for a list of some items that you might want to buy that you won’t get with your school provided supplies:

special notebooks or folders
colored marker-pen sets for lesson planning
storage items such as boxes and crates
pencil boxes for students or caddies for supplies
special teacher planning books
colored pencils for students
carts or cubbies for library books
organizers for art supplies
individual water color trays
bulletin board items
letters for bulletin boards
bulletin board borders
I sure there are many more….

What not to purchase now!

There are some things you want to hold off on ordering because the school might provide them for you. Your school may have certain software items they require you to use including grade book items. Here are some items to NOT PURCHASE ahead of time until you find out what the school supplies for their teachers:

pencils
notebook paper
marker boards
marker board markers
erasers for marker boards
rulers
crayons
scissors
grade books (even digital)
glue
construction paper
art supplies

Before I end this article, I want to be sure to invite you to download this FREE Classroom Routines Checklist. Just complete the form below and I will send the list right over to your email account.

I hope these lists are helpful for all you excited new teachers. And I wish you the best of luck when your new class finally enters the room for the first day.

Until Next Time,