Tackling the end of school year stress!
Wow! The end of the school year seems to take forever to get here but then creeps up as deadlines start approaching! There are conferences, state testing, final report cards, projects, award ceremonies, and countless end of year meeting. Oh and did I mention, your principal just pulled you aside to let you know that you will be moving classrooms for next year! Add in still trying to function as a normal human with a family, hobbies, and normal sleep patterns and suddenly your plate is completely full! The good news is that there are plenty of helpful tips and tricks out there to help keep your sanity. I hope that you can grab at least one tip or trick from this post to help make this long-awaited and well-deserved time of year less stressful so you can fully enjoy the last few weeks with your students!
You may be telling yourself, “I’ve finished countless schools years just fine, what else do I need to know?” Well, let’s start with trying to make that process smoother for you. Minimizing the number of nights you cannot turn your brain off and fall asleep is a good place to start. The first few years of my teaching career I kept a notepad at my bedside so I could constantly add notes when I thought of them. I thought that once I added the task to the list I would forget about it and fall asleep. This was not the case. My mind would keep wandering and thinking of more tasks. These following tips are some that I have implemented for a couple of years now have helped keep my sanity while tackling a monstrous to do list!
Make that list!
I’ve always been a list maker! I constantly have a notepad on my small group table with running to do list. I live by it. A few years ago my district was reconfigured and our grade level was moved to a different school. The idea of my classroom being moved and being done without my supervision was extremely stressful. I created these checklists where I can easily list the things I packed up or brought home. I wanted to be able to pull the list of boxes out when setting up my room, look up the box number, and find the box I was looking for quickly.
The first time I used these checklists, I had THREE days to set up my room before school started. Thankfully I used them and knew exactly where all of my desk items, math manipulatives, school supplies (etc.) were. These lists are available in my store. They are editable in google slides and adobe pdf. The checklists can also be printed out!
I have included 7 different checklists:
- *Lessons I need to complete
- *End of the Year Paperwork to Complete
- *Memories I want to Make
- *Important End of Year Dates
- *Things I Need to Pack Up
- *Where are My Things Packed
- *Things I want to bring home for Summer
- *The Last Week of School (Mon., Tues.,…)
Pace out the rest of the year after Spring Break.
Next, During Spring Break or a few weeks before, I print out a few paper calendars. I write down every important deadline that is approaching before the last day (grade deadlines, benchmarking, field trips, awards ceremonies, concerts, state testing, etc.) With all of these dates in place, I can easily pace out the rest of the curriculum that needs to be covered along with assessments that must be given before grade deadlines. I usually write in pencil because I know things will pop up and be shifted around.
You can grab the calendar shown above for free here.
Some of my favorite end of year activities:
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- Volumeville- from Terry’s Teaching TidBits– Students create geometric cities! They build their prisms, calculate the volume, and create a google slides presentation about each of their building!
- Mystery Pictures- from Bobby’s TPT– I always end my year with Coordinate Geometry. 5th grade standards in Louisiana is just the 1st quadrant. I like to teach the rest of the quadrants at the end of the year as a preview for 6th grade. My students will usually spend days loving these mystery pictures!
- Memory Book– This memory book has been my favorite EOY project for a few years now. Last year was the first year I turned it into a digital memory book and I have never seen my kids working so quietly for so long!
- Volumeville- from Terry’s Teaching TidBits– Students create geometric cities! They build their prisms, calculate the volume, and create a google slides presentation about each of their building!
Pack it up!
Were you assigned a new classroom? Hall? School? District?? Fortunately, unfortunately, I am packing up and move to classroom #7 to begin year #9! I worked at one school where I moved classrooms three times, then my district moved 5th grade to another school less than a mile away. My two years at that school was spent in two different classrooms. This school year I accepted a job closer to home… but wait, there’s a catch!
The school that was “closer to home” has been under construction for 3 years. It was demolished and rebuilt. Our BRAND NEW SCHOOL will be ready for the 2019-2020 school year! I have spent this school year at a temporary school that is 25 minutes from my house. The new school will be FOUR minutes from my house! Let’s just say I am packing with a HUGE smile on my face this time! All of that moving has allowed me to throw out a lot that I do not need, become a professional packer, and set up a classroom within a few days!
I’m here to help you pack up your classrooms with a few things that I have learned along the way. First thing you need to know is that as soon as you start packing if there are children in the room they will BEG to help! I usually create small jobs for them to do while I pack.
I usually have a student organize all of my library books. This can take a few students if you want to get super detailed with your organization. I usually print stickers with my name on it and have them put them in every book. Our school uses the Accelerated Reader program. This program has quizzes on numerous books. I usually have the students write the reading levels, quiz number, and Accelerated Reader points on a small label and put it inside the book. Many of my future teachers love this job.
Other jobs I have students do while I pack up
- Clean inside of desks with Clorox wipes
- Write the contents of my boxes on my checklists as I pack
- Make emergency work packets out of extra worksheets
- Sharpen pencils for the new school year
Organize your move!
Next, my biggest tip for moving classrooms/school is to label and number all of your boxes and items. I created this label and will have a label on every item that is to be moved to our new school. I number each box and write on my checklist what is inside of each numbered box. This makes my life easier when I am unpacking. For example, if I am unpacking my math manipulative storage area, I look on my list for all of my boxes labeled math manipulatives. I know this may sound tedious, but I promise you it is worth it! These checklists were how I was able to perform the picture below in just three short days…
Pack Smart!
I had numerous drawer sets and numerous Sterilite storage containers, and could not find boxes big enough. One of my partner teachers made a joke about just wrapping it all in the saran wrap! It was a GENIUS idea! She bought a huge roll from Sam’s club and about 6 of us wrapped up tons of things in our classrooms with it. Check out the picture below. The top right corner has some things wrapped in the saran wrap. All of my drawers survived the move as if it was packed in bubble wrap!
Enjoy your time!
Finally, my last and final tip is to enjoy your final days with your students! It will be the last time you are all in your classroom together. Play some music, do some projects, and talk to your students! I promise you won’t regret it!
