Secrets To Surviving Back To School Mania: Teacher Edition!

The children are coming! The children are coming!  It's a brand-new school year, full of new opportunities . Proper preparation as teachers and administrators can ensure student success without as much stress and with better classroom organizational skills, management skills, and helpful tips and advice . 

This blog post will be the first in a series throughout the school year to provide helpful information for teachers and administrators that will be informative, yet brief so as to not take up too much of an already hectic school year schedule.  The main purpose of today's blog post is to provide some much needed Back To School resources and tips for both new teachers and veteran teachers alike . Let's begin with some statistics on how teachers in general are fairing . 

Although these statistics are sobering, please realize that teaching is in fact "A Calling".  Those of us who remain in the world of Education choose to remain because of our love for learning and our love for our students, parents, and communities . So why are teachers so stressed out?  Check below.

The first two tips on how to survive a multitasking environment are essential to lessening stress and ensuring success for you as an Educator .  Being organized and prepared should be a main focus well before school begins . Keep reading for more tips, resources, and advice to help you in your efforts to run an efficient classroom.

Students' Rights And Protections

Please make yourself well-versed on all school and government policy relating to your special needs students . This is vital because in your preparation at the beginning of the school year, you will be required to keep documentation of any accommodations or modifications for your students with special needs .  This may include separate folders or files to keep writing samples, homework, and classwork for students who you, as a teacher, are required to keep specific documentation.  Please organize a space and filing system for this documentation at the beginning of the school year . If you do not know the difference between 504 vs. IEP, please check the infographic below and seek help from your campus administrators and district policy officials for further details and requirements on your campus. 

Classroom Environment Tips

Teachers are widely known for their creativity and ideas when developing concepts for their classroom themes and decorations . I always chose a beach theme at the beginning of the school year, because of the bright, happy colors and the good thoughts we typically draw in our minds when we think of the beach.  I also used beach wave sounds and used citrisy scents, to help calm and stimulate my students' brains . My students, both elementary and middle school loved it!  I also used the theme within my teaching for classroom management and activities. If you are still deciding on a classroom theme, start simply with a color scheme and develop your ideas from there . Check out more classroom environment tips below . 

Parent Involvement

Multitasking for teachers can get overwhelming . Two of a teacher's greatest resources for relieving some of the workload is to get parents and volunteers on board to help throughout the year . This should be done even before school begins . Your first contact with parents should be positive and will also be your opportunity to enlist their help in any way needed. Look below for tips and advice on how to make this process easier for you.

Parent Involvement Ideas

How Parents/Volunteers Can Help

Collaborative Teacher Tools

When planning for the school year, make sure to decide which collaborative teaching and communication tools you prefer to utilize . Many of these tools will require that you  create an account and set up a database of your students' names and information . If you can get this done before school or at the very beginning, you will ensure a smoother transition when you get to the point of logging your students in and you can also begin to include these tools in your lesson planning . Check out some great, collaborative classroom tools below.

Classroom Resources

Now that you have some collaborative tools for lesson planning, you still need resources to help with organizing students' work as a result of using these resources . You will definitely need classroom labels throughout the year and a class syllabus at the beginning of the year .  Below are some resources that will help you with that. Just click on the links.

Free Editable Labels

Free Editable Labels

Cheap And Easy Editable Syllabus

For more information and resources on Education related topics , please click here Enter The Classroom and here The Gift Of Dyslexia.

I am Kezzie Rudd-Walton, the creator of Kezzie's Konfections, my Lifestyle Blog that also offers for sale Hand-Crafted Organic, All Natural Sugar Scrubs and Fragrances. Additionally, I am an Educator, Entrepreneur, Journalist, and industrious Mother of two! For more on my background, check out About Kezzie.

(Sources:  Joyinteaching.com, BusyTeacher.org, SpecialMomAdvocate.com, From The Pond, Loving Essential Oils, Daughters and Kindergarten, Shake Up Learning, Nastaran's Resources, The Engaging Station)