A Teacher’s Summer

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

I have an amazing job! I get to spend my workday helping 5-10 year olds learn to read, write, and solve math problems. I get to see their faces light up when they learn something new. I get to be a part of my students’ lives and build relationships. I get to challenge myself to find new ways to explain, model and demonstrate my knowledge in order for all students to learn. I get to use my ‘teacher voice’ multiple times in a day. I get to collect data on EVERYTHING a student does in order to help them realize their strengths, weaknesses, and behavior ups and downs. I get to attend weekly staff meetings, vertical team meetings, team lead meetings, and Special Education team lead meetings. I get to spend countless hours planning for 18 classes a day, sifting through data to create a PLAAFP statement, writing goals, and grading assignments. All of this is what makes my job so great, but I get tired. So very tired.

That is why I enjoy summertime more than most other things. I get to rest my brain and body. Since I am a mother of two college-aged kiddos who are at work during the day, I have the house to myself. I choose to watch tv, read and float in the pool on most days. That is my way of relaxing. I also catch up with friends, mostly teachers, that I don’t have time to socialize with during the school year. As a family, we like going to the movie theater and seeing the latest blockbusters.

Summer should be about resting and getting recharged for the upcoming school year. That isn’t always the case, at least not for me. Actually, my mind is on the next school year before the current one is over. I am usually thinking about my students, my classroom, and the upcoming year. Since I teach in Special Education, I have the same sweet faces year after year. For the most part, I know my class list ahead of time. Because of this, I mentally group my students and visualize my schedule many times. The schedule randomly pops in my head over the summer.

While floating in the pool and soaking up some rays, I also think about my classroom. I am changing the decor in my room from an animal print theme to a colorful circus theme. I have gone over what I need, made a wishlist, and worked a second job to be able to afford the switch. I am excited to rearrange and decorate my classroom. I have a few more items to purchase to make it complete.

There are some items I can’t afford to purchase. These aren’t for my theme, but items to help teach in small groups and supplies for daily use. Being a Special Education teacher, I am not included in the supplies list for students. If I want my students to use a spiral notebook for math or a folder to organize reading passages, I provide it. Like so many other teachers, I look for creative ways to fund my classroom, like Donor’s Choose or Amazon Wish List. Donor’s Choose is an amazing organization that creates opportunities for individuals and companies to support teachers’ classrooms. Our students’ needs change year to year and our teaching methods must follow suit. Donor’s Choose allows teachers to create a project that fits the needs of our students and teaching practices. Donors fund the project. The students make thank you cards and get to show their appreciation. It’s an amazing concept. An Amazon Wish List is just that, a wishlist on Amazon. Recently, a teacher started a Facebook page where teachers post their wishlist and help each other with classroom needs. Yeah, we could just buy an item for ourselves, but this is helping within a community. I’ve enjoyed looking at others’ wishlist and gifting them an item.

There’s a big possibility that I won’t get all the items I need for the upcoming school year. I am consistently thinking of what I will use in place of those items or how I will save to purchase them. Like my fellow teachers, I am flexible and creative in looking for solutions.

When thinking of the upcoming year and students, like so many other educators, I pray. I pray that I am exactly what each of my students needs. I pray for each student, even the ones I don’t know about yet. I pray for my fellow teachers and the administrative team. It takes a village…

My school districts offer opportunities in the summer to obtain hours we need to accumulate, exchange hours, as teachers. They set it up like a university and offer a huge variety of classes, seminars, and training. It is a three-day event. I attended two of the day and earned some of my hours. Some teachers do book studies or attend big seminars to get their hours.

As I type this, I am 12 days away from going back to work. Instead of packing in every single second of summertime fun, I am mentally arranging my classroom. I will spend two or three days in the classroom arranging and decorating before my first day back. Why? It needs to be ready. It needs to be just right for my students. When teachers return to work, we are placed in professional development for much of our time. While the training and presentations are good and some needed, we aren’t getting to work in our classrooms. We aren’t able to prepare. I can’t see any other way to get it all done unless I work outside of my contracted days.

I enjoy my summer break even if my mind is still thinking about school. I enjoy not being “on” all the time. As a teacher, I have such a responsibility to display the most positive and encouraging attitude all the time. While I am an upbeat and positive person naturally, I can relax at home and not worry about which sweet face is watching my every move.

Fellow teachers, I hope you got to go on vacation, travel, visit loved ones, rest, and relax. Vacationing wasn’t in the cards for me this summer, but I did have lots of time to rest, relax and recharge. I wish school wasn’t about to start just yet, but I will be ready!