How teachers can prepare for the upcoming school year

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Students aren't the only ones who need to get ready to go back to school!

Here are some tips for teachers to help get ready for their students' first day next week:

1. Decorate the walls. Of course you won't have much student work to hang, but get those bulletin boards looking good to entice students and excite them for your class.
2. Clean up your classroom. Of course some dusting might be necessary, but stock up on things like tissues, hand sanitizer, and paper towels now. Organize your supplies and rearrange your furniture as well.
3. Stock the library. Some teachers have quite a collection, but others, especially those newer teachers, might need to make a trip to the library to build that classroom library.
4. Get all of the necessary supplies. Think about what you'll need (copy paper, lined paper, pencils, pens, crayons, glue, markers, red pens, white out, chalk, dry erase markers, staples, hole puncher, paper clips, notebooks, etc.) and start stocking up!
5. Get organized. Paperwork piles up rather quickly, so decide on a method of organization. How do you want to collect student work? Where will you keep your lesson plans? What will you do with memos and such that need your attention? You get the idea.
6. Don't forget the extras. Some elementary teachers like to keep things like extra clothes, jackets, or the like as spares for students who might be in need, so hitting some garage sales could come in handy. Some middle and high school teachers might want to look for various ways to make educational games out of existing lessons, so be on the lookout for things like dice, bingo cards, spinners, etc.