Empower Your Back to School Experience in 4 Easy Steps
Welcome to Anthropologist in Heels, where we're gearing up for the exciting season of back-to-school! As a teacher, you know this time of year ushers in a whirlwind of change and preparation. So, how can you ensure you're all set to make the most of it?
Yes, dear friends, that time is approaching again – back-to-school season is upon us. And for us ESL teachers, this means big adjustments. So, how can you best equip yourself for the back-to-school journey?
I understand that some of you might have only recently wrapped up your previous school year (feel free to stash those email notifications away and ignore them – I've done just that!). But for me, the school bell rings again SEPTEMBER 1st! I love it when school starts on the first day of September, something about going back to school in August just doesn’t sit well with me.
This year, my emotions are quite the mix. Part of me wants to hold on to summer's bliss, yet I'm also thrilled about the upcoming new adventure as I gear up my new Anthropologist in Heels blog and website. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband, he has been so helpful on my journey! And, of course, a smidge of nervousness about the change lingers too. Working with special needs kiddos brings a great deal of anxiety.
So, let's tackle it – how can we effectively prep ourselves for the new school year?
Now, I must admit, I've spent most of my summer either in Istanbul Turkey, one of my favorite cities, or at home in Oak Harbor, Washington State, so let's keep this prep list short and sweet:
Tame those nerves
If you find yourself feeling jittery or anxious, take action to ease those feelings. Maybe it's diving into new lesson plans or picking up all those irresistible back-to-school supplies from Amazon or Teachers Pay Teachers (I may or may not have ended up with 25 new containers in my office – but to be fair, new classroom, new theme, new vibe... stay tuned for more on that!).
In my early years, this meant putting in extra hours to get my classroom ready or brainstorming ideas for the first month of school.
As of late, I don't tend to do that anymore, as I've usually got a solid plan for the first day. It's pretty much the same every year. (I'll dish out more details on that later.)
Ready yourself
Currently, I'm in full-on cleaning and organizing mode at home. I'm wrapping up those summer reads, tidying up loose ends, and making sure I'm totally geared up for school. When the school doors swing open again, I want to hit the ground running, not fretting about last-minute chaos – I'm all about that focused mindset!
This also includes sketching out my "ideal week" schedule. It's a personal roadmap that guides when I rise, enjoy breakfast, send emails (yes, including ones to you!), head out for the day, and even how I spend my evenings – all to ensure my time is spent intentionally.
2. Embrace Joy
My ultimate goal for the next couple of weeks? Soak up every ounce of pool time I can manage!
Make time for friends, seize those sunny midday outings just because, and indulge in some delightful activities.
3. Get psyched up
Last but certainly not least, ignite your excitement. Identify something new for the upcoming year that gets you fired up – perhaps a fresh classroom layout, a captivating lesson to share, or something else that's uniquely invigorating.
One of my go-to methods for firing up my enthusiasm is learning something new that I can seamlessly weave into my classroom.
And guess what's on my radar for this year? Bi-Lingual Daily Visual Schedules! This is your golden opportunity to pick up daily visual schedules for your students who speak Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Spanish, Ukrainian or even Burmese! This is a great idea to explore why bi-lingual schedules provide a comfort to our foreign born students.
You need to figure out how to use bi-lingual daily visual schedules? How to Use Bi-Lingual Daily Visual Schedules
Take my word for it, bi-lingual daily visual schedules are an innovation that you won’t want to miss out on - especially with those vibrant ESL ENL ELL students in our classrooms.
