Back to School 2020

Back to School 2020? What I am doing to plan ahead for the 2020-2021 school year.
 
 
Wow.  I really am not sure how to start this post. But, here we go.  
In my experience, teachers by nature are planners.
I usually spend a large chunk of my summer vacation making plans for the next school year.
As of right now, our school district does not have an opening plan in place.
I am really glad that they are taking their time.  I am really glad that there are several (a lot) of teachers on the reopening committee.  But I am really nervous about what this coming school year is going to entail.
Read on for things that I can do while waiting to hear what this year is going to be like.
 
This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.  That means if you purchase anything through Amazon using the links provided, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support!
 

So, what am I doing this summer to get ready for the 2020-2021 School Year?

1. Thinking about Mental Health

This is where my biggest concern lies.  We have been out of the school setting now since March 13.  I am concerned about the mental health of my students, as well as my own.  I do have a tendency to be on the anxious side.  A LOT of things make me nervous.  I have been working on this at home by meditating.  I am hoping to bring the practice of meditating into my classroom this year.  I really like to use the Mindfulness activities on Go Noodle, so that is where I plan to start.  ( I am not affiliated with Go Noodle in any way, just LOVE the site.)
I am also planning to work closely with our school counselor and our PBIS person to help the kiddos make the transition into this new school year as easily as possible.  This is going to be a weird year for us all.
Another thing that I am doing this summer to help my mental health is walking.  I walk with a colleague of mine and we solve all the world’s problems together.  😀  We pretend that we are doing a podcast and our biggest sponsor is Aldi (not for real of course, I am not affiliated with Aldi in any way) because we are both crazy Aldi nerds!  There is even a Facebook Group, so we are official.  Laughter really is the best medicine.  Having someone to talk to and commiserate with is priceless.

2. Reading

For me, summer is for reading!  I am reading several books this summer.  The first book that I am reading is The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler (affiliate link).  I have been learning a lot about the Science of Reading and learning as much as I can about effective reading instruction.  This book is so interesting!  
With everything that is going on in the world, I am also working to educate myself on the issue of racism.  The next book on my list is (affiliate link) White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.  I realize that there is a lot that I need to learn about this topic, so I am actively working on it!  If you have any suggestions of books or other items that you can refer me to, please leave me a comment!  
Of course, I am also doing some fiction reading!  I have recently finished American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (another affiliate link).  My next book is (yup, affiliate link) Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  If you haven’t read The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah, you need to go and do that right now (you guessed it!  That is an affiliate link too!)

3. Shopping!

This one may be my favorite!  I love shopping.  To prepare for next year, I am purchasing masks.  I found some ADORABLE Star Wars masks on the Disney site (not affiliated).  My classroom is Star Wars themed, so they are a MUST!
I was really surprised, but Old Navy has some really cute masks as well (I can’t believe that sentence is normal).  I am not affiliated with Old Navy either, I just love their stuff.
I have also purchased some Face Sheilds (affiliate).  I plan to wear both the shield and a mask (can’t be too cautious!
Books!  I am trying to diversify my classroom library a little more.  I just hope that when we go back that the kiddos can use and enjoy my classroom books!  For some of the books that I have bought, and am planning to buy, you can see them HERE in my Amazon Storefront (yes, affiliate!)  Again, if you have any suggestions for titles, please drop me a comment and I will check them out!  Thank!
 

4. New Hobby (or should I say New Obsession?)

So, with this quarantine going on I have had a lot of time to find new obsessions on the internet.  I fell down a rabbit hole and got hooked almost instantly.  If you don’t need a new hobby or adventure, you may want to stop reading here.  I promise I won’t be offended.  😉
I have discovered the wonderful world of Digital Planning!  Now, I know that this is nothing new.  I LOVE planners, I love writing stuff down with fun pens and stickers, and washi tape.  I am an avid Bullet Journaler ( you can check out the post I did about that HERE). So, because of all of that, I have been reluctant to even consider digital planning!  Then, I found out that with an apple pencil (or another type stylus) you can actually write in your digital planner.  Sounds, super silly, but that was a total game-changer for me!  I can still decorate, use fun color pens, stickers and washi tape, but all digitally! This is not my video, and I don’t know this lady from Adam, but I blame her for my obsession.  Want to check it out?  You can find her video HERE!  She is super cute and perky, I enjoy listening to her!
I use the Good Notes app, (not affiliated with Apple or Goodnotes in any way) and can make as many
“notebooks” as I want and everything is in one place.  I can even search and it will find stuff even if it is in my handwriting!  I am totally in love.  
So, naturally, I started thinking about the implications for using this at school.  The very first thing that I thought of was my Conferring Notebook or “Pensieve”.  I have been using this tool for years!  I usually have it in a huge bulky binder that I lug around when I do any kind of reading or writing conferences with my kiddos.  I created a digital version of my Conferring Notebook to use!  The links are all clickable, so I can instantly go to the page I want, the pages don’t fall out, and I am saving some trees.  I did a walkthrough video!  (That is something else  I am working on this summer, now that I am writing it all down, I am a busy girl).
If you are interested in learning more about the digital conferring notebook you can find it HERE!
 

5. Making New Stuff!

Since I have the time, I have been working on making some new digital items for my classroom (just in case).  Along with the conferring notebook I have been working on making some fun digital reading logs, I have made my best selling Reading Goal checklist bookmarks into a digital Reading Goal notebook, made a digital version of my draft writing paper with built-in graphic organizers, and a super fun digital Student Dictionary or Word Collector!  You can find ALL of my Digital Distance Learning Stuff HERE if you are interested.
 
Phew!  Thank you so much for reading all the way to the bottom.  After putting all of this down in words, I need a nap!
Pin it for later if you are as tired as I am after reading all that!  🙂
Back to School 2020? What I am doing to plan ahead for the 2020-2021 school year.
 

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