One of the biggest things that keeps teachers in the classroom is summers off. This was another big hurdle for me as I considered leaving teaching, especially after I had my kids. I can’t argue that having summers off (and winter break) is nice, but for me, it came down to quality of time off vs quantity of time off.
Summer Learning
My summers had not been carefree. As a “new teacher” in the district (although I had already had 10 years of experience) I had to take at least a full week of training, meetings, curriculum review and classes in the week before school started. This is now the case in most districts.
I also felt that they were tinged with anxiety as I wondered if I was “doing enough” to be prepared for the year to come. I feel as a teacher, that is ALWAYS a question that you are asking yourself. “Am I enough”?
As the year had come to a close, more and more teachers were talking about the classes that they were taking, the conferences that they were going to or the district classes they were teaching or the summer school they were teaching. I felt a growing pressure to make sure I didn’t “waste” my summer reading novels and hanging out by the pool. Everyone else was DOING something related to school. Honestly, at the end of a taxing school year, these were some of the LAST activities that I wanted to be signing up for, but I inevitably did. Lifelong learner, right?
I would show up at the ACES class only to hear about how AMAZING the phonemic awareness class was that had not crossed my radar (but I SHOULD have taken it) was. Add that to my “to do” list for spring (or maybe they have another session in the summer…).
Changing Grade Levels
When other people hear about changing grade levels, it sounds pretty simple. I went to college for ALL the grade levels (certified K-9), so I should easily be able to transition, right? Wrong. Changing grade levels is like beginning an entirely new job with a new type of clientele. I imagine it might be like telling a doctor that next year they are going to be a dentist. They are basically the same job on the outside- helping people, diagnosing things, the coats are similar. That shouldn’t be too hard of a switch.
In my experience, the summer before the change is filled with a lot of new learning if switching between say, 3rd to 4th or 1st to 2nd. There is a new curriculum to learn, new topics to look over and either scaling back or scaling up subjects like writing. Going from 4th to Kindergarten was NOT going to be easy, but I was up for the challenge. I had enjoyed 1st and had considered seeing if there were going to be any 1st grade openings the next year. Kindergarten couldn’t be THAT much different.
The Materials
My district, a relatively wealthy district, had invested in the Lucy Caulkins Kindergarten Phonemic awareness and Phonics BOOK. The more I read and the more I researched online, an essential part of the curriculum was also the KIT that came with cards printed on card stock that you could punch out. When I asked my principal about it, I was told I could print and cut out the cards as needed (because, that’s another thing to do). From what I was reading and from talking to collegues, this kit was also a NIGHTMARE to organize and if you didn’t do it beforehand, it was just a mess.
I didn’t want to start the year off behind, so I shelled out $120 out of pocket for the kit and another $50 or so for the storage containers and label maker recommended for storing the materials. I don’t know WHAT I was expecting, but when the kit arrived, it was 2 rather large box SOLIDY FILLED with card stock full of 2×3 inch cards. The wave of anxiety that washed over me as I looked in the box was definitely a warning signal. My family and I spent HOURS that summer sorting the cards into small stacks, rubber banding them, labeling the storage and making sure nothing got lost (I’m not even going to get into the nightmare it was USING the cards).
Oh, and each kid should have a reusable pouch for the SNAP words (in my experience, baggies don’t last long), AAAANNNDDD you should probably laminate them because as each child individually learns the words, you will want to eventually take the card and put it back to use again next year.
Oh! I almost forgot! There is an elephant you need…with clothes. She’s a big part of the program.
This was just for phonics.
Classroom Library
Did you know that each teacher needs to procure their own books for their classroom library? This has been my experience at every school I have taught at, substituted in or student taught at. All of those books in the cute bookshelves you see on Pinterest? Yep, the teacher bought a majority of those with his or her own money. This is especially the case if teachers work in a school that does not receive Title 1 funds.
The summer before switching grade levels, I went through all of my own books and took out any books that my kids weren’t reading anymore (they were only in 2nd grade), so the pile wasn’t huge. They were adding a kindergarten, so there were no books to speak of for me to inherit. The principal brought in some board books from when her now teens were small, and the reading specialist culled through the reading closet and brought me some early readers that were otherwise going to be thrown out.
The reading programs recommend that each child has a book box (again, purchased with my own money) filled with AT LEAST 4-5 books that are changed regularly. These should be high interest books with at least two books that the child can begin to actually read. I had two classes of 20, so 40 kids times 5 books each is at least 200 books. You don’t want BARE shelves (also purchased with my own money) after they get their books because kids need choice, so a scraggly library in kindergarten should probably have about 400 books.
I spent a considerable about of time scouring online sales and garage sales looking for people who were selling books that I could add to my library. I knew if I didn’t have enough, it would be more difficult to get kids engaged in their reading.
The Pinterest Effect
When I started teaching in 2003, social media was just beginning (oh, geeze, Facebook wasn’t a THING yet). For the most part, you would walk down the halls and see other peoples classrooms, comment on a few things that you liked, maybe run to get that cool lamp or small rug, but classroom comparisons were limited to schools you physically walked into. You didn’t KNOW what other teachers were doing in the summer unless you called or texted them. Enter Pinterest and Facebook.
Now, you get to see inside of these literally picture perfect classrooms decorated to the nines. You can learn EXACTLY where each poof, special pencil grippy and roll of bulletin board paper that looks like barn wood is purchased. You can find which isle in IKEA that bookshelf-turned-bench was purchased in and for how much. I am a big DIY person and let’s just say that my classroom, at least for open house, was ADORABLE. Did I need all that? No, but I figured if I was basically going to be living there, I wanted a nice space to be in.
Scrolling through Facebook, you can now get updated reports on who is in their classroom when doing what. “Oh…she was in twice this week. I should go in and do a little work” or “I probably should have taken that class. That bulletin board looks useful”. The rabbit hole of comparison is deep. There is always something that needs to be done and never enough time to do it.
In conclusion
I have wandered down a path I wasn’t anticipating. ANYWAY, I knew it would be hard to give up summers, especially all that time with my kids. But, in reality, what do most summer days look like? If you are anything like me, kids on screens, many, many SUPER humid days here in Chicago with temperatures soaring above 100.
Truth be told, I do relatively a LOT with my kids on our time off- museums, the zoo, parks, playdates, pool, classes and the occasional 3 day trip to the Dells or a small trip with friends, but that’s only a small chunk of the summer. My therapist pointed out that many kids really LOVE attending camps and have thanked their parents for sending them. I began to think it might not be the end of the world.
Starting up my own VA business was not going to be easy (is anything ever easy?), but I had a PLAN for summer 2020. I was going to sign my kids up for some park district summer camps and grandma and grandpa would take them one day a week. You can see into the future too. But, we made it and I had PLENTY of time with my kids.
