12 Must-Read Blog Posts to Prepare for Back-to-School

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far! As thoughts of back-to-school start to creep in, we understand if you just want to ease yourself back into work mode rather than jumping right in. Our aim is to help you prepare, without taking the joy out of your last few weeks of holidays.

We’ve put together a list of bing-worthy blog posts, written by teachers getting ready for back-to-school just like you! They are all fun to read and will give you a little boost in your own planning and back-to-school prep! Enjoy!

10 Things Every Teacher Should Do Before the New School Year

~ Teach Without Tears

“I love helping teachers relieve stress, and this post will help teachers start the new year with less stress. Doing these 10 things now will make easing into the new school year much easier.”

~ Tara Dusko

Write All About It

~ Mrs. Perez Teacher Tools

“I just love these writing journals. They have been so helpful to me in so many ways. It is one of the first things I prep and introduce to my class to help as we build our morning routine.”

~ Jessica Perez

How to Flex Seat

~ Sweet ‘n’ Sauer Firsties

“Because it goes it extraordinary detail about the why and how of flexible seating, with freebies (if users subscribe)!”

~ Lindsay Sauer

How I Teach Common Core Reading Standards

~ Common Core Kingdom

“This blog post explains how I scaffold and differentiate my instruction with leveled reading passages to ensure my students are making gains and meeting grade-level expectations.”

~ Julie Bochese

Planning with Post-Its

~ Teaching Music Musings

“The planning system I share in this blog post is the only one that worked for me through a whole school year without driving me crazy! I always find it interesting to see how different teachers plan, and to oooooh and ahhhhhh over pretty planners without the time crunch of needing to write lesson plans. I am hoping to write a follow-up post soon, so stay tuned!”

~ Sarah Joncas

First Day Lesson Plan and Activities for 3rd Grade

~ That Teaching Spark

“This blog post contains everything a teacher needs for the first day of school! It explains my lesson plans, management, and procedures for back to school.”

~ Amy Hoffmann

Ideas for Back to School Science Activities

~ Sockmonkey Science

“It is important to spark the interest of students from day one, and this selection of activities is sure to impress!”

~ Mary Caroline Smith

10 Kindness Lessons and Activities for Elementary School

~ Tales from a Very Busy Teacher

“This blog post has so many great ideas for teaching kids about kindness and empathy! It’s perfect for those back to school lessons and first week community building activities.”

~Marine Freibrun

Creating a Class Blog with Padlet

~ Teaching with Technology

“Check out this post about creating a class blog with Padlet! Great for grades 5-12!”

~ Bethany Petty

Ways to Successfully Implement Centers at the Beginning of Kindergarten

~ The Kinder Garden

“This blog post gives tips and ideas for successfully implementing centers at the beginning of kindergarten.”

~ Caitlin O’Bannon

Why Study History? Back To School Activity

~ Mister Harms

“Getting students engaged in learning is extremely important, and student’s asking of “why” is an excellent starting point. Students are always wanting to know why they need to learn something, and they should be asking this question. As teachers head back to school soon, incorporating the question of why into their instruction is vitally important. This blog post will stimulate the curiosity of asking “why” within the classroom as well as help teachers know how to answer that question when it comes!”

~ Mister Harms

BONUS: Daily Play Idea

~ Grow Me 1-2-3

This isn’t necessarily a traditional blog, but we couldn’t help sharing! We like to think of it as an awesome daily Instagram Blog!

“I am really proud of the resource I’ve created for teachers to give to parents that gives parents one idea a day of what they can play with their child to help prepare their child for school. One idea is posted daily on Instagram and the activities include math, art, gross motor, role play, fine motor, messy and literacy play each week. The play ideas are from inspirational moms/teachers/other caregivers and are low prep, easy to do, and modifiable. Teachers can give this resource to parents as “homework” or to spark ideas of ways to interact with their child that encourages learning through play.”

~ Naomi Bocaniciu