When the seasons turn and excitement is in the air, it is hard to keep your brain on break. There are some tasks that can be completed without completely overwhelming yourself. Many of them take as long as you want them to. Here is a list of ways to prep for back-to-school prepping! Prepping with Calendars! One easy way to avoid brain fatigue throughout the year is with calendars! Write absolutely everything down so that you don’t waste brain space with the mundane. Have a desk or wall calendar by your prepping station so that you can mark in assemblies, events, field trips, pd sessions, everything as it happens. Mark down the cycle day and places to be. Make sure your calendar is big enough to write notes and to see your whole month at a glance. It definetly helps! With your calendar, find a planner that you will use. You will use this for lesson planning and other important info like grades, parent contact, and more. Figure out what you wish you had over the past year and get to shopping! Make sure you find something pretty that will keep you motivated to use your planner. Prepping Rosters & Schedules Get organized! Color-code your time table and any other kind of schedule you may need. It is also helpful to get your mind around which teachers are teaching which students which grades. Your division may require you to do online attendance. My division does not and therefore, I make my own rosters. These also double as my gradebook. Prepping Your Gradebook Decide on your marking system. Your shcool may require you use an online program or you keep track in a paperbook. Set up your book so that you can easily mark assignments, locate student progress, and effortlessly get ready for report cards. Another thing to keep in mind when prepping your gradebook is also prepping report card comments. When you are designing lessons, prep your comments according to the criteria you set out. If you are teaching a lesson about quarter notes, your comments may include “always/usually/sometimes/has difficulty with recognizing, notating and performing a quarter note.” This way, you already have the meat of your comments! Prepping by Shopping No, you don’t need to buy anything for your classroom from your own funds while on break. Instead, scroll on Pinterest, browse Teachers-Pay-Teachers, or visit an education store as an outing. Look to see if there are resources that can make your life easier, keep you motivated, and are fresh to you! Happy prepping!