Teacher's End of the Year
Here are some things to think about. The end is almost here for most
of us. The time is coming when you’ll need to organize, sort, file, and give
away materials, and supplies, and send home student projects and papers. It can be
a tremendous amount of work.
Your students have been a part of your classroom. This is the
time to have your students help with the cleaning, taking down bulletin boards,
and boxing up materials. You haven’t started to do all this work in closing up
your classroom, but you can plan for it!
Classroom Stewardship
When your students were placed in your classroom, they became
a part of your classroom community. There is a need for stewardship. They are
living and learning in your classroom every day of the week necessitating they do
their part in keeping materials organized, notifying you when supplies are low,
cleaning up their work area, etc.
Some Cleaning Ideas
The same goes for the end of the school year. Having your
students help with the sorting, storing, and cleaning can help them to bring
their school year to a positive close as well!
Some things the kids can do. Have them go through the
classroom containers with crayons, pencils, markers, highlighters, and anything
else that is used commonly. They can throw away the broken pieces and dried up
markers. What is still in good shape can be stored. Containers can be cleaned
out. Surfaces probably need to be wiped down.
But When Can It Be Done??
You are probably thinking you still need to keep teaching and
following the schedule. When can this be done? During the transition times,
students can take time to clean out their desks. At the end of the day, as they
are preparing to leave would also be an ideal time. Some kids would rather stay
inside for recess and do some of these things. Why not let them, especially if
you don’t have recess duty.
I hope some of these ideas have been helpful. These are some
of the things I have done so that the cleaning and putting away didn’t become
so burdensome at the end of the year. This way you can spend your last “workday”
organizing your file cabinet and bringing the school year to a close.
I hope your year end goes smoothly!
Debbie - Froggy About Teaching on Amped Up Learning
Froggy About Teaching on Teachers Pay Teachers
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