I’ve enjoyed teaching school summer. Yep, I said it.
A few months ago, it was a no brainer that I was going to teach summer school. All I knew was that I would get paid. I needed the money, and I would teach it June and July, no questions asked.
Let’s go back to May 25. I can’t sleep. Not because it’s the night before the last day of school, but because an email showed me that I’ll only get 2 weeks off my entire summer and teaching lasts from 8:30-2:00pm weekdays. My mind went into a panic, and I knew deep down that teaching all week and summer long would drain me before the new school year started. I emailed the AP the next day and she granted my request to take July off.
A week later in a meeting I’m told I’ll work with a mix of first and second graders: one can’t speak any English, over half speak limited English, two have IEPs, and one student will be a challenge. Having worked with some of these kids during tutoring, I knew teaching them all day would be a tall task.
Fast forward to today. Yesterday, I collaborated with Becky Schnekser, author of the book Expedition Science. She filmed a video for my explorers about waterfalls in Iceland where she’s currently at. Tomorrow, we’re put on their adventure hats (seriously). Our daily read aloud is going to be wild! Followed by the great exploration for signs of water and wildlife around school. My explorers will calculate the distance from our school to Iceland, then create two digit addition & subtraction math problems for their fellow explorers to solve. At the end of the day, they’ll solve a mysterious puzzle to uncover a creature never been seen!
Have all our summer school days been like my previous paragraph? Absolutely not. Most days have been special in some small way. From daily read alouds and morning meetings, to dress up days, to donut breakfasts, the students and I have had a blast. It seems like everyday we’ve created a new memory that has been jotted down in my daily journal. (Yesterday was my 100th straight day!)
My tips are
· Wear comfortable clothes
· Buy your survival coffee
· Smile when you pick the kids up
· Have a daily line leader & door holder
· Build relationships with your students
· Incorporate student interests (google is helpful)
In three days, I’ll be wrapping up my first summer school. It’s been the quite the adventure that I’m surprisingly glad I undertook. I was able to try new some skills I’ve learned through books I’ve read and work with a new grade that has captivated my motivation to make each day memorable. It took a choice by me to make summer school what it became. It’s not always the quickest process, but it’s always worth it!
