Written by Casey Jeffers, Owner of Fair Winds Teaching & MSEA Second Grade Teacher

It’s back to school time and you have to start thinking about all the things you want to try to fit into your busy schedule for the first couple weeks of school. My number one priority is building relationships and routines within the first few days so we can get focused on the standards afterwards. 

A great way to integrate some basic story elements while collecting work samples from students to help gauge their learning is to complete a back to school read aloud and activity each day. Each book can guide questions to help build student relationships and team building skills. You can integrate writing components to take work samples and help plan your instruction for the upcoming weeks. 

I have created a FREE Back to School Ideas for the First 10 Days Guide! You can get an inside look into my classroom from over the years. I have everything from ELA read alouds, lessons, math activities, STEAM and SEL lessons and back to school Produces and set up. This 10 day guide helps me map out certain things I want to make sure I touch on while also working around the required items that my school will ask for me to complete. 

During my teacher prep week (usually the week before the students start), my school will let us know of new initiatives and standards we must hit on those few first weeks. They will also give out the required and optional assessments we must fit into our schedule. The things I have listed on this guide is not a hard pressed schedule, but more of a flexible guide to the things I will fit into my days. 

And then of course, there are the times I need to unpack their school supplies, practice walking down the hallways and give them a fun tour around our school. All important things to do when you are onboarding a new class, I wanted to take some of the planning off your plate and give you a leg up on heading back into the classroom. 

Let’s start with some of my favorite Back to School books to read:

• First Day Jitters by: Julie Danneberg
• The Invisible Boy by: Trudy Lugwig
• Do Unto Otters by: Laurie Keller
• Chrysanthemum by: Kevin Henkes
• We’re All Wonders by: R. J. Palacio
• The Word Collector by: Peter H. Reynolds
• How I Spent My Summer Vacation by: Mark Teague
• I am Enough by: Grace Byers
• A Bad Case of Stripes by: David Shannon
• Our Class is a Family By: Shannon Olsen

More Favs of Mine:

David Goes to School by: David Shannon

Miss Nelson is Missing by: Harry G. Allard Jr. 

A Base Case of the Tattle Tongue by: Julia Cook

I understand that every classroom has a different schedule, teaches different subjects and has time blocks of time to start the school year. With that in mind, I created the First 10 Days of Plans – Idea board. The simple and easy to read board lays out most of the activities and lesson plans I do each year with my K-3rd grade students. The board consists of lesson plans connected to read alouds, Social and Emotional Learning lessons to help the students build relationships, introduction lessons to Math and STEAM standards. Lastly, I focus a lot on team building and school and classroom producers. The Back to School BINGO is my all time favorite product!

You can download the FREE Google Docs now that has everything you need linked to get started this week! In the first two weeks of plans, I have included 4 freebies and some fun activities that any grade level can do. 

Want a sneak peak into some of the activities and plans outlined in the guide:

Time Capsule: Have your students fill out their first day of school questionnaire! Then have them come back to this time capsule on the last day of school! Check out the video here!

Free Write Fun Slides: Use these slides all year long! 15+ fun writing prompts per month to use. Start with August & September. Each slide helps guide the students with a writing prompt.

Procedures BINGO: Teaching students the school and classroom procedures are so important (this will last all week!) Maybe even into a second and third week. This is editable so you can add your own procedures too!

This Week Went Swimmingly: Grab a fun writing sample to wrap up the first week of school! Of course, it is mermaid themed. I use this as a writing sample to help group and guide my writing block the following week. 

Two Truths, One Lie – (Flip) Formally FlipGrid Template: Use this organizer to introduce Flip (Formally Flipgrid) to your students. It’s a great getting to know you and tech activity. I love watching their videos and picking their lie!

Tiny Target: Wrapping up the first couple weeks can be difficult, reward the amazing work by opening your classroom store! These labels help make your own little Dollar Spot come alive.

Who Has the Number?: Use this fun get to know you activity that focuses on numbers in math. I love watching the students walk around and ask each other questions to get to know each other. 

Exclusive Back to School Read Aloud Lessons: Want to have it all? Grab the Back to School Ultimate Bundle now. It includes 23 products and an exclusive freebie with THREE read aloud lessons for the books, First Day Jitters, The Invisible Boy, and Do Unto Otters.

Casey Jeffers is a second-grade teacher at Butterfly Ridge Elementary in Frederick County, Maryland. She was recently recognized as the national winner of the NEA Foundation’s 2021 Teaching in Excellence Award. Casey is the proud owner of the Education Resource Blog, Fair Winds Teaching, and loves to connect with her education community through her TeacherPayTeacher’s business.

Like this article? Then you may also enjoy Casey’s post about Classroom Transformations!

Written by Casey Jeffers, Owner of Fair Winds Teaching & MSEA Second Grade Teacher

Check out how I morph my classroom into an engaging learning lab for any subject! Anytime you can change up your student’s routine to engage them in a new learning experience is well WORTH IT! A classroom transformation creates an immersive experience for our students without having to leave the classroom.

I know that pulling off a classroom transformation can be stressful and overwhelming, however, if you follow these guiding points, you will be able to better understand what your day or week will look like beforehand.

First things first… ALWAYS START with the instructional goal/problem when planning a classroom transformation. You must have a standard or group of standards in mind to successfully complete a transformation. This is NOT about a theme or turning your classroom into an underwater shark tank, just because. You need to have a purpose…

My suggestion is to start by laying out the content you have been teaching and figure out what you are assessing your students on. This process will start about 2 weeks beforehand. Most subjects and content have the potential to lead to a classroom transformation idea. You just need to create those creative juices flowing!

For example, my class and I spent weeks learning how to measure distances and comparing lengths. We asked a lot of questions about diving into the water and compared two divers. This helped with the idea of having a Shark Diving day to help measure and compare sharks and divers. I started with the content and let the idea come to me. I would not suggest scrolling through Pinterest and just selecting a circus theme because you think the kids will like the circus.

If you are teaching elementary measurement standards this school year, check out this Shark Classroom Transformation here!

Next up, here are 5 questions you should ask yourself when planning your own classroom transformation or buying someone else online.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Planning a Classroom  Transformation

• What time frame will you have available to complete your classroom transformation? Is it a one-day or a week-long unit? Plan so you know how many centers, activities, or lessons you will need. 
• What decoration resources/materials do you already have available to you that connect with your standards? Selecting the theme is the fun part! Think about – (kids’ birthday parties you have leftover decorations from, companies that can partner with to provide materials (Crumbl Cookie, Starbucks), or what is currently available at the dollar store) If you don’t have anything to start with, ask yourself… What are your students interested in? Poll them and see what is fresh and new! This might help spark an idea that connects with your standards. 
• Can this theme/topic be connected over multiple content areas? Math, reading, and writing? Can you extend a restaurant theme over the science content you are currently working on? Can you add a STEAM or physical education component to your day?
• What expectations do I have for my students on an “out of the box” day like this? Make this clear to them beforehand. This will help plan your centers/activities accordingly. 
• How many center/rotations or groups can they handle? Do you run a teacher-led group? Do you have other adults to help you on that day? Is a worksheet their best use of time or does every station need a recording sheet?

If you ask yourself these questions while designing or buying a classroom transformation, you have already set your students up for success. The day will go amazing and the kids are sure to remember the experience and content learned for years to come. 

Let’s dive into some of the classroom transformations I have created for my 2nd and 3rd graders. We have transformed our room into a backyard BBQ and restaurant to have a book tasting or barbeque.

We have dressed up for the 101st day of school and transformed into the 101 Dalmation movie for the entire day!

We’ve taken on the world of road construction to assess area and perimeter for our all-week classroom transformation. Hard hats included!

My favorite of all time was our sweet-smelling bakery for our Crumbl Cookie day to learn about shapes and fractions! They had a blast and it also tasted amazing!

Whether you are ready to start designing your own classroom transformations or using someone else’s idea, here are some tips and tricks I have learned along the way! 

10 Tips and Tricks for a GREAT Classroom Transformation:

1. Showing your work is a must 
2. Label all of their supplies and papers BEFORE you start (things will get left around the room)
3. Have a visual timer to show rotations
4. Have a checking-in process (team leaders or individual students)
5. Review expectations before the day starts
6. Set up the room beforehand (but not too far in advance (they will move and ruin your stuff) – Here is a FREEBIE to show you are working on the process
7. Fun background music is a must! It is fun and keeps everyone quiet (Spotify – Follow me here)
8. Decide what you are keeping (to use again) and what the students are able to keep (let them know ahead of time)
9. Have a clean-up crew ready at hand
10. HAVE FUN – take a step back and spend some time listening to them work in groups, you will be amazed at how engaged they are! (take lots of pictures to remember it by)

Casey Jeffers is a second-grade teacher at Butterfly Ridge Elementary in Frederick County, Maryland. She was recently recognized as the national winner of the NEA Foundation’s 2021 Teaching in Excellence Award. Casey is the proud owner of the Education Resource Blog, Fair Winds Teaching, and loves to connect with her education community through her TeacherPayTeacher’s business.

Written by Casey Jeffers, Owner of Fair Winds Teaching & MSEA Second Grade Teacher

Setting up your classroom library can be a daunting task. Whether you are a brand new teacher or a teacher switching grade levels (this is a big deal because not all books are appropriate for all ages). Here’s my guide to collecting books from multiple locations without breaking the bank!

Where do I get my books from?

Scholastic Book Clubs!

My favorite website to buy classroom books is Scholastic Book Clubs! Check out the best ways to earn points and FREE books year-round. Then you also can’t beat the deals that they have each month, a lot of them being only $1 a book!

Earning BONUS POINTS – Always fill out your back-to-school form to update your class size to earn your 100 points each year, save ALL the emails from Scholastic throughout the school year to build up coupon codes for your next order, and have a notebook to write down codes when they come up on the Scholastic IG/Facebook pages. I collect so many points throughout the year to earn so many FREE BOOKS and school supplies! If you don’t have a Scholastic Book Club account yet, use this link to earn a FREE 250 Bonus Points from me!

Birthday Coupons – In the beginning of each school year, you get an offer to buy a class book of b’day coupons. Each pack comes with 30-32 FREE book coupons and they are each worth up to a $5 FREE book. That is upwards to $160 worth of books, for a cost of $30.00! I have bought these for my students in the past and handed them out for their birthdays. They are to take them home and select their book with their family online. I don’t do that anymore because most of them lost the coupon or forgot to log on and redeem their book. Instead, I have them work with me on their birthday to select a $4-$5 book (no less than that- getting the best value) to buy a book with the coupon code on my account to add to our classroom library. Then when it comes in the mail, that student gets to present it to the class as a gift! They get to put their name in the book as a donation, it makes them so happy. That stocks my classroom with 32 new books each school year for $30!

Family Book Orders – Making the Scholastic Book flyers available to your families helps build your points so you can buy some classroom books for your classroom as well. Here are some of my favorite tips for boosting family orders!

• • Let families know that every order, no matter how small or big, earns FREE Books for your classroom. Use this pack to help boost sales and recommend your families! This gets families involved by sharing your Class Code for online ordering and letting them know they can choose a FREE $5 Book with every $25 online order with code READS.
  • Share photos of all the FREE Books and resources your class has earned. A picture is worth a thousand words! I even do #BookBoxDay unboxing videos for my students and families!
  • Send home reminder armbands with the due dates and their wish lists, both of these are available in this pack!

Family/Friends for Donations

The second place I go to collect books is simply by asking family and friends. I use my personal and professional social media platforms to post about a need for used or new classroom books. You would be surprised how many households are sitting on dozens of children’s books that they don’t use anymore. I’ve had families with high schoolers now that hadn’t gotten rid of any of their elementary-aged books and simply had them sitting in a box in their garage. They were happy to donate and get them out of their space. It never hurts to ask! I especially reach out to my retired teacher friends! Then I go through the books and then any repeats I have I offer to other new teachers or give to the students to take home to start their library.

Visiting Your Local Public Library

Have you ever been to your local public library? Did you know they are always getting rid of books that are now out of circulation? My grandmother used to volunteer at our local library and she would say that books that weren’t checked out super often, had too many copies, or were a little damaged would be taken out of circulation. These were always donated but sometime she would be able to bring some home to be (knowing I was a classroom teacher). It is always good to ask or give them your contact information in case they have books to get rid of.  

Amazon Wish-lists (#ClearTheList) 

Have you heard!!?? Celebrities, companies, influencers, and so many other people are helping to #ClearTheList of teachers’ Amazon wishlists! If you haven’t made one yet, it is your time to take a second and add classroom books and other amazing supplies! 

How to make a list:

1. Login to your Amazon account
2. Go to “Account & Lists” at the top right corner
3. Click on “Your Lists”
4. Create a list (make sure it’s public)
5. Add items or books that you find on Amazon (if you want some classroom list ideas, check my favorites out here!)

If you want to share it with friends & family, click “Invite,” copy the link, send it out, or share it on your social media pages.

Sponsors

If you make your Amazon wish list, reach out to some local companies or popular businesses online and see if they would be willing to help out and donate. I use Twitter and Linkedin to reach out to a lot in my local area. Write them a letter introducing yourself, telling them a little about your school and students, and then tell them how they can help. 

Thrift Stores/Facebook Selling Groups- 

One of my favorite summertime activities is strolling through a good thrift store. Whether it’s a GoodWill, Wonder Book & Video, ReStore, or any local company, you can find gently used books for a very cheap rate. Make sure to save your receipts so you can write them off your taxes! 

You can also join your local Facebook teacher groups (mine is called Teachers Sell Stuff (city, State) and see if anyone has books available for purchase. 

As you are selecting books for your classroom make sure you gather a wide variety of books. I try to have some leveled books, picture books, just for fun books, magazines, comics, graphic novels, chapter books, maps, and much more. Get creative, the kids love a diverse set of things to get their hands on. 

Other Helpful Classroom Library Tips and Tricks:

Make sure to have book bin labels for your students to be able to find and organize their books. Here is the set I use to label my 2nd-grade classroom. Hang some signs to help students to select their “Just Right Book,” grab this FREEBIE here. I also make sure to label ALL books that come into my classroom so I don’t lose track of them. I use these mermaid ones on Avery shipping labels (30 per page).

Where to buy your bins?? My favorite places are Storex, Dollar Store, The Target Dollar Spot, Walmart, Ikea (have the kids decorate them), or the DIY option, start collecting cereal boxes now! Simply save larger cereal boxes and cut them down like the pictures below. Cover them with paper, spray paint them, or leave them with the kids’ favorite cereal pictures.

Good luck and happy building up your library! 🙂

Casey Jeffers is a second-grade teacher at Butterfly Ridge Elementary in Frederick County, Maryland. She was recently recognized as the national winner of the NEA Foundation’s 2021 Teaching in Excellence Award. Casey is the proud owner of the Education Resource Blog, Fair Winds Teaching, and loves to connect with her education community through her TeacherPayTeacher’s business.

Written by Casey Jeffers, Owner of Fair Winds Teaching & MSEA Second Grade Teacher

Packing up your classroom at the end of the year can be exciting and also challenging at the same time. However, I promise you… if you spend some time setting yourself up for success at the end of the school year, you will be so glad you did at back-to-school time.

I have a box that I pack up and place on the top pile of all of the classroom supplies at the end of each year. These are all the items I will need first at the start of a new year, or in my case,  my long-term substitute will open. I am expecting a baby over the summer and will not be starting my school year with my kiddos this school year. I want my substitute to be ready and not feel overwhelmed the day they start setting up my classroom in the Fall. 

The box doesn’t have to be fancy, although you can use a nice plastic storage bin as well. I upgrade my Amazon box each year (because it gets bigger and bigger) and write myself a fun little note. 

“Let’s Do This!” “You’ve Got This!” “You Go Girl!” “You Can Do Hard Things!” “Crushin’ it!”

What’s inside my box? 

• • Back-to-School event items
  • Simple Teacher supplies
  • Birthday favors
  • Bulletin Board items
  • Cleaning supplies
  • Master copies for the first week of school
  • Motivational Note
  • Water bottle and snack (that won’t go bad) 
  • $5 or gift card 

Putting together your own box can be done this summer if you haven’t started one before… check it out now!

Back to School or Sneak Peek Event at School – At my school, we always have a sneak peek event (for new to the school families) during the school day. It usually occurs on the 2nd teacher work day back and our classrooms are NOWHERE READY for school. The families pop in and say hello and want to see their new classroom. Instead of stressing out about this, I have things ready in my box for a cute setup for a table outside in the hallway. 

The box includes a dollar store plastic table cloth, a blow-up number 2 balloon (for 2nd grade), my mermaid sand bucket with donations needed for the school year, and a small gift for each student that comes by. Grab the mermaid bucket donations needed template here.

Some of my favorite sneak peek gifts are popcorn, mini pop-its or blow pops with these adorable tags (Thanks for Popping In), mini or full-size erasers with these Mistakes labels, or a slinky with these Spring into School tags. Check out my full list of where to buy these items!

Lastly, I place a sign on my classroom door that says, “Under Construction.” You can grab this freebie now, I have it available for your bulletin boards, library, and much more. 

In the box, I also have stuff for my formal Back to School (BTS) evening event that is after my classroom is fully set up. I placed a couple of plastic bowls (for serving snacks and candy to my families), fun photo props, a BTS Welcome Bag full of goodies, and their All About Me Bag assignment to bring to school their first week of school. Each family also gets a sticker when they walk in that says, “ I am the Proud Parent/Grandparent/Family of _________!” You can grab those here.

Simple Teacher supplies – Next up in the box is all the simple teacher supplies needed to start the school year. I make sure I have a couple of types of tapes (masking, painters, and scotch), a good pair of teacher sizes scissors, stapler and refill staples, a stapler remover, a black magic marker, a pack of sticky magnetic dots, post-it’s, a couple sharpened pencils, my FAVORITE wireless hot glue gun and refill glue and a tape measure. Not spending time ripping apart boxes to find all of these items will definitely save you time. Now, if I can just stop myself from talking to every teacher that walks past my classroom, we would really be able to get some back-to-school work done

Birthday Favors – This is an overlooked item that I have added to my BTS box over the years. I never want to forget to celebrate the summer birthdays in my class (I am a July baby myself, and I never got to celebrate at school). My best tip is to go shopping at the end of every summer to grab class set deals that are basically free. Every year, the chalk, bubbles, sunglasses, slime packs, and summer beach balls are on sale at the end of the season. I buy up at least enough to cover a huge class size (30), then any I don’t end up using goes in my prizes box for the following year. You don’t necessarily need to add the items in the BTS box, but I always have the birthday gift tags printed and ready in my box to remind me to celebrate those kiddos that had July/August birthdays. The past few years I have found amazing slime deals and have used these gift tags, grab them here! 

Bulletin Board Supplies – If you are anything like me, the base of the bulletin boards is the first thing I do when I get back. I want to make sure to grab the butcher paper color that I love before it’s all gone (a.k.a. teal and hot pink) and it is an instant way to make your room look pretty. I make sure I have my small bin of bulletin board supplies (see my bulletin board blog post here) and then my Amazing Work Coming Soon & Construction site signs printed and ready to go! Grab these freebies and then have your students help you design your classroom bulletin boards.

Cleaning Supplies – No explanation needed – Cloxex wipes, paper towels, Magic Eraser & Goo Gone. Want to see where I buy all my BTS Box supplies, check out this master list with links. 

Master Copies – My in-service BTS week is when I work with specialists and teammates to start planning out the first quarter of ELA and Math content. This time is so valuable and I want to make sure all my “getting to know you” and “setting up routines” papers and lessons are ready to go. I make sure I have my master copies ready in a folder in my BTS box. I do not try to guess how many copies I need ahead of time, I make the copies on that first week. However, if you have leftover paper at the end of a school year and you are at a school that makes you wait for your first paper order when you get back, MAKE ALL THE COPIES BEFORE YOU LEAVE for summer.

I make sure to have my Back to School Bingo, First Day of School Sign (blow-up numbers), Time Capsule, All About Me Bag, and Welcome Bag copies. I also have the first week of school writing papers, design your own name tag template, Do Unto Otters craft, and some Math About Me papers. Lastly, whether you do flexible seating or not, having your student’s name tags glued onto their hard case pencil boxes is a great way for them to actually use them as a resource and easy for you to make desk changes through the school year. I have them available for grades 1-2 and 3-4. It also saves your custodians from scraping off all that glue leftover at the end of the year. They will thank you!

Motivational Note – Before you close your box up and give it a good tape, grab a blank piece of paper or adorable stationery. Write yourself a BTS motivational note for your future self. Give yourself some advice or simply tell yourself, “You’ve Got This!” This note will seem silly while you are doing it, but will brighten your day (because you will forget about it). It’s a great touch to help start your new school year off with a bang! 

Treat Yourself or Treat Someone Else! – Throw a $5 gift card to Starbucks or Dunkin’s or $5 cash to treat yourself to something on your way home from your first day back. If you don’t feel like using it, give it to a coworker that looks like they might need it that first day back. You can also grab a water bottle and a non-perishable snack and throw it in so it’s ready for the first day! 

I hope you found this BTS box list helpful, it took me a while to know what I wanted in mine and it will evolve as you get to know your BTS habits. 

HAPPY SUMMER & BACK TO SCHOOL PREP!

Casey Jeffers is a second-grade teacher at Butterfly Ridge Elementary in Frederick County, Maryland. She was recently recognized as the national winner of the NEA Foundation’s 2021 Teaching in Excellence Award. Casey is the proud owner of the Education Resource Blog, Fair Winds Teaching, and loves to connect with her education community through her TeacherPayTeacher’s business.

Written by Casey Jeffers, Owner of Fair Winds Teaching & MSEA Second Grade Teacher

The hustle and bustle of the end of the school year is like no other. It comes so quickly; in March I think about all the awesome things I still want to accomplish for the school year. I think I have all the time in the world. Then in the flash of an eye, May is here and I am running around thinking I have no idea how I will be able to fit it all in.

My to-do list grows as the weeks shorten and for me, it’s very bittersweet. I want to be excited about summer and the things I can accomplish during my time off, but I also recognize that most of my students rely on their school home for a sense of security and aren’t very excited for summer to come. I try to calm their fears by letting them know it’s okay to be nervous and excited about summer all at the same time.

This is where I kick into gear! I want to give my students resources to make their summer as enjoyable as possible. Each year I try to think about the students in my class and what they enjoyed. This year my students were OBSESSED with my V.I.P. chair (which they could earn with completed work and outstanding behavior).

One of the highlights of this special seat was the access to limited edition school supplies. The multi-colored changing pen was by far the most popular. They thought it was cooler than sliced bread and this year’s class was full of artists! I knew this was the first thing I needed to buy them to kick off their summer at home. I knew I was sending home their leftover notebooks and sketchbooks so I knew this pen would make a great gift!

You can grab this colorful kid gift tag FREEBIE here and check a list of all my favorite end-of-the-year school gifts here! 

Next up, the most popular thing in my room has been the morning STEAM bins! They couldn’t get enough of the building with these materials each morning. If you want to learn more about setting up your own Starting with STEAM bins, check out this blog post I did for California Casualty last summer. They engage your learners and allow them to be super creative. Most of them love the hashtag building blocks I got from Target the most! So when I saw them in little $1 personal tubes, I knew I needed to set them up with a little STEAM station at their houses.

I grabbed 4 x 6 plastic photo boxes, a mini play-doh, a pack of 8 fun glitter crayons, and hashtag building blocks and got to work. The mini play-doh fits perfectly into the plastic bin to close shut. I made these little labels to add a building challenge for them to complete. I told them my email address to take pictures of their creations and send them to me over the summer. 

These personal-sized bins also make for a great stress reliever. My students know a lot of peace corner strategies and this is a great way to allow them a break if they are feeling blue. 

My students have been very careful about washing their hands all year long and also love any type of yummy-smelling hand sanitizer! Berries, cookies, flowers, linen, and even fresh-cut grass! The kids would bring in the new smells they would find and use them all day long. You can never be too safe and clean. I found some yummy smelling mini kid-safe hand sanitizers that completed our end-of-the-year gifts.

Watching their excitement opening all three little gifts with their tags was sooo much fun! They knew I got things I knew they loved. 

Each year it’s important to pick out gifts that reflect what they loved through the school year, it’s fun to stay current and trendy. 

In years past, I have had students that were really into a certain read-aloud at school so I would see if it came available through Scholastic books at a discounted or class bundles rate. Then you can add this FREE summer bookmark and challenge your students to finish this Summer Reading Bingo challenge.

Other fun (out-of-the-box) gift ideas:

• Local Coupon – Find a local fun kid-safe activity like an ice cream shop, bouncy house, arcade, theme park, painting class, etc., and ask their business if they have any coupons or would be willing to donate certificates for a free session. I always make sure it’s within walking distance or accessible by the local bus so I know my students and their families would be able to access the location.
• Summer Meetup – Send out an email/letter to families telling them that you will be doing a summer meet-up at a fun kid movie that is playing at the theaters or a local outdoor movie, or pick a local (close to the school) park to have the kids play at. Anyone that comes, I treat some popcorn or icy pops. I make sure I wait until about mid-summer so the kids get to see their classmates and catch up. 
• Virtual Yearbook – If you didn’t have time before school ended to do anything, you still have time! If you are a teacher that takes pictures throughout the school year, you can create a virtual yearbook and email out the finished product to your families. It is something they will cherish for a long time. See an example and grab it here. If you weren’t able to take any pictures this school year, bookmark this to think about next year! It is so fun to start at the beginning of the year and add to it slowly as events happen. 
• Class Gift – My last favorite idea for end-of-the-year gifts is a class gift for your room to share for years to come. If you don’t like the idea of spending money on smaller items for your students that you don’t think they will love for the long haul, think about spending the same amount of money on a class gift. 

You can save $3 per kid (upwards of $75) on smaller stuff and spend less on some good-quality classroom materials. I have done class sets of clipboards, new reading group bags, indoor recess board games, a collection of books, and much more.

Then I created a little golden paper plaque label to place on the item and show the classes years after them that this classroom material is donated in their name. The book boxes of their favorite books with the plaque are so adorable. They are proud and tell the students below them that this is a gift to them.

I make sure I show them that the indoor recess games they play with were donated by kids that are now in 8th grade, they get so excited. As teachers, we spend so much in our classroom, this is a great way to make gifts meaningful and useful for years to come. 

Whatever you decide to do for your students, they know they are loved and that they were in good hands this school year. Thank you for doing everything you can to keep them safe and happy. You are an incredible educator!

Casey Jeffers is a second-grade teacher at Butterfly Ridge Elementary in Frederick County, Maryland. She was recently recognized as the national winner of the NEA Foundation’s 2021 Teaching in Excellence Award. Casey is the proud owner of the Education Resource Blog, Fair Winds Teaching, and loves to connect with her education community through her TeacherPayTeacher’s business.