Is June Too Early to Be in "Back to School" Mode?

As teachers, especially those who follow every other teacher on various forms of social media, we can’t help but get excited for the upcoming school year. Does that mean that I’m already in “back to school” mode? Absolutely not. But what it does mean, is when I see a good idea, I save it, make a note of it, or create something. So many teachers on Instagram or Twitter are taking place in the unofficial debate: Is June too early to be preparing for next year? Read on if you want to know my thoughts on the matter.

Teachers Have a Hard Time Turning Off Teacher Mode

We spend 9 months out of the year doing what we do best; borrowing ideas from other teachers or creating new ones to best fit the need of our students. I have a hard time shutting my mind off from that when I come home from school, let alone for 3 months. I still am so very guilty of jumping on Instagram at the end of the day and seeing what my imaginary teacher friends are up to in their classrooms, because usually, the things they're doing or the lessons they’re teaching are GOOD. SO GOOD. And once I’ve seemingly spiraled down the rabbit hole of watching endless Instagram stories or scrolling down my feed, I feel inspired and I don’t know about you, but when that inspiration hits, I just can’t sit there and do nothing about it.

Stress-Free Work Time is the Best Work Time

I’ve never been one of those people who works well under pressure. So for me, summertime is a chance to crank out some of my best work and play around with formats and designs due to the fact that I have no deadline. I stress myself out so badly during the school year. Now, most of the stress is completely self-induced due to the fact that when it comes to school and my classroom, I am too much of a perfectionist. With that being said, I do realize that my students in fact couldn’t care less about the pretty fonts I use, but as a teacher, I just can’t stand when things look so bland. To me, summertime is the perfect time to get creative in some of my lesson planning.

Work vs. Play

This is something I’m terrible with during the school year. I think for lack of a better term, I may even be a “workaholic;” I have a hard time shutting my laptop and taking the necessary time to enjoy the more important parts of my life. Don’t get me wrong, my job and teaching is incredibly important to me, but I need to stop letting that get in the way of some of the other things life has to offer. So, I assure you that once summer school is over (9 days left, but who’s counting) I’m absolutely going to take time to spend with my family and friends, lay in my hammock with a sweet tea and a good book, and just RELAX.

Here's to hoping you all find that work/play balance this summer as well!

Have a good summer teacher friends, we've earned it!