Sometimes I feel like an expectant mother nesting around back-to-school time. I am running around trying to get everything in place for when my students arrive. There is so much to do and it can be super time-consuming. I want to help you cut your prep time in half by sharing how I prepare for back to school.
Parent/ Guardian Paperwork
There is a lot of information we need about our incoming students. A lot of it is information students themselves can not provide to us. Such as, how are they getting home, who do we call if you are sick, and do they receive private therapies? I have multiple forms I send home to answer all of these questions.
Parent/Guardian Contact
The parent guardian contact form is probably the most important form. It lets me know all of their contact information, who to contact in an emergency, people authorized to pick their child up, and how their child gets to and from school each day of the week. This form goes directly into their personal folder so I can reference it at any time.
Interest Inventory
I need to know how my students tick. What is their favorite color, what do they not like doing, how many siblings do they have, do they get enough sleep every night, what motivates them? Having an interest inventory saves me so much time of trial and error. Right off the bat I already know their triggers and preferences. This helps SOO much with prep as I am able to have things in place to make their transition into school easier. I have a digital or paper option for parents/guardians to complete prior to the start of school.
Private Therapy Log
Many of my students receive private therapies outsides of school. It is IMPERATIVE we are all on the same page, implementing devices/equipment consistently, and with fidelity. The private therapy log allows me to do two things; 1) input needed information into a consent to release information for each private therapy provider and 2) once the consent is granted, have the information to contact that provider. It is super important to keep an open line of communication with private providers if/when guardians consent to.
Daily Communication Log
I keep in contact with my student’s families through a daily communication log. Before school starts I prep the folders that they are inserted into. This allows me to quickly let them know how their day was, any important notes, and if/when/how they used the bathroom. It saves me so much time since I am not glued to my computer sending email updates or having a mini parent-teacher conference at dismissal because parents/guardians know they can find all the information in their log.
Monthly Newsletter
Each month I send out a monthly newsletter with important dates, what we will be learning about, and any other news families need to know about (picture day, new classmate, etc.). I encourage parents to hang it on their fridges to reference throughout the month. I’ll even send home a digital copy. This saves me a lot of time from having to send out tons of emails that ultimately just end up getting overlooked.
Lesson Planning
This is a big one for me. I am very type A and have always been a planner. I start off by making a yearly lesson plan matrix with my Editable Lesson Plan Template. Here I list our focus work, book, study, and even our snack for cooking. Then I dive into the actual lesson plans themselves. I go into depth about how I write my lesson plans HERE. You can also get my first two weeks FREE in my Free Resource Library
Part of my lesson planning is incorporating IEP goals. So much of our instruction is driven by these goals. I always review each student’s IEP prior to the start of school. There is no way I can remember 14 students’ IEP goals and objectives. So, I read them all and then compile their goals into a cheat sheet. I reference this while planning or even mid-lesson to ensure I am targeting all students.
Checklists
Remember when I said I am a planner? With that comes a love for checklists. I have two major checklists I use throughout the year; my student checklist and my unit swap list (both FREE in my TPT store). The unit swap list helps me prep what materials and supplies I need to gather for each unit. This saves me so much time trying to remember what I need to put out. The second list, and probably my most used list, is my student checklist. I use this for EVERYTHING. I simply edit the names, print them, and put them in a plastic sleeve (I have new students that come into my class year long so it’s constantly being changed). I print it on both sides so I have two checklists at all times. Then on the line, I write what I’m tracking; picture day forms, progress reports complete, assessment is done, etc.