Have you been in quarantine? Are you starting to wind down the days of distance learning? If so, it’s most likely that you will be limited in time and days that you can go back into your classroom and pack it up in preparation for summer. I have packed up my room for the summer (and in preparation for moving buildings!) and wanted to share some quick tips for making your end of the year closing a bit smoother.
PREP FOR A LONG HAUL
Make sure to bring snacks and water to keep you going all day. It is always an energy drain when you have to stop to go get lunch. Cheese and fresh fruit are great pick-me-ups when energy levels start to droop. Keep moving and focused on your lists. The quicker you get this job done the better you will feel. If you focus better with music playing in the background - play it! If your phone will be a distraction, put it on mute or put it away altogether and control the impulse to check it every few minutes.
CLOSE YOUR DOOR
You have limited time. Stay focused. If you’re a person that coworkers love to visit and spend time with, a closed door will send a message to not enter. Post a sign if you need to. If you’re one to wander and chat, a closed door will remind you to stay put and work on the task at hand. Either way, a closed door will keep you focused and help you stay within the CDC guidelines for best practices during this time.
MAKE A LIST OF WHAT NEEDS TO COME HOME
Which materials, files, books, etc... will you need during the summer break? If you have specific curriculum you want to work on, put it on your list. Pack it up in a “to go home” box before you start working on the rest of the room. Doing this list first helps alleviate the possibility you might pack it away and need to unpack to get it later on.
WALL PREPARATION
Clear off all your walls after getting your “to go home” box packed. Normally, I would do this during the early part of June and then slowly start to put items away throughout the next couple of weeks. But in this situation, it seemed smart to start with cleared walls. I took down the QR code hunts and bulletin board displays and filed them away for another time. All the rules and schedules came down. Having the walls cleared off helped me get over the “hump” of getting started.
PURGE THAT STUFF
If you’re anything like me, you have a copy paper box of worksheets that are sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Get rid of them. Seriously… why do we keep that box of worksheets? All it does is take up space. Recycle it.
Do you have broken items (pencil boxes, play toys, rulers, organizers) that get tossed about because you have never taken that final step of throwing them away? Do it now.
Purging items will be cathartic. Really scrutinize if it’s worth your time to pack up and label certain things that in the back of your mind you know will just sit next year collecting more dust.
STUDENT MATERIALS
Every school will create their own plan for getting student materials back to the students. Think about what the expectations will be for returning your students’ items to them. You may need to bring bags or boxes with you for this task.
Based on how my team operates, our students have very few personal items. As I was cleaning up the room I would place items in the students’ mailboxes. Toward the end of my time I placed all student items in a gallon-sized freezer bag and wrote each child’s name on the outside using a permanent marker. Bags were placed alphabetically into 2 copy paper boxes and will be distributed back to the students at a later date.
MENTALLY MAP OUT YOUR PLAN
Figure out where you are going to start. I tend to choose areas that will make me feel accomplished so I stay motivated. If you want to get a feeling of accomplishment immediately, you may want to start with cabinets or shelves that are already semi-organized and easy to pack.
Maybe you want to start at one end or corner of your room and work your way around. You will be able to see the progress you're making across your classroom. Working from one end to the other is a great way to create a designated area for packed items.
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| Stacking From the Corner |
LABEL EVERYTHING
Make a pile of labels for yourself before you go into school. We make them digitally and print a few hundred to label boxes and furniture. The most helpful tip I have always used is to keep a notebook or spreadsheet of your boxes! As you label the boxes and furniture it goes into the spreadsheet. This way you know what you have packed and a brief summary of what is in that box. This is helpful if boxes get misplaced or you need to find something quick. In the fall, when I put my room back together and unpack everything, I cross off each box as it’s unpacked. The spreadsheet system works well and I highly recommend it!
EMOTIONALLY PREPARE YOURSELF
I will give you fair warning to prepare yourself for some unexpected emotions. Yours may come from a different spot in your classroom, but for me it was my whiteboard. I wasn’t prepared for the feelings I had when I looked at it. It was surreal; like an unopened gift that could never be opened. That whiteboard represented all the moments that have been stolen from us during this quarantine.
It was the first thing I noticed when I initially walked into my classroom. And I stood there frozen in time - much like the board. It had the information written on it from when I walked out on March 13 in preparation for a new week that would never begin: the day of the week, the letter day, the date, our count to 180 days. I stared at it for a while, felt uncomfortable, and then turned my attention elsewhere. I decided to face the emotions contained within the whiteboard later on. I waited until the last minute to erase that board - a final gesture that acquiesced the fate of this school year.
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I then took a look around the room. Walls were bare. Boxes were packed. Everything was neatly stacked and labeled. As I made my exit from the room I made sure to anchor a different feeling. I reminded myself that the next time I will see these boxes and decorate walls it will be with the promise that a new school year brings. All the excitement and newness; meeting new students and families, delivering instruction that excites and enriches, the promise of doing it a little better than last year. So with that final look I harnessed those promises, discarded the sadness, and closed the door.
