How can we possibly be talking about the end of the school year already, right? Wrong! Many schools around the country are now into their last quarter of school. My district only has 7 weeks left, and I am already dreaming of warm weather, trips to visit friends, and ice cold sweet tea. Although it is exciting, every veteran teacher knows how stressful the end of the school year can be.

There seems to be an endless amount of assessments, paperwork, meetings, etc. and it can be extremely overwhelming. If you're like me, you just want to spend the last few weeks enjoying the time you have left with your group of kiddos, not running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

While I would not say I am completely stress-free at the end of the year, I have discovered several ways to greatly reduce stress and allow the last few weeks to be a more enjoyable time for both me and my students.

1. Order End-of-Year Gifts Before the End of April

Purchase (or make!) all of your end-of-year gifts for your students, parent volunteers, and coworkers before the last month of school, if not earlier than that! Our team purchased student gifts back in January, and they are hiding in my closet. I will be purchasing other small gifts for my room moms, parent volunteers, teacher's assistant, and my teammates over the next week or so. To reduce the financial burden, buy a gift card or two every paycheck and stock up over the next few weeks! Also, next time you are at Target grab a pack of thank-you cards, and go ahead and write your notes one night while watching your favorite TV show! You will be so thankful to have a head start!

2. Complete as Much of Report Cards as Humanly Possible

Complete as much as you can for your students' report cards NOW. This tip will mostly benefit K-2 teachers who  are using standards-based report cards. In our district there are over 150 standards on our report card and it is HANDWRITTEN! They take forever. I do not suggest doing ALL of the report card now, but, if a student has mastered a specific skill, use one or two of your planning times next week to move over the score to the last 9 weeks so you have less to fill in at the end of the year. Additionally, go ahead and write your year end message in the comments section! Since you won't be rushed, you will have more time to write thoughtful notes to your sweet students!

3. Store and Organize All of the Things

4. Designate an Easily Accessible Area for End-of-Year Student Work

5. Practice Self-Care

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!  I've been repeating this to myself as I go through this last week of teaching before Maternity Leave.  Pregnancy has not been my friend this time around, and I'm just about ready to be done!  That being said, I'm also a control freak that has a hard time letting go, especially when it comes to my classroom!  I wanted to make sure that the person taking over for me would be as prepared as possible to take over my room.

I created a binder that would hold all of my information needed to teach my class.  I also created file folders that had originals of all the worksheets/papers I thought the class would need through out the year.

Maternity Leave Binder:

1.)  Introduction:

Basically, I included a letter to the substitute in case I had to leave unexpectedly.  In this letter I told them all the most important information: my phone number/email address, my teaching partner's information, where to find curriculum material, and where to find all the work I had prepared for the end of the year.  I also included a note that said that I would be taking all my personal belongings home.  Not that I think that a substitute wouldn't take good care of it, I just know how my class is and there is a very good chance that I wouldn't get any of my stuff back!  I left a lot of stuff that I was okay with not getting back or being damaged, just my more valuable stuff is coming home with me!

2.)  Curriculum Calendar:


I created a calendar on power point that spelled out assessment dates for the rest of the year, NWEA testing days, half days, and days off.  I also noted on the calendar the week that it was, so they could find the corresponding file folder with copies inside for that week (Type A much?! 😂).  Creating this calendar was also super helpful for me when it came to laying out what was needed for the rest of the year.  I don't plan on making lesson plans for the rest of the year, but I hope this at least lets them see where they should be when.

3.)  Monthly Curriculum Map:

Each subject has a page.

This was a more detailed plan than what I put on my calendar.  I basically broke up each month on one page, and made a page for each subject.  These pages included centers that corresponded with the lessons being taught for that week.  If the centers needed task cards or I wanted them to use a specific worksheet then I put them in the matching file folder.  For example, I have money task cards that will work really well for week 2, so I put them in April Week 2 file folder.

4.)  Procedures for Each Subject:


I gave a detailed run down for how I run each subject.  I tried to not assume how much my replacement would know about things like second grade curriculum, Daily 5 procedures, or even centers in general.  I wrote expectations that I have for my kids and all the procedures that they are used to.

5.)  Student Roster:

I gave a quick paragraph about each of my students.  I listed things that worked well for them, and things that they struggled with.  For my kiddos with behavior issues, I wrote buddy teachers that would be able to calm them down.  My kids with IEP's, I made sure to list all the services they received and a schedule of when they receive them.  I wrestled with the idea of leaving this, because sometimes kids just need a fresh start, but in the end I decided that it would be better to leave it than to not.


I totally get that a new person may come into my room and totally throw all of this out of the window.  That is totally fine with me, as long as my students adjust well.  I just wanted to make sure that my students had as much consistency as possible.  I won't be returning until next school year, so I want the substitute to create an environment that works best for their teaching style in the hopes that its makes them the most effective to reach my kids!

Three more day!! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

Follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers and instagram @vkshappykampers

Want to put some fun into your April math plans?

If that weren’t enough for my fabulous kids to do, we also fundraise!  We sell snacks at dances to donate to the medical care of the rescued dogs at Unwanted NYC Pets.  And because we rock it super hard, we collect doggie treats to bring to the dogs at the kill shelters at Christmas time.  That way they have a nice treat before they’re euthanized.

Selling Snacks at the Halloween Dance

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5 Strategies for Teaching Children with Autism How to Read:

1.       Make it multisensory. Kids with autism learn differently than their neuro-typical peers. Give them opportunities to visualize, hear, touch, and interact with the words.

2.    Keep it short and simple. Break it down into smaller increments. Provide concrete examples whenever possible.

3.       Read, read, read. And then read some more. The more you read, the better you read. But did you know that the more you read, the better you write? And vice versa! So make sure to provide plenty of reading opportunities.

4.       Re-read. Nope, not a typo. Re-reading familiar texts strengthens fluency, comprehension, and decoding skills. Plus, children with ASD tend to prefer routine and reinforcement, so consider that a win-win.

5.       Make it FUN! The most successful student is the one who wants to learn. Make your students want to learn to read by keeping it fun!

Do your students get a half-day schedule on testing days? We could only dream, right?!?! High-stakes testing is very draining for all parties involved and yet after several hours of asking our students to try their best and give it their all, they are then asked to continue learning for the remainder of the day. This always has made me nutty as a teacher because kids don't want to do anything that involves "learning" and frankly, I don't blame them! So what do you do? Below are five no-stress, engaging activities where students ARE learning, but also having fun in fifth grade!