Hooray! We are so close to the end of the school year! You have done incredible teaching this year, made huge strides in student goals, maybe even grew a few gray hairs! But overall we have succeeded in teaching during this crazy year! That means now is the time to start thinking about packing up your classroom for summer! Some things to think about when packing: Is your classroom used for summer school? Are the floors being cleaned and everything removed? Walls being painted? Worried about the temperature when no one is in the building? Just keep in mind if your room is going to be used or shifted about by others, it might be a good idea to pack it up! Use these classroom pack up tips and tricks to make this pack up the swiftest one yet!
Classroom Pack Up Tips and Tricks
Here are a couple classroom pack up tips and tricks I think will make your life a WHOLE lot easier!
Start EARLY!
Take 20 minutes a day and start a month before school is over. Saving it all for the last week is overwhelming. It is easy to start organizing closets, or emptying file cabinets or reorganizing desk drawers in preparation for packing. This will also help you remember what items need to be locked away in a closet, or what may need to go in the GO HOME box at the end of the year!
Don’t Be a Hoarder!
Teachers love stuff. We collect, we keep, we treasure, but it isn’t always necessary. Think about retirement (ahh) down the line, and imagine what you would do with all those treasures then! Pack up, and get rid of what you don’t need! If you haven’t used it this school year it is time to purge! Extra copies are unnecessary. Better yet, save those on a digital drive or a flash drive! This is convenient and makes so much less clutter.
What do I do with My Classroom Libraries?
Classroom libraries are phenomenal for students and each year we continue to grow them. A classroom pack up tip for packing up, find a system that works for you. Box by genre, or by reading level. WEED out the books that are damaged, torn, or just maybe outdated. Remember don’t keep it, if it isn’t going to be used next year! Plastic bins work well for this task and keeping them clear makes it easy to see what is inside when unpacking too! If you have a book shelf that you can keep books on for the summer, take some plastic wrap or bulletin board paper and cover them so they are not accidentally touched, taken, or unorganized by summer school or cleaners!
Clear Bins and a Label Maker!
Clear bins make it so much simpler to see what is inside, just in case you pack something you still need! Another tip is getting a label maker! Label makers are teachers’ best friends in terms of organization! Simply type and print and get all of those boxes labeled and ready to store! If you are looking for even more organization, create a list of all the items in the bin, so it is really easy to find what you are looking for in an instant!
Students Can Help!
Those last few days of school are your chance to get some little hands to help! This trick is super helpful and students love to help! They can take down bulletin boards, remove staples and tape, and students are really great at helping you toss the things you don’t need! Have the students organize the classroom library by genre for you, a great review, and you are packing! Another tip, I would leave the classroom bulletin boards intact until the end, so students do not check out too early though!
If you are looking for some really cute bulletin board ideas to get you through the end of the year I have a ton in my TPT store! Check them out here!
One More Classroom pack up Tip and Trick!
Before leaving for the school year, take some time to get those photocopies ready for September. You will thank yourself in September by having those ready for the first days of school and giving yourself time to work on unpacking your classroom and redecorating!
Classroom pack up is bittersweet! It is time to say goodbye to your lovely students you have helped to mold all year, but summer vacation and relaxation are right around the corner! Start packing early and don’t forget to label, label, label, and it is a wonderful thing to purge! I hope these classroom pack up tips and tricks help! Happy packing and happy end of the school year!
Maybe you’ll decide to have your students help you pack up on a rainy day, if not there are some fun rainy day activities in this blog post!
