Summer To-Do list

Today, I'm linking up with Lorraine over at Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies for her To-Do list Linky.  

I am starting to get a little nervous because I officially go back to work 5 weeks from today and although that seems like there's plenty of summer left, I know it's gonna fly by!  Here is my list of school-related Summer To-Dos:

1) Move into my new classroom
Ok, so technically all my stuff was physically moved on the last day of school, but it was pretty much just  dumped stacked wherever it would be out of the way since another class was still using the room. Also, my students worked like a train of ants to carry stuff from room to room so it was loaded up with absolutely NO organization!  The end result looked like this:

Yes, that's my teacher desk dumped on its side in the middle of the room.  The pictures don't actually convey the overwhelming dread I feel whenever I walk into this room.  I've got about 75% of it moved into homes now, but the remaining part is stressing me out because I truly don't know what to do with it.  The good thing is that I have access to my room all summer long, so its getting there.

2). Start a blog

I can check one off the list!  Yay!  I'm still just getting my feet wet, but I'm having fun and looking forward to making new connections with colleagues from around the world.  

3).  Organize the Spirit Squad

My coworker Katie & I have talked for years about our shared backgrounds & interests in dance and performance and wanted to find a way to encourage those talents in our students, but never figured out how to do it properly.  Next year, our principal asked each faculty member to take on something "above & beyond" our tupical duties (I know, I know), so we decided this would be the perfect time to launch the Spirit Squad!  Its going to be a conglomeration of dance, pom, color guard, and cheerleading geared towards our 4th & 5th grade students. We've got all the official paperwork finished, filmed a promotional "trailer" to send out with summer packets via QR code, and coreographed the first routine!  I'm so pumped for this new endeavor!  If you have something similar at your school, I'd love to hear more about it.

4). Enjoy Summer Book Club

Our principal also assigned summer reading: Best Practice by Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde. It's really a pretty basic book, so I thought it would liven it up a bit to start a summer book club for my fellow teachers.  A group of us have been meeting for breakfast each week (my favorite thing about summer is being able to venture out into the Real World on a weekday morning!) to discuss a chapter at a time.  So relaxing!  Of course, I've been doing lots of reading on my own, including following along with Gina from Third Grade Tidbits for the P.I.R.A.T.E. Book Study, in addition to the fun stuff (Just finished Tell the Wolves I'm Home - so good).

5.)  Map out integrated units & align to standards

Next year, I will be the only 3rd grade teacher at my school.  I'm sad to lose my partner, but fortunately she's going to be just down the hall teaching second grade. It's going to be challenging doing everything "alone," but I'm also taking the opportunity to really experiment with my teaching and try some new things this year. Part of that is completely integrated inquiry units!  I've done a couple of inquiry units before, but not all year long. I love to let the kids take control and really show me what they know, but I also know that in order for me to be successful in my role as Learning Guide, I've gotta have a clear map of where we are going.  Again, this is a half-accomplished project so far...

So, looking at the list now, I guess I've made some progress.  Hopefully, I can wrap it all up before the back-to-school madness officially begins!  

What's still on your list?