When the school year ends, some teachers' jobs are not over. While some teachers get to keep the same classroom for the next school year, others are left to pack up all their equipment and move to a new one. When August rolls around, these teachers will have to unpack everything and build their new classroom from scratch. This process can be tiresome and stressful, but teachers can make the best of this type of move just like anybody can make the best of a traditional relocation. Just keep the following moving tips in mind!
Pre-Packing checklist for packing classroom
- Take pictures - Prior to packing your classroom items, be sure to snap some photos of the room's setup and decorations. With these pictures, you will have a visual reference from which to organize your new classroom for next year. This will make the unpacking process much smoother than having to rebuild everything from scratch.
- Prepare your summer reading - Don't worry - this is not homework! While students have their required summer reading to complete over the break, teachers should strive to get better, too. Commit to professional development over summer vacation and read a few books about education and non-traditional teaching methods. Who knows? You might even learn something you can use next year.
- Take inventory - Knowing what you have and what you want to take is extremely important. Create a list of everything in your classroom and another list of what you need for next year. This will help you figure out what you need to shop for during the summer - and what you can leave behind (see next tip). You can also use the inventory to help you plan lessons for the start of the school year. Try to use what you have first, before buying all new items.
- Purge as necessary - When you're packing up everything in your classroom, you may find some things like unwanted books, multiple copies of papers, and other items that you won't need next year. Don't be afraid to trash unwanted or damaged items. If you haven't used an item all year, what are the chances you'll use it next year? It couldn't have been that essential.
Packing and moving your classroom
Packing up your classroom is not so easy; it requires a little time and effort to ensure that everything is packed neatly and ready to go for next year. Here are some tips to make packing and moving go smoothly:
- Start packing your classroom early - It's usually best to start packing up less essential classroom items about a month before school ends. You can make this a slow process by spanning it out over the course of the last month of classes. Of course, wait until school is over to pack the more important items.
- Clean each item - Make sure to clean your items as you pack them up to minimize the amount of cleaning you'll have to do next year. Also, try to tidy up your classroom as you're packing to save the custodial staff some work. Wipe down your classroom objects such as desks, chairs, notebooks, and backpacks, etc., and make sure anything you plan on using next year is in good enough shape to reuse.
- Pack up your books - To pack up your books, you can simply wrap them in packing paper and place them in boxes or baskets to move them. Even better: you can pack them in a suitcase with wheels to make moving them easier.
Read more - How to pack books to get more information on packing and moving books without damage.
Tip: Try to keep similar items together, and don't leave loose papers in boxes because that's how you lose things!
- Label important items - There are some essential items - such as pens and paper, staplers, sticky notes, scissors, computer, and file holders - that a teacher simply cannot do without. These are the supplies you absolutely need for the first week of class.
When packing, try to separate these essentials from the other supplies. It's best to keep all these essential items in a box and label it for future reference. This will make unpacking a breeze!
If you follow these steps for packing up a classroom at the end of the school year, you'll have an easy time unpacking come August. Good luck and enjoy your summer vacation!