It’s that time of the school year to pack up your classroom and head into all the relaxation that summer break has to offer. While it may be tempting to shove everything in a closet and forget about school, packing up your classroom with a plan in mind will help make for a successful return in the fall. Keep reading for 15 tips that will help make packing up your classroom a breeze and for ideas on how your students can help.

Check out these related articles:

• Organizing Your Classroom
• End of the Year Awards in Kindergarten
• Summer Boredom Buster Bag: Helping with Clutter and Summer Slide
• End-of-the-Year Free Printable Hat

This activity goes well with these Simply Kinder resources:

Prepping to Pack Up

1. Purge Items

Take time at the end of the year to create 3 piles – trash, sell, donate. Unloading materials and supplies that you don’t need will help set you up for success at the beginning of the next school year. It makes room for all the new magic you will create with your students. Tip: Your students will love taking home old items you no longer need.

2. Include your Students

Speaking of students, they love helping around the classroom. Here are some ideas on how your students can help with packing up your classroom:

• Wiping down items
• Removing stickers, anchor charts, and other displays
• Checking supplies (dried out markers, old Play-Doh, broken pieces)

3. Organize Cabinets & Drawers

After decluttering, organize your cabinets and drawers. This will give you an idea of what you will need for the new school year and free up space to pack up your classroom.

4. Create a Classroom Diagram

Sketch a diagram of what your classroom layout will look like for the new year. This helps organize your thoughts on changes you will make and how to best implement them with your classroom space.

5. Label Items

Label your classroom materials and furniture that may be moved around over the summer to ensure it all gets back to your classroom. In addition, label boxes of items that you remove from shelves to help you remember where to return them as you unpack.

6. Organize you Classroom Library

This is another job that is great for your students to help complete. First, go through and pull books that need repairs or can be donated. Next, determine how your books will be stored over summer break. Utilizing student cubbies is an option to keep sets of books together and paint stirrers make great dividers.

Success in the New School Year

7. Refresh Items

Repair or replace items that need some attention. Replace posters or displays that you are keeping, but need to be refreshed. This frees up time at the beginning of the next year to focus on the new ideas you will implement.

8. Prep Materials

If you already have ideas on things you are going to change or implement in the new school year, go ahead and prep those materials. Makes copies, print new labels, and laminate items that you will need.

9. Prepare for Meet the Teacher

Print your parent information packets, forms and other documents you use when meeting your new students. Choose an idea for a gift that you will give to your new students so you can prep them over summer break.

10. Welcome Display

Have your students create a wall display that will welcome your new students and their families at the beginning of the school year. Students can write about a favorite memory to excite new students about their new classroom.

Make Lists

11. Create an Idea List

Write down any ideas you’ve saved or have been wanting to try in your classroom. It’s easy to forget ideas that caught your eye or that a colleague shared so put them on paper.

12. Create a To-Do and To-Buy List

Make a to-do list of the yearly tasks you complete at the beginning of a new school year as it can be easy to overlook the simple things when you are preparing for new ideas. Writing down a to-buy list is also essential so you can prioritize where funds are spent.

13. Create a Wish List

Create your Amazon wish list for the new year. You can add items as you think of them over summer break.

After Packing Up

14. Lazy Day Items

Consider taking home a bin of items that you can cut out, staple, or edit over summer break. These tasks are easy to accomplish on a lazy day and removes tasks from your plate when returning to school.

15. Enjoy Summer

This one needs no explanation, but take the time to enjoy summer break. After all, you’ve earned it!

What tips do you have for packing up your classroom? Join the discussion inside the Simply Kinder Teachers Facebook Group.