Hey teachers! 😊 Real talk for a second. The first six weeks of school are the hardest weeks of the whole year. Routines that fall apart, big feelings at drop-off, a schedule that exists only in your head. Every year we say we'll get ahead of it, and every year August eats us alive. So tell me: what's the ONE thing about the beginning of the year that stresses you out most? Drop it in the comments. Your answers are shaping what I build next. 👇🏽 And here's what's happening one level up, because I'd feel bad if you found out later. Inside the Pre-K Prep Club for Teachers ($7 a month), members get: 🎉 300+ done-for-you resources, ready to print and use + monthly drops 🎉 The Jumpstart Challenge for play-based learning 🎉 The Jumpstart Challenge for The Creative Curriculum 🎉 With done-for-you resources and video guides for both challenges 🎉 This August: a LIVE workshop, Your First Six Weeks Playbook, so you walk into the new year with a plan instead of a panic. This workshop is for you no matter what curriculum you use. You'll walk away knowing what developmentally appropriate practice looks like in those first weeks, so you can bring it into YOUR room no matter what your program hands you. We'll use the 2026 Creative Curriculum preschool guide as our example because it's one of the most well-rounded versions out there. Club members are voting on the workshop date right now. Join this month and you get a say in when it happens, a live seat with Q&A, and the replay forever. The resources will always be there. Being in the room while this gets built happens once. 🙌🏽 If August-you deserves a calmer start, come join us here. Already a Club member on our other platform? You're covered. Stay tuned for your invite, appreciate your patience! And even if the Club isn't for you right now, tell me your biggest beginning-of-year struggle below. This community is exactly where those conversations belong. 🤗 Thanks for being a part of it.

Hi all! For those who complete TS GOLD assessments, what is the best way you have found to stay on track with observations/documentation to support the abundance of domains before the checkpoints? I find that I struggle spacing everything out and end up in a rush for finding evidence to assess my students. I don’t have any issue with how I collect data, I just want to make sure I take the time to not have to do it all at once! This year, I really want to fine tune my documentation schedule to make it so much easier for assessing 20 TK students. Thank you!

Me and my lead teacher are looking for some cheap quiet time activities that will fit in standard pencil cases. These will be used for the kids that don’t sleep/ wake up early during nap. Any ideas would be helpful!

When do you start your first assessment on PreK3 students.

Has anyone started the school year by only opening about half of the centers during the first week or two? Last year, I had all of the centers open right away, and it felt a little hectic. The children didn't know where everything belonged, and toys ended up everywhere. I'm wondering if opening only half of the centers at first would make it easier for my para and me to teach the children how to use the materials appropriately and where everything goes during cleanup. Has anyone tried this strategy, or something similar? I'd love to hear how it worked for you!