Teachers Are Sharing Their Start-of-Summer Traditions, and We’re Inspired

It’s not too late to start your own!

Two photos of teachers and their start of summer traditions

The beginning of a teacher’s summer is glorious.

Those first few hours? Thrilling. Celebratory. Whether they’re driving with the windows down on a coastal California highway or just pretending they are by blasting “Tame Impala” from their school parking lot in Iowa, teachers are all confetti and sunshine.

Once the initial thrill wears off, teachers generally enter a period of blissful hibernation with very little movement for several days. They might spend a lot of quiet time at home or somewhere else where they can relax, like a beach or a park. You can often find them reading or spending time with a variety of screens at this stage. (If you find one in the wild, do not disturb them.)

In the weeks after and well into their summer, teachers generally enter one of several states depending on what brings them joy and what kind of work/projects they have to take on. Often, these tasks correlate with the life of a teacher—reviving garden beds that were sacrificed to standardized testing season, scheduling all the health appointments that were put off, etc.

But the very beginning of a teacher’s summer? Pure bliss, baby.

ADVERTISEMENT

Recently these two Reddit posts asked teachers how they mark the beginning of their summer journeys. We loved the traditions, rituals, and some full-on procedural approaches to maximizing summertime teachers reported. Here’s what they had to say.

Scheduling luxury

When it’s basically impossible to get any kind of appointment during school hours, you have to go all out in the summer.

Comment
by u/fourth_and_long from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/hrroyalgeekness from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/erkala21 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Little weekday delights

Taking advantage of those less-crowded time slots.

Comment
by u/BrightEyes7742 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/robbynkay from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Arranging perfect days

An hour of leisure isn’t enough: The whole day needs to be scheduled out. These are my people.

Comment
by u/teenytinyducks from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/ChapterNo4115 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/MTskier12 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Blasting a special anthem

These are so cute!

Comment
by u/blane2354 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/jayjay2343 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/thelb81 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Grown-up field trips

Note: MANY responses involved grown-up field trips to bars.

Comment
by u/crafty_teach_1335 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/gravitydefiant from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/Agreeable_Metal7342 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

A school year bonfire

This is genius.

Comment
by u/Harcourtfentonmudd1 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

It’s the simple things

You’ve earned it (and so much more).

Comment
by u/MaeMaeGriff from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/auntbat from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/mxc2311 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Cleaning

You know the teachers at your school who start out their summer with a deep clean.

Comment
by u/strawberryalfredo from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/Stock_End2255 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/Rokaryn_Mazel from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Snoozing

Draw the blinds. Cuddle up with a duvet. Turn on rain noise. Repeat.

Comment
by u/dcaksj22 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/Background-Noise-Now from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/UnableAudience7332 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/Paperwhite418 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/captain_hug99 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

The inevitable beginning-of-summer illnesses

Why, though?! 😩

Comment
by u/kak1111993 from discussion What is your “start of the summer” tradition?
in Teachers

Comment
by u/c2h5oh_yes from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

Huh. OK.

Comment
by u/TheBagman07 from discussion What are your first-day-of-summer traditions?
in Teachers

You do you, my friend. Whatever sparks joy.

What’s your favorite start-of-summer tradition? Let us know in the comments!

Plus, for more articles like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

Summer is a time for teachers to celebrate (and recover from!) a job well done. These teachers share their start-of-summer traditions.