Hey teacher-friend,

Let’s start with this: You don’t need to earn your rest. You already have.

Not by perfecting every lesson. Not by running yourself ragged to close out the year. But by showing up, day after day, for your students, your colleagues, and yourself—sometimes with joy, sometimes with just barely enough left in the tank.

As the final days of school wrap up, I want to offer something different than the usual “10 ways to pack up your room” or “check out fast and never look back” advice. This isn’t about rushing to the finish line or even recovering from the race. This is about reclaiming the gentle, whole-hearted version of you that summer is waiting to receive.

1. Start With Who You’ve Become—Not What You’ve Done

Before you submit that last grade or take down your bulletin board, pause. You lived an entire school year… and it changed you.

Try this instead of a to-do list:

• Who were you last August?

• What have you overcome?

• What’s one thing you’re proud of—not professionally, but personally?
  
  

2. Shift From Recovery Mode to Replenishment Mode

Rest is necessary. But rest alone isn’t enough. Summer isn’t just your break. It’s your refill. Your realignment. Your chance to nourish the life you want to live—inside and outside the classroom.

Ask yourself:

• What brings you back to life?

• What kind of energy do you want to carry into August?

• What parts of your identity got lost in the shuffle this year that you want to reclaim?

This is where our Lesson Plan for Life experience comes in—think of it like a guide that reminds you of all your favorite things and how to be your best you! 

3. Ease Into Summer With Tiny Joy Sparks

You don’t need a vacation to feel vacation-y. Try micro-rituals that help your nervous system transition from go-go-go to something more grounded.

A simple activity you can use today: 

A 5-minute “Last Week Joy Walk.”
Set a timer. Walk the halls or your classroom and name (silently or aloud) the things you’re grateful for—big or small. The inside jokes, the breakthroughs, the “we made it” moments.

It’s a soft close. A love letter to the work you did.

4. Let Summer Shape Your Next Chapter (Without Planning It)

You don’t need to start thinking about next year. But you can plant a little seed.

Ask yourself: “What’s one feeling I want to carry into the next school year?”

Maybe it’s calm. Confidence. Joy. Clarity. Friendship. Growth.

You don’t have to map out how you’ll get there. Just name it. Let summer quietly work its magic.

(Spoiler Alert: This is exactly what we do in Lesson Plan for Life course—build toward that feeling with small, soul-aligned steps.)

5. Make Space for the Bittersweet

If you feel a little raw or tender as this school year winds down, that’s not weakness. It’s proof you cared. The end of the year is a scrapbook of a hundred moments you didn’t know were defining you. That’s why your heart feels full and weird and a little bit leaky. There’s no right way to feel.

So let yourself cry. Or laugh. Or go silent. Or blast music and dance on your way out the door.

Whatever release looks like for you—it’s right.

6. Raise a Glass to Who You Are

Here’s our toast for you, dear teacher friend:

To the version of you who kept showing up—even when it was hard.
To your heart, your grit, your ideas, your ability to care for others when no one was watching.
To the summer you deserve, not because you finished the year…
…but because you made it through without losing who you are.

So exhale. Reset. Take the slow road home.

And if you’re craving just a bit of structure to help you feel like yourself again—not for school, but for your soul—we’d love to invite you into something special.

This Summer, What If You Didn’t Just Rest… You Recharged?

Imagine this:

• A 10-minute daily task that brings you joy, clarity, or calm.

• A weekly burst of inspiration to realign with your values.

• Small, doable shifts that help you feel more like you again.

• And the deep satisfaction of checking it off—not for a principal or a parent… but for yourself.

That’s what the Lesson Plan for Life is all about.

“This course offers concrete actions that help change your routines and your mindset.
If you commit to it, it truly transforms the way you approach and frame each day.”
—Krista, Pre-K Teacher

Lesson Plan for Life isn’t just a course—it’s your guide to upspiraling your life.
And what better time to begin than now, when you finally have space to breathe?

Click here to learn more + enroll (And share it with a friend who needs it too!)

You’ve done enough. You are enough. Now it’s time to rebuild you.

Written by Sarah Fillion 2025