Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite hacks that I got from a teacher friend of my mother's. It's all about those class pictures. Remember growing up and it was spring picture day? You had your class picture taken in your coolest looking outfit. That probably looks a bit dated right now.


This is something that you need to keep as a teacher.  Every year you get a free copy (well, I have anyway). Make sure you keep those pictures and hang them up on your wall in your classroom! The kids love it! All year long, my kids see former classes and ask about them (even my ones who are in college now).

It's also great for the siblings I have had. They get to see their brother or sister I had years ago. It's a great way to make a connection with them.

We also have reading buddies in our school where the older grades come to read with the lower grades. some of those guys were former students of mine. I always point them out to my class and tell them that their buddy was in my class years ago. They are amazed by that. It is so cute.

My kids always ask when they will have their picture on the wall.  I tell them when the spring pictures come back. And let me tell you, the second they come in, the kids are so excited to watch me put their picture up on the wall with all of my other classes. This years class didn't get a picture up on the wall: we closed due to COVID-19 before that happened. So I ended up taking pictures that I had taken throughout the year and made a collage with their faces and printed it out.

Spring pictures are also great for the beginning of the year when parents first come into the classroom and ask those questions we all get:

"How long have you been teaching?"

"What grades have you taught?"

"How long have you been at this school?"

I'm telling you now, with those pictures on the wall, I don't every get asked those questions. My resume is on display for the parents.

Now I know if you are reading this, it probably isn't spring, but it is a good thing to remember.  But in the meantime, you can take pictures of your kids throughout the year and put together a quick basic slide show at the end of the year (but I would call that an intermediate hack).

So, when spring pictures come around, make sure to save a copy for yourself to put on your wall. It's great for the kids to come back and see year after year and for your new students to see siblings making that instant connection with them. It's also a quick resume for your parents coming in, seeing exactly where you have taught, how long you have taught and what grades you have taught.

I hope this teacher hack was helpful. Again, I don't claim to be and expert teacher or teacher of the year (I don't even have a mug that says "World best teacher" for you Office fans out there). I'm just a teacher looking to share some hacks I've learned along the way.  If you use this great! If you don't I'm not offended. You have to do what works best for you, your classroom and your students. I hope that throughout my blog posts I hope I am able to spark an idea or two for you.

If you want to hear more hacks, follow me on instagram @onebasicteacher and I will soon be sharing hacks throughout the year, rating them either basic, intermediate or advanced. You can also find more details on this post by listening to my podcast One Basic Teacher Podcast on Apple and Spotify.