What Do Teachers Even Do in July?

Jul 19

Spoiler alert: It’s not just sleeping in and sipping iced coffee.

Every summer, someone inevitably asks:
“So what do you even do in July?”

And while we might smile and say, “Just enjoying summer!” the real answer is… a whole lot more.

July is this strange in-between time for teachers, we’re not quite out of school-mode, but we’re also not fully ready to dive back in. It's a month where we try to rest while also slowly winding up for the year ahead. Let’s break down the real to-do list of what teachers are up to in July, and maybe clear up a few myths along the way.

☀️ We Rest (But It’s Not Lazy Rest)

The first thing teachers do in July is try to recover. From May. From the chaos. From the nonstop energy it takes to lead a classroom all year long. We rest… but it’s not “I’m bored and have nothing to do” rest. It’s “I’ve given 110% of myself all year long and I need to put myself back together” rest.

Sleeping in a little? Yes.
Bingeing a show without grading papers at the same time? Also yes.
Feeling guilty about relaxing? Unfortunately, yes again.

But here's the truth: rest is productive. And every teacher needs a moment to breathe before we can pour into our next group of students.

📚 We Reflect on the Past School Year

Every July, there’s this mental slideshow of our last class that plays in our heads, the wins, the challenges, the moments that tugged at our hearts. We start asking ourselves questions like:

What worked really well this year?
What do I want to change?
How can I make things better for my next group of kids?

We reflect not just as teachers, but as humans who care deeply about doing better, because every child that walks into our classroom matters to us.

🖼️ We Redecorate (Mentally and Physically)

By July, we’ve scrolled through Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest enough to question if we need an entirely new classroom theme.
Should we stick with what we had? Go minimal? Go neon? Buy new bulletin board borders (even though we have 27 rolls already)?

We’re rearranging our classroom layout in our heads, sketching plans in our notebooks, and sometimes making impulse purchases that we hope will lead to better organization (and maybe just a little more joy).

🛒 We Prep… Silently but Surely

July might be “off the clock,” but it’s when the prepping quietly begins. We’re:

Updating class websites or meet-the-teacher letters
Planning welcome activities
Downloading and organizing resources
Making supply lists
Editing last year’s behavior charts, reading logs, or newsletters
Creating wishlists on Amazon or Target for things like new books, flexible seating, or just better markers

We’re not shouting it from the rooftops, but we’re definitely easing back into school prep — one tab at a time.

🧠 We Learn (Because We Want To)

Many teachers spend part of July attending conferences, reading professional development books, watching webinars, or taking online courses. Not because we have to, but because we want to grow.

We care about being better teachers. Better leaders. Better advocates for our students. And that kind of growth often happens when we finally have the mental space to think clearly, and July offers that space.

🧡 We Miss Our Students — But We’re Grateful for the Break

We miss the little voices and routines… but we also cherish the quiet.
We scroll through photos from the school year. We wonder how they’re doing.
We think about the ones who made huge progress.
We think about the ones we worry about.
We carry them with us… even in July.

🔄 We Start the Mental Shift

As the back-to-school displays start creeping into stores, we can’t help but feel the shift. July starts slow, but by the end, we’re:

Making class lists in our heads
Rewatching old teacher vlogs
Browsing for new classroom tech or lesson ideas
Starting to get that feeling, the one where you're excited (and slightly panicked) all at once

Because while we love our break, we love what we do. And July is when we slowly start returning to it, mind first, heart second, and eventually, body.

So the next time someone asks,