The Director's Planner: Week of August 4th, 2025
Happy Wednesday and sorry about the delay this week! I enjoyed a long weekend vacation with my family up in Grand Marais, right on the North Shore. But now we are back to it. See below for this week’s thoughts and resources.
This Week’s Thought
“Either you run the day or the day runs you.” — Jim Rohn
If you’ve ever looked up and realized it’s already 4:00 PM and you still haven’t eaten lunch, you know exactly what this means. In early childhood leadership, it’s easy to spend the entire day reacting to a flurry of “emergencies” that pop up every 15 minutes. From adjusting schedules to cover last-minute callouts to running your third impromptu “therapy” session with a frustrated employee, it’s hard not to fall into the habit of just putting out fires.
But leadership is also about deciding where your energy should go, before someone else decides for you.
What’s one thing you can intentionally prioritize today? Even ten minutes of proactive focus can shift the tone of your entire day and remind you that you're in charge. And I don’t mean that in an “I AM THE BOSS” kind of way, but more in an “I kind of know what to expect for the next hour” kind of way.
The more you focus on intentionality with your daily plans, the more natural it becomes to lead from that place, rather than chase the day from behind.
Need a kickstart? Find a stack of post it notes right now, and write the top 3 things you need to get done today. Then make sure they are complete before you head home. Rinse and repeat.
✨ Something to Use
Make a copy of my digital, fillable forms below. These are useful to get updated information from families before the new school year. Once you make a copy, remember to edit the questions or fields as needed for your center!
All About My Family
A sweet way to learn each child’s likes, routines, and how to partner with their grownups. Includes fun extras like parent birthdays—perfect for surprise cards or connection emails.
Emergency Contact Info
Make licensing easier with this digital form, pre-filled with the fields required for Minnesota programs (but easily editable for your state’s requirements). Using an online system means no more lost paper forms or waiting weeks for returns! Just send the link and go.
🔗 Want to organize responses in a spreadsheet?
Once you’ve made a copy of the form:
Click the Responses tab
Click the green Link to Sheets icon
Choose “Create a new spreadsheet”
That’s it—now you can sort by classroom, birthday, contact type, and more.
As a reminder, if you find any of my resources to be beneficial, the best way you can show your appreciation is by sharing The Director’s Collective with other leaders in the ECE field. Thank you so much!
📅 What’s Coming Up
We are in week three of our Back-to-School Prep series! Each week, I’ll break it down into bite-sized tasks so you can stay on top of fall without feeling overwhelmed.
This Week’s Focuses:
Email request to parents for paperwork update-
Helpful digital forms already created for you to copy and edit above!Updated emergency contact form
Health forms, if needed
“About Me” page for each child
Set and share a deadline (2 weeks should be enough!) and make it easy to complete, virtual forms are always better if possible.
Create your fall in-service/training/workshop days agenda
Review all current allergy info and medication expiration dates
Contact families whose meds/epipens expire within 3 months
Draft your Back-to-School Letter to Families (We will send in 2 weeks!)
Some things to include:A reminder that extra clothing/nap blanket will be sent home over labor day weekend. Parents should refresh clothing sizes and types before sending back!
What to bring the first day- I always ask parents to bring an updated family photo (no glass in frame!) and a non-toxic plant to help their child connect with the classroom.
Tips for smoother transitions
Reminders: arrival/departure check-ins, calendar, door code policy, etc.
Include the updated parent handbook
Think about last year’s pain points—and get ahead of them
🌟 Director Spotlight
Don’t forget to hit reply and tell me what you (or a fellow Director) are doing that you're proud of, big or small. I want you to brag! Let me hear it!
