The last day of school has come and gone. You’ve filed away thoughts of curriculum, parent/teacher conferences, and grading to the deep recesses of your mind—and bolted the deadlock on them til the first day bell brings you back to reality. The looming anxiety of lesson planning has quickly siphoned out of your system like a fever that finally breaks. Despite this new-found calm that would only be felt in dreams during the school year, another sensation creeps into the picture—boredom.

We get it. The rush of excitement burns out for all of us, so the fact that you’re experiencing a roadblock of “What should I do?” three weeks into your vacation is not abnormal in the least. Our advice? Don’t remove yourself completely from the teaching mindset. Stay abreast with education news, so you’re in-the-know when it’s back-to-school. Here are some of our favorite sites to keep you comfortably in the loop, so you feel informed (but not TOO involved).

Edublogs. This free email subscription service rounds up trending, topical and resource-packed articles from around the Web. Whether you’re looking for education news, project ideas or tips on the best tech tools to use, this service saves you the search—the answers await you in your inbox in edublogs’ weekly email.

Teach 100. Call it a one-stop shop for teachers—this site curates a daily ranking of education blogs on the web so you can prioritize your reading material accordingly. Our personal favorites that always make the top of the list? MindShift and TeachThought.

Whooos Reading Blog. We’ve got to say—Whooo’s Reading is not only a great way to gamify reading, but it also publishes some very handy blog content. Topics are fun and practical, and the articles are generally written in easy-to-read list form (kinda like this). Expect to see posts ranging from a roundup of teacher memes to a roundup of techy teacher reads.

reddit. Sometimes it’s not worth the read. Reddit knows that, which is why it depends on its users to vote whether the article was a go or a no. You can search for articles by subscribing to subreddits, or categories that interest you. Feel free to browse the site, comment on posts, and give your vote. Rest assured, though, you can bank on a weekly email with reddit’s best buzzing articles.

The Official Voki Blog. Okay, shameless plug, but it won’t let you down. This blog features first-hand accounts of how teachers use Voki in the classroom. Although it includes many product-related features, the blog also appeals to the general demands of teachers—like reading material that is worth their limited time (How Teachers Can Win During Tax Season, anyone?).

Hope this reading helps balance out the freedom by putting your brains to work!

XO,

Voki

Catherine Alvino is the Digital Marketing Coordinator at Oddcast. She holds a BA in English Literature and a MBA with a concentration in Marketing. She loves to write and is proud to work for a company that adds value to learning.