Whew. That was so exhausting. Everything about this week has been crazy. Despite the craziness, I am SO thankful for all of it.
I had 28 kids on my roster Monday morning, but only 22 showed up. Then I got a new one on Tuesday morning, and then 2 more new ones on Thursday morning. I'm back up to 25. It makes for a very crowded room. They did, however, tell us that we WILL be getting a 7th teacher. :) This won't happen until after Labor Day, but it will happen. It stinks to know that I will lose some of my kids, but I know I will get them back for half of every day anyways when we rotate classes. Having to wait another week to find out exactly how everything will fall into place makes things so complicated. I want to assign my student numbers. I want to give them mailboxes. I want to post my class list in places. I want to write my kids names on the birthday poster. I want to get into a routine. One more week(ish) and then hopefully I'll be able to get it all together.
Kids say and do some funny/sad/strange/memorable things. They have had me cracking up and extremely concerned so many times this week, and these are some of the things I want to remember.
- We were going to make a birthday bar graph with sticky notes on the board at the beginning of the week, so I handed every kid a sticky note and asked them to write their name and birthdays on it.
"Ms. Lackey, when is Thanksgiving?"
"Well, sweetheart, Thanksgiving is on a different day every year."
"My birthday was on the day after Thanksgiving last year."
"Um, well, I don't know what day Thanksgiving was on last year, I'm sorry."
...His sticky note ended up in the February column with February on it. ...His birthday is November 27th.
This has encouraged me to make it a goal for my class that every student enter the 4th grade knowing exactly when their birthday is.
- Friday during recess, I was doing recess duty with Micah and Maggie. They were standing on one side, and I was standing on the other. I noticed two boys standing across the play area facing the fence with their backs towards me. I looked over at Micah and Maggie and they were both looking at the boys, too. It seemed to me that they might be ...well...using the restroom, but I couldn't tell for sure. I looked back towards Micah and Maggie and they were still watching the boys closely. The boys began to turn back around toward us and ZIPPED UP THEIR PANTS. Uh... I looked back at Micah and Maggie and they were both laughing. I went to join them and we were all very confused. We got our giggles out and called the boys over to discuss their, um, choices. They definitely did just decide they needed to use the restroom. I guess boys will be boys? I had to call parents and all of that fun stuff, but the boys, I hope, have learned that there are better options for that particular situation... Oh geez.
I went to dinner with some of the girls from my student teaching cadre on Friday night. It was SO GOOD to get to talk to someone who is going through the exact same thing as me. We all learned together and practiced together and were/are so prepared to tackle all of this. But, that doesn't make it less stressful. I'm so thankful for the friendships I gained from my student teaching experience, and I look forward to sharing stories and ideas and strategies as we all continue in our careers. :) I hope the rest of the ladies that are still on the search for a job find their perfect match soon! I'm praying for you!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
I survived!
Well, I survived my first day as a third grade teacher. I had 22 show up. Other than that, I don't really remember what happened today. :)
I was up by 4:20am and at school by 6:20am. It's now almost 7pm, and I'm DEAD. I had a pretty good day, nothing too terrible. There were lots of times that were pretty crazy, but I think my kids felt like it was under control and I think they had a great first day of 3rd grade. :)
When I have more time and energy (hahahahahha), I'll give some more detail.
Day 1= DONE.
I was up by 4:20am and at school by 6:20am. It's now almost 7pm, and I'm DEAD. I had a pretty good day, nothing too terrible. There were lots of times that were pretty crazy, but I think my kids felt like it was under control and I think they had a great first day of 3rd grade. :)
When I have more time and energy (hahahahahha), I'll give some more detail.
Day 1= DONE.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Ready or Not...
Welp, I survived Meet the Teacher. 14 of my sweet kiddos showed up, and I'm really excited about having a class to call my own. There is still lots of confusion as to how our schedules will work considering our large class sizes and the possibility of hiring a 7th teacher for our team. They have mentioned that we'll possibly get a teacher transferred from another school, but that probably won't happen till after Labor Day. So for now, we'll switch our 3 large classes 3 ways and I'll just be teaching Science. But, when/if the new teacher is added, we'll switch 2 ways and I'll teach Math and Science. I'll be happy either way, I just hate that we'll have to get into one routine with one set of kids, and then switch them and their schedules all around later. These kids need consistency. I'm afraid that they'll take kids out of my class that I really like and already made connections with.
I went up to the school for a few hours yesterday morning to try to finish some things up. I had to leave by one, and I left feeling very flustered and unprepared for Monday. I brought home a bunch of things I could work on here, and as the weekends gone on, I've started to feel a little bit better about tomorrow. But ready of not, in less than 24 hours I'll be in a room full of potentially 28 of my own 3rd graders.
Here goes nothing...
I went up to the school for a few hours yesterday morning to try to finish some things up. I had to leave by one, and I left feeling very flustered and unprepared for Monday. I brought home a bunch of things I could work on here, and as the weekends gone on, I've started to feel a little bit better about tomorrow. But ready of not, in less than 24 hours I'll be in a room full of potentially 28 of my own 3rd graders.
Here goes nothing...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Meet the Teacher
Tomorrow night is "Meet the Teacher." You can go ahead and start your prayers right about NOW.
The good news is that I get all day tomorrow to work in my room. Those 9 hours are extremely valuable. I also have to keep reminding myself that I have all day Saturday to get things ready if I need it. For tomorrow night, I just have to have a clean room. It's okay if my bulletin boards don't have anything on them yet. (I mean, they are covered, but that's as far as some of them may go.) Some of the behind the scenes type stuff can wait until Saturday, too. Being so extremely worked up over what all I need to get done has kept my stress off of actually meeting my 27 little ones and their parents. I think that part will be fine. I'm really excited about meeting them and being able to call them mine. :) Talking to kids and their parents is something I have done all summer at camp. While I know the situation is different, I feel as though I can keep a smile on my face and hold a conversation with the group of people I meet tomorrow. Being brand new to the school may create lots of questions from parents too, but it'll be fine. I hope.
Slowly, but surely.
The good news is that I get all day tomorrow to work in my room. Those 9 hours are extremely valuable. I also have to keep reminding myself that I have all day Saturday to get things ready if I need it. For tomorrow night, I just have to have a clean room. It's okay if my bulletin boards don't have anything on them yet. (I mean, they are covered, but that's as far as some of them may go.) Some of the behind the scenes type stuff can wait until Saturday, too. Being so extremely worked up over what all I need to get done has kept my stress off of actually meeting my 27 little ones and their parents. I think that part will be fine. I'm really excited about meeting them and being able to call them mine. :) Talking to kids and their parents is something I have done all summer at camp. While I know the situation is different, I feel as though I can keep a smile on my face and hold a conversation with the group of people I meet tomorrow. Being brand new to the school may create lots of questions from parents too, but it'll be fine. I hope.
Slowly, but surely.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
27 third graders?
As of now, there are 6 third grade teachers on my team. We have 3 bilingual teachers that will teach the Dual Language students, and the other 3 of us will have the remaining students. If all "rules" were followed, our class numbers would not go over 22 students each. The dual language classes are sitting at about 16 or 17 per room. My class and the other 2 regular classes, on the other hand, are at about 26 or 27 students per room.
I saw 27 names on my list today and almost had a panic attack. I don't think I can even fit 27 desks in my classroom...
They say our lists will change every day for the next week, but it still makes me anxious. ...like I didn't already have enough to worry about. If I have 27 kids in my class, I'll love them all the same, but it will be challenging to make sure I give them all the individual attention they need. Not only will it make things tougher for me, but those precious young things won't be able to benefit like they could if there was less of them in one room.
NOW, my hope/concern/plea is that they add another third grade teacher. We have the numbers for one, and I KNOW there are people out there who would LOVE to have that job, AND it would be a huge relief for me and the rest of my third grade team. ...Win. Win. Win. I don't understand why this hasn't already happened. I know, I know...my "voice" is so far from being heard or considered that this is probably a worthless paragraph, but I feel better making it known that I think a 7th teacher on our team would be a brilliant idea. :)
I saw 27 names on my list today and almost had a panic attack. I don't think I can even fit 27 desks in my classroom...
They say our lists will change every day for the next week, but it still makes me anxious. ...like I didn't already have enough to worry about. If I have 27 kids in my class, I'll love them all the same, but it will be challenging to make sure I give them all the individual attention they need. Not only will it make things tougher for me, but those precious young things won't be able to benefit like they could if there was less of them in one room.
NOW, my hope/concern/plea is that they add another third grade teacher. We have the numbers for one, and I KNOW there are people out there who would LOVE to have that job, AND it would be a huge relief for me and the rest of my third grade team. ...Win. Win. Win. I don't understand why this hasn't already happened. I know, I know...my "voice" is so far from being heard or considered that this is probably a worthless paragraph, but I feel better making it known that I think a 7th teacher on our team would be a brilliant idea. :)
Friday, August 13, 2010
And so it begins.
I've been waiting my whole life for this. Besides the brief moment in time that I thought riding on the back of a trash truck would be the coolest job ever, I've always known that I would grow up to be a teacher.
I spent many summer days playing "teacher" with my stuffed animals and baby sister.
I spent many afternoons drawing on overheads in my mom and dad's classrooms.
I spent f i v e l o n g y e a r s in college "learning" how to be an effective teacher.
I spent many hours listening to Norma and several other wonderful people from Grapevine pour their heart and soul into helping me be the best I could be.
I spent many late nights scripting out detailed lesson plans.
I spent months as a teacher intern with a group of precious third graders and sweet little first graders.
I say all this to say- I had lots of support and people to prepare me for what this first week of my education career would be like, and nothing has really been a MAJOR surprise.
I knew I would be stressed. I knew the meetings would be, well, not very exciting. I knew I would end up spending a ton of money on my classroom. And I knew I would get to meet lots of new people.
I started new teacher training on Monday. I spent all day Monday and Tuesday and half a day on Wednesday in meetings. While they weren't the most beneficial meetings I've been to in the last five years, I am very grateful for the opportunity those meetings provided for me to meet other new teachers around the district and at my campus. All of the new girls I've met really have their hearts in the right place. They are so much fun, and I'm so glad I have someone to go through all of this with me. We keep reminding each other that we'll make it one way or another. And that we'd much rather have the stress of getting our rooms together and organized than the stress of still looking for a job. (...which, God bless them, many of my fellow interns still are. Keeps your heads up ladies, one will come around!) That alone helps to keep me thinking positively and keeps me very aware of how very blessed I am to be in the position I am in at this point in my life.
Setting my room up has been a whole other challenge of its own, but like I said, I'll make it work. The teacher that had the room before me left a giant mess for me. A lot of the supplies will be very useful to me, but I needed to set aside a great deal of time to cleaning out the cabinets and organizing everything. THANK GOODNESS for family and friends that have come to help me. My parents, my sister, her friends, and Scott have all taken time out of their summer vacations to help me fufill my dream. They want to make sure that I feel ready. Many of the things they have done for me are things I could definitely do myself...if I had 3 months to get ready...but I don't, and their extra hands have been a saving grace. I couldn't be more thankful. My room already looks a thousand times better, but it stills needs some more tender, love, and care before parents and students show up to take a peek next Thursday night. Eeek.
I'm going to take a break from my classroom for the weekend so that I can be refreshed for another long week of preparation. It's still not ALL real to me yet, but it sinks in a little bit more every day. So crazy. I'm hoping to use this blog thing as a way to keep a personal journal of my first year as a teacher. It'll be tough and fun and stressful and exciting and crazy and rewarding and exhausting, and I want to remember it all. So HOPEFULLY I can find time to blog every once in a while. :)
I spent many summer days playing "teacher" with my stuffed animals and baby sister.
I spent many afternoons drawing on overheads in my mom and dad's classrooms.
I spent f i v e l o n g y e a r s in college "learning" how to be an effective teacher.
I spent many hours listening to Norma and several other wonderful people from Grapevine pour their heart and soul into helping me be the best I could be.
I spent many late nights scripting out detailed lesson plans.
I spent months as a teacher intern with a group of precious third graders and sweet little first graders.
I say all this to say- I had lots of support and people to prepare me for what this first week of my education career would be like, and nothing has really been a MAJOR surprise.
I knew I would be stressed. I knew the meetings would be, well, not very exciting. I knew I would end up spending a ton of money on my classroom. And I knew I would get to meet lots of new people.
I started new teacher training on Monday. I spent all day Monday and Tuesday and half a day on Wednesday in meetings. While they weren't the most beneficial meetings I've been to in the last five years, I am very grateful for the opportunity those meetings provided for me to meet other new teachers around the district and at my campus. All of the new girls I've met really have their hearts in the right place. They are so much fun, and I'm so glad I have someone to go through all of this with me. We keep reminding each other that we'll make it one way or another. And that we'd much rather have the stress of getting our rooms together and organized than the stress of still looking for a job. (...which, God bless them, many of my fellow interns still are. Keeps your heads up ladies, one will come around!) That alone helps to keep me thinking positively and keeps me very aware of how very blessed I am to be in the position I am in at this point in my life.
Setting my room up has been a whole other challenge of its own, but like I said, I'll make it work. The teacher that had the room before me left a giant mess for me. A lot of the supplies will be very useful to me, but I needed to set aside a great deal of time to cleaning out the cabinets and organizing everything. THANK GOODNESS for family and friends that have come to help me. My parents, my sister, her friends, and Scott have all taken time out of their summer vacations to help me fufill my dream. They want to make sure that I feel ready. Many of the things they have done for me are things I could definitely do myself...if I had 3 months to get ready...but I don't, and their extra hands have been a saving grace. I couldn't be more thankful. My room already looks a thousand times better, but it stills needs some more tender, love, and care before parents and students show up to take a peek next Thursday night. Eeek.
I'm going to take a break from my classroom for the weekend so that I can be refreshed for another long week of preparation. It's still not ALL real to me yet, but it sinks in a little bit more every day. So crazy. I'm hoping to use this blog thing as a way to keep a personal journal of my first year as a teacher. It'll be tough and fun and stressful and exciting and crazy and rewarding and exhausting, and I want to remember it all. So HOPEFULLY I can find time to blog every once in a while. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
