Saturday, August 21, 2010

I Survived

I survived my first week of teaching. It has been filled with long hours. Wait, it is still being filled with long hours. I have a ton of grading to do this weekend. It's bogging me down, but I know that I can't get behind because I will never get caught up. It will be like a recurring nightmare of papers/folders/contracts to grade and I don't want to have that.  I have most of the planning done for the next week. I just have to get everything ready.  I'm going to start having assigned jobs for the students on Monday.  The main reason for this is for me to get a little help in the classroom.  I need to make a chart of the job. I thought about having a job for every student, but then I figured it would be too hard to keep track of.  I'm not going to abandon the idea of it for my future classrooms, but I think I'll stick to a just a couple of jobs. 
Best part of recess this week was when I blew my whistle and 110ish kids stopped dead in their tracks. It had a pretty eerie feeling with it and I think it struck fear into a couple of kids. :)
I'm wishing you a good week.
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Note

Today, I received my first note from a student.  It was left on my desk after school. I got it when I returned from taking my students to the buses.  Nothing sweet. It was just a question. So I typed something up and left it for her on her desk. I thought it was a nice gesture. It did feel good to get it though.
Things are calming down a bit as we're getting into the swing of things. The next problem is that our lunch time is going to change tomorrow so we'll have to shuffle our schedule around. But hey, flexibility is the key. I need to start thinking about what to do in a literacy group. What books? What types of things to do? All the standard questions without having all the answers I need right now. I do know I need to take some initiative and get rolling.

There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. That’s its only reward.

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Down and Out

I feel down today.  Today took a lot out of me. I do feel things are coming together though. Classroom management needs some work. I need to get them more engaged and to keep their time on task a lot better. No downtime. No downtime. No downtime. Minimize distractions. Keep the flow going.
I am liking getting to know my students better. I need to get more organized so as to meet my students' needs individually. The rest of the week is going to go smoothly. I can feel it. I just have to do my part in the hopes that the kids don't know it's my part that I'm doing. I am thrilled to start writing and for them to start expressing themselves onto a piece of paper.
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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Dice and New Posters

Today, I learned that games that involve dice being rolled on desks can be pretty loud. I might recommend soft dice, paper-made dice, or rolling them onto a pad of paper or something a little softer than wood desktops. This week I am going to strive to get ahead and be fully prepared a week out.  I know that is asking a lot, I feel that I am taking this one day at a time right now, but I need to start looking forward and getting things figured out.
I did get my first poster for my room yesterday.  It is a descriptive word poster.  You can find it here. 
I'm hoping it will help. Now to put my own name on it so that it I know it's mine :)
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Thursday, August 12, 2010

First Day As a Teacher

Today was my first day as an actual teacher. I had a good day. I am going to enjoy my class. I am getting a ton of support from the other 5th grade teacher, which is helping a ton. Leading up to the first day has been pretty rough and exhausting. I am feeling overwhelmed by all the planning, the organizing, and getting the room ready. I need to work on getting ahead now.  I know that when we get into a flow things will calm down and a routine will be formed, which will be sweet.

The best part of the day...well, after it happened it was the best part of the day. I'm up talking in front of the class and a girl on my left screams "SNAKE!" I'm thinking "What?" and wondering if I heard her correctly.  Then she climbs up and stands on her chair and screams "SNAKE!" again. I walk over to her and lo and behold a real, live garter snake is on the floor.  Where did it come from? I am not really sure, and neither was anybody else.  It had to have fallen from the light or the ceiling tiles, or off a cabinet. The only think I know is that it came from above and landed on her shoulder.  That's right...her shoulder. A snake had landed on her shoulder. I wasn't going to pick it up.  I'm not scared of snakes, but there is no way that I am picking one of them up. About then, one of the boys says that he'll take it outside. I told him to wait and I asked him the "Do you know what you're doing?", "Have you done this before?" and "Do you know anything about this snake?" questions.  He seemed to know what he was doing. He picked it up. Marched it right to my door that goes outside, and he let it free. The class gave him two claps for his amazing "talent." I then preceded to tell him to wash his hands. :)  It was the talk of the grade for the rest of the day.  One of the kids told their mom. She didn't believe her. That is how unreal it was!! I don't think there are too many 1st days like I experienced. I'm sure it will provide me with a great story for years to come.

I'm exhausted and am going to bed. Tomorrow brings new hope for me followed by a weekend to rejuvenate and recharge.
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