Today was our last work day before students come back tomorrow morning. The rush was on to complete as much as possible in the time available. Today I had my practicum student and assistant there to help me, and they got so much of my to-do list finished. My literacy menus are almost set to hang up, but I decided to put them up at the end of the day tomorrow. I am going to have to get creative in deciding how to make them fit, but by the end of the day I was almost certain that I have a plan. They also completed setting up my bulletin board and various other tasks to prepare for the first day.
We received a delivery estimate for my desks of tomorrow afternoon. It will not be too bad though because my partner teacher and I planned to do some middle school activities as a whole team for the morning and then spend time with each class for a little over an hour in the afternoon. Since that time will fly by, it will be fairly easy to just have students grab a clipboard and sit on the floor, rather than desks. Then for the first full day in my classroom with students, the desks will be all set up.
I will do a post about our first day sometime this weekend.
Showing posts with label back to school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back to school. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Back to School Days 3-4
Today all staff was back, and the anticipation continues to build in expectation for the students. The fast approaching date is also bringing on anxiety about our disproportionate to-do lists versus the amount of time left to get ready. Although I never expect that feeling to go away, no matter how long I teach, each year I do feel a little bit more calm, embracing flexibility just a little bit more.
Last night we had a middle school team meeting that left me energized for a new school year. We are blessed with very supportive parents who are loyal and dedicated to the school. After the meeting it was fun to hear them reminise about the early days of the school starting and how it has been exciting for them to see their students experience all of the changes and improvements as the school has become more established. It was also fun to see my students, many of whom I had not seen all summer, and all the changes - new hair cuts, taller...
Aside from the parent meeting, the last two days I have continued to set up my classroom, frequently met with my partner teacher to further coordinate our first day and common procedures and been to meetings. My practicum student and I spent a lot of time getting my literacy menus ready. I was not 100% sure how to make it work, but so far it seems like the final product is going to turn out okay. We created the base posters, and tomorrow we need to finish up getting the individual strategy cards ready. I also need to find space on my walls for them because they ended up being very big. There is plenty of room, but I am hoping that I will be able to put them both at the front of the room so that the students will be able to see them easily and often. However, my projector and Smart Board have not arrived yet. We are waiting for them to arrive before putting up my white board since I want it to go right next to the Smart Board and then I can put the literacy menus on either side.
On the bright side, other components of my classroom have been rolling in. Today out custodian was able to hang up my bulletin board, and the techs came to bring my new computer and the student laptop cart. Still no desks, but hopefully they will come in tomorrow. Luckily, as I mentioned, with each year come more of an openness to the concept that the beginning of the year means flexibility. Whereas even last year I would have been ready to have a nervous breakdown if I did not have desks in my room for the first day, this year I am just thinking out plan B and realizing that it is by far not the worst thing that could happen. Besides, nothing, not even the lack of desks and technology can dampen my excitement for my new classroom and starting my second year at my dream job.
Last night we had a middle school team meeting that left me energized for a new school year. We are blessed with very supportive parents who are loyal and dedicated to the school. After the meeting it was fun to hear them reminise about the early days of the school starting and how it has been exciting for them to see their students experience all of the changes and improvements as the school has become more established. It was also fun to see my students, many of whom I had not seen all summer, and all the changes - new hair cuts, taller...
Aside from the parent meeting, the last two days I have continued to set up my classroom, frequently met with my partner teacher to further coordinate our first day and common procedures and been to meetings. My practicum student and I spent a lot of time getting my literacy menus ready. I was not 100% sure how to make it work, but so far it seems like the final product is going to turn out okay. We created the base posters, and tomorrow we need to finish up getting the individual strategy cards ready. I also need to find space on my walls for them because they ended up being very big. There is plenty of room, but I am hoping that I will be able to put them both at the front of the room so that the students will be able to see them easily and often. However, my projector and Smart Board have not arrived yet. We are waiting for them to arrive before putting up my white board since I want it to go right next to the Smart Board and then I can put the literacy menus on either side.
On the bright side, other components of my classroom have been rolling in. Today out custodian was able to hang up my bulletin board, and the techs came to bring my new computer and the student laptop cart. Still no desks, but hopefully they will come in tomorrow. Luckily, as I mentioned, with each year come more of an openness to the concept that the beginning of the year means flexibility. Whereas even last year I would have been ready to have a nervous breakdown if I did not have desks in my room for the first day, this year I am just thinking out plan B and realizing that it is by far not the worst thing that could happen. Besides, nothing, not even the lack of desks and technology can dampen my excitement for my new classroom and starting my second year at my dream job.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Back to School Day 2
Day 2
Today I continued unpacking and getting my classroom in order. Before I left for home I had sorted through all the boxes and found a spot for everything (even if it is temporary while I wait for more classroom materials to come in). Last night I bought some storage containers at Wal-Mart so that my shelves and some supplies are more organized. I also bought some bookends for the shelves where I have my book club sets. Aside from organizing additional components as they come in, my class layout is set. I will rearrange as needed as I go along.
This afternoon my partner teacher and I got together to finish up a PowerPoint for our parent meeting tomorrow to welcome our students and discuss expectations for the year. As a bonus, when I got back to my classroom from our meeting, my phone was hooked up.
The next three days until the students come I will be able to focus back on my curriculum and working with my partner teacher to set up for our first day where we are planning to have various activities as a middle school team.
I am exhausted, and I will need to make sure to be very productive so that I will hopefully not have to stay late on Wednesday and Thursday. Then I can get plenty of rest and be ready to go for students on Friday.
Today I continued unpacking and getting my classroom in order. Before I left for home I had sorted through all the boxes and found a spot for everything (even if it is temporary while I wait for more classroom materials to come in). Last night I bought some storage containers at Wal-Mart so that my shelves and some supplies are more organized. I also bought some bookends for the shelves where I have my book club sets. Aside from organizing additional components as they come in, my class layout is set. I will rearrange as needed as I go along.
This afternoon my partner teacher and I got together to finish up a PowerPoint for our parent meeting tomorrow to welcome our students and discuss expectations for the year. As a bonus, when I got back to my classroom from our meeting, my phone was hooked up.
The next three days until the students come I will be able to focus back on my curriculum and working with my partner teacher to set up for our first day where we are planning to have various activities as a middle school team.
I am exhausted, and I will need to make sure to be very productive so that I will hopefully not have to stay late on Wednesday and Thursday. Then I can get plenty of rest and be ready to go for students on Friday.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Back to School Day 1
Friday the school was buzzing with energy as everyone returned to start setting up for the new year. Even though teachers come and go during the summer, it is never the same as the official start when everyone comes back with excitement all at the same time. This year I have a practicum student coming in for three weeks in order to see what the start of a school year is like. That gave me an idea that maybe some readers would also be curious and would enjoy glimpses into this time of the year. While many of my readers may have a lot of experience, I always enjoy hearing about what other teachers do. I figured that it may be a fun conversation to start with both new and experienced teachers. I would love if you comment about what you are doing for the start of your year or about your own back to school activities.
DAY 1
The big day finally arrived. Yesterday morning, dressed ready to work in comfortable shoes, jeans, and my hair pulled back in a pony tail, I peeked into my new classroom upon arriving and was so excited. Everything looks great, and my teacher desk, file cabinet, chair, and an additional book case had arrived. A group of colleagues helped me move my boxes from my old classroom to the new classroom. When writing my to-do list over the summer I tried to think of how my practicum student and assistant (on certain days) could help.
This year I am going to try organizing my classroom library alphabetically by author's last name. I admit, I am not sure how long it will stay organized, but I was ready to give it a try after skimming my whole library to find one book that I knew would be perfect for a student. My partner teacher suggested that I should have my practicum student write each letter of the alphabet on a piece of card stock (or old file folders) to divide each section. She mentioned that even though the books might not stay perfectly alphabetized, at least they should be in the section of the right letter. I made a note to myself to not forget to do that.
While my practicum student was busy sorting books and putting them on the shelves, I was going through the rest of the boxes. I had a very long day yesterday because I wanted to get as much unloaded as possible. My classroom layout is starting to take shape. Even though my student desks have not arrived my partner teacher and I moved the extra desks out of her room into mine to get a better feel of how much space they will take up. My partner teacher and I discussed different ideas of where to put the remaining items that will still come in. Throughout the day we were also talking in my old room (her new room) about how she could rearrange the space, and it is looking great as well. It was so nice to be a part of a middle school team this year in order to brainstorm ideas together.
I also brought in a big garbage can and sorted through different binders that I have packed from one room to the other but not referred to very often. I would have made Debbie Diller proud as I was tossing out a lot, only keeping what I knew I would use.
Most years of my teaching I have kept a binder with my daily lesson plans and handouts. I still had back to my first year of teaching, and most of those documents (including this previous year) went in the trash. I did keep days that had certain units I know I will want to reference later. I also decided on a new way to organize my plans. My old binders had every class that I taught all on the same document. Now, I am going to keep notes for separate content areas. For social studies I want to start a binder for the year, and place the binder in a bin along with any other materials that I need for the unit and a list of books that I pull from my classroom library to go along with the theme. This seems like it will be much more user-friendly than shifting through my eclectic binders of the past. (I know I read about a similar idea a while back and I will reference the book once I have a chance to skim my professional books at school to remember for sure which one it was.)
My long day was worth it. At the end of the night I left my classroom with a stack of broken down cardboard boxes in the center, a small stack of binders that I still need to go through and a to-do list with my priorities for Monday. I won't waist time trying to remember what I need to do, and I will be able to get right to work. Included on my list was areas where my practicum student will be able to help me out.
My room is still far from ready, but I have four days next week, and I am happy with the progress I have made so far. I look forward to all that the year will bring.
DAY 1
The big day finally arrived. Yesterday morning, dressed ready to work in comfortable shoes, jeans, and my hair pulled back in a pony tail, I peeked into my new classroom upon arriving and was so excited. Everything looks great, and my teacher desk, file cabinet, chair, and an additional book case had arrived. A group of colleagues helped me move my boxes from my old classroom to the new classroom. When writing my to-do list over the summer I tried to think of how my practicum student and assistant (on certain days) could help.
This year I am going to try organizing my classroom library alphabetically by author's last name. I admit, I am not sure how long it will stay organized, but I was ready to give it a try after skimming my whole library to find one book that I knew would be perfect for a student. My partner teacher suggested that I should have my practicum student write each letter of the alphabet on a piece of card stock (or old file folders) to divide each section. She mentioned that even though the books might not stay perfectly alphabetized, at least they should be in the section of the right letter. I made a note to myself to not forget to do that.
While my practicum student was busy sorting books and putting them on the shelves, I was going through the rest of the boxes. I had a very long day yesterday because I wanted to get as much unloaded as possible. My classroom layout is starting to take shape. Even though my student desks have not arrived my partner teacher and I moved the extra desks out of her room into mine to get a better feel of how much space they will take up. My partner teacher and I discussed different ideas of where to put the remaining items that will still come in. Throughout the day we were also talking in my old room (her new room) about how she could rearrange the space, and it is looking great as well. It was so nice to be a part of a middle school team this year in order to brainstorm ideas together.
I also brought in a big garbage can and sorted through different binders that I have packed from one room to the other but not referred to very often. I would have made Debbie Diller proud as I was tossing out a lot, only keeping what I knew I would use.
Most years of my teaching I have kept a binder with my daily lesson plans and handouts. I still had back to my first year of teaching, and most of those documents (including this previous year) went in the trash. I did keep days that had certain units I know I will want to reference later. I also decided on a new way to organize my plans. My old binders had every class that I taught all on the same document. Now, I am going to keep notes for separate content areas. For social studies I want to start a binder for the year, and place the binder in a bin along with any other materials that I need for the unit and a list of books that I pull from my classroom library to go along with the theme. This seems like it will be much more user-friendly than shifting through my eclectic binders of the past. (I know I read about a similar idea a while back and I will reference the book once I have a chance to skim my professional books at school to remember for sure which one it was.)
My long day was worth it. At the end of the night I left my classroom with a stack of broken down cardboard boxes in the center, a small stack of binders that I still need to go through and a to-do list with my priorities for Monday. I won't waist time trying to remember what I need to do, and I will be able to get right to work. Included on my list was areas where my practicum student will be able to help me out.
My room is still far from ready, but I have four days next week, and I am happy with the progress I have made so far. I look forward to all that the year will bring.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
It's Getting Closer...
The realization hit my teaching partner and I earlier this week that we really do not have that much time until school starts. We go back to school on August 14th, so we are just about a month away from our official return.
While my girls were at a craft camp for a few hours today, I met at the school with my teaching partner to complete a few items on our to-do list that we needed to do together. This evening we went shopping for a few school supplies, including binders that we will use to keep our anecdotal notes and student data. I will be using some ideas from The CAFE Book to help organize mine.
Friday we will get together again to try to complete our team to-do list before both working independently off an on before the back to school rush begins. This year especially I am going to try to have as much as my curriculum ready to go before our return, knowing that I will want to spend a lot of my energy getting settled into my new classroom. It is coming right along. This week they painted, and I am really excited about how my accent wall turned out (it is a dark blue). I can't wait to move in and share some pictures.
While my girls were at a craft camp for a few hours today, I met at the school with my teaching partner to complete a few items on our to-do list that we needed to do together. This evening we went shopping for a few school supplies, including binders that we will use to keep our anecdotal notes and student data. I will be using some ideas from The CAFE Book to help organize mine.
Friday we will get together again to try to complete our team to-do list before both working independently off an on before the back to school rush begins. This year especially I am going to try to have as much as my curriculum ready to go before our return, knowing that I will want to spend a lot of my energy getting settled into my new classroom. It is coming right along. This week they painted, and I am really excited about how my accent wall turned out (it is a dark blue). I can't wait to move in and share some pictures.
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