Favorites for the First Few Days of Fourth Grade

(Disclaimer: This post includes Amazon Associates links.)

 

Every teacher needs a stash of read aloud books for the beginning of the school year! If nothing else, it buys you fifteen minutes of thoughtless student engagement which is hard to come by those first couple of weeks. More than that, it builds classroom community through the shared experience of a story and the discussion and reflection that follows. 

 

I love a good back-to-school read aloud as much as the next teacher, but I do have one problem. By the time students get to fourth grade, I’m often met with a chorus of “Our teacher read that last year!” when I pull out a book that’s popular in the “back to school read aloud” Google search.  Because of that, I wanted to share four of my favorite picture books to share the first few days of fourth grade! 

 

I’m a country music fanatic and a Bobby Bones Show loyal listener. Many of you are probably tracking with what I just said (although some of you aren’t) but I bet few of you knew Bobby Bones also has a children’s book! Stanley the Dog: The First Day of School by Bobby Bones is funny, endearing and packs an important message about noticing those around us who might need a helping hand, especially as we’re all settling into a new routine and getting used to new surroundings.

 

I promise all my suggestions are not dog books, but I am a sucker for a cute puppy photo, and this next recommendation delivers! As we flipped through this book of POEMS about school written from a puppy perspective, my students cried “aw!!” at every turn of the page. Topics  in Dog-Gone School  by Amy Schmidt includes the basics (reading, writing, math), specials (art, music, P.E.) and even a trip to the principal’s office. Bonus: I don’t think any teacher ever feels like they cover enough poetry, so why not get a head start? 

 

This next one is perfect if you’re like me and you have a situation where many students know each other from previous school years, but a few are new to the group. I teach a gifted class but class size goes up from third to fourth grade so 8-10 students are invited to join an already existing third grade group of students for fourth grade. I’m always nervous about these newcomers feeling welcomed and finding their place, and Room On Our Rock by Kate and Jol Temple is simple but perfect for addressing these issues. The book is designed to be read the regular way, telling a story in which the seals cannot find room to include newcomers on their rock. But then, just when all hope seems lost, you can read the book backwards and suddenly the seals are welcoming and hospitable to their new friends. It’s shocks and delights students every time!

I saved the best for last, as this book truly sums up my philosophy on life and learning. I love The World Needs More Purple People by (celebrities) Kristen Bell & Benjamin Hart not only because purple is my favorite color, but also because it sums up how not everything in this world is “black and white” (or in this case “red” and “blue.”) This book covers life lessons that both children and adults can benefit from about speaking up, asking questions, laughing a lot and most of all being kind and productive members of our classrooms and communities. It’s a must read!

 

Even if the first day (or week) of school has passed, I hope one of these books speaks to your teacher heart on what you’d like to share with your students next. They’ve all served my classroom well.

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How To Teach 30+ Kids Without Losing Your...

What’s your “perfect” class size?  For me, it’s 24: a number with 8 factors and so many ways to divide students and table groups evenly. Twenty-four is enough to feel like you’re pulling your weight without feeling like you’re pulling your hair out. Last year, I had another class size with a lot of factors: 32.  I more than pulled my weight and yes, at times, I pulled my hair out. 

Today, I piled up half a dozen desks that I won’t need this year in the hall outside my classroom. I will admit I smiled at the promise of a more manageable class size.  I also was hit with the realization that last year wasn’t as bad as I feared.  If you don't already, soon you’ll have your class list in your hand.  What if your number is closer to three dozen than two? 

It won’t be perfect, but it also doesn’t have to be as bad as you fear.  

Here’s how to teach 30+ kids without losing your…

integrity

Resist the urge to complain about your numbers. Verbalizing your fears (and your gripes) not only dampens your reputation but also reinforces negative self-talk. In other words, you’ll have others believing you’ve written off your school year, and before you know it, you'll do just that. Reflect on your past experience; if you’ve been doing this for any time at all, you’ve faced and overcome other challenges.  This year will be no different. 

I spent two hours at Open House last year convincing parents that combining two entire third grade classes into one fourth grade class was no big deal. I said it until I believed it, even though there WERE times when it was a big deal. I gave myself a head start on positivity and in turn, sent those parents away feeling positively about their child’s school year.  Words matter, to both the speaker and the listener. 

sense of community

Speaking of those parents, get them involved! Don’t let the sheer numbers scare you off from making individual contact. With larger class sizes comes a bigger chance that there are parents with the time and willingness to get involved in your classroom. Think of things those parents can do for you, more than ever before! This is not the year to hold onto your pride. 

Last year, I had parents sort, file and stuff communication folders, prepare Scholastic book orders to be sent home, cut laminating and other classroom materials, etc. I kept a medium-sized plastic tote in my classroom and any time I started a task that could wait and could be done by a volunteer, I put it in that tote.  On any given week, 3-4 parents came by to help me. I know not everyone works in a school with that kind of parent population but if you do, take advantage of it. If you’re a control freak (like me), you can always go back to doing more for yourself next year. 

The more important part of your classroom community is of course, your students. Find ways to connect with each and every one of them, and to make sure they connect with each other. You’ll have to be vigilant to make sure no one falls through the cracks. Take advantage of small moments to chat with students individually (before school, lunch, recess, after school, etc.) and get to know them each on a personal level. If you haven’t done Morning Meeting before, this is the year to start! (blog post coming soon…)

effectiveness

Don’t let a large class size scare you into thinking you can’t make as big of an impact this year.  That simply isn’t true. In some places, 30+ kids is the norm. Look into different ways to run your classroom to make it work—small groups, peer tutoring, technology. Think outside the box! Routine and procedures will never be as important as this year. If you don’t have a rule for it, make one. Kids are good about rising to the occasion as long as you set up a system in which they have the chance.

This past year I had higher math test scores than ever before, much to my surprise. Honestly I think having so many students kept me on my toes and caused me to make more accommodations to make sure I was reaching them all. For example, I offered free one-on-one math tutoring sessions before school in the weeks leading up to our end-of-grade tests. Because of my concern that the students weren’t getting the individualized attention they needed in class, I went the extra mile. You’ll find ways to do the same. 

sanity

Take it one day at a time.  It may be one of those years where you count the days. But we all have those for one reason or another. It doesn’t mean the days count less and it doesn’t mean you love each of those students any less. Be patient, and be kind: both to yourself and to those 30+ kids!

Don't overcommit. This is not the year to start a new club or chair a new committee unless you have to. Last fall I missed an entire week of school with the flu for the first time in my teaching career. Coincidence? Probably not... Practice saying "no" when you can so you can stay healthy for all those kiddos! No one wants to sub for you when you have 30+ kids... ;)

Bottom line: a year ago, I would’ve preferred that my class list have 24 names instead of 32. But you know what? After 180 days of teaching 32 kids, there’s no possible way I could choose which eight I wouldn’t want to get to know and learn with.  Each name on that list is an opportunity to touch a life and for you to grow as an educator.  Don’t begrudge that, and don’t take it for granted.  It won’t be perfect, but you’re a teacher…what is? 

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When You Find Out Your Child's Teacher...

Some of my most vivid childhood memories involve scampering down a hot driveway in the August sun to our mailbox, anxious to see if my teacher assignment had arrived.  When it did, I’d rush in the house, hands shaking, and open the letter, facing my fate for that school year.  I’d then share the news with my mom and she’d say something encouraging before I made frantic phone calls to my friends to find out the content of their letters.

So many things have changed, but some schools still handle teacher assignments this way. Others send emails, post teacher assignments on the wall at Back to School Night or maybe even inform families of teacher assignments for the next year when the previous school year is done. However the news is handled, one thing hasn’t changed: it’s big news. 

How we as adults handle this news is important. Children’s feelings are impacted by adult behaviors—more than we often take into account. When I was growing up, I guarantee you that my mom had an opinion about which teacher she’d like me to have most years. However, I don’t remember ever being aware of that. She’d smile, and find something positive to say (no matter what).  Never once did she call the school and complain, talk negatively to other parents about my assignment, or show an ounce of disappointment on her face. Looking back, I’m sure she was less than thrilled at what that letter said at times. But I never knew it.

Every single first day of school, I was excited. I loved school, no matter who my teacher was. Of course, some teachers I loved more than others, and I’m sure my mom felt the same way.  But she gave every one of them the benefit of the doubt, so I learned to do the same. And in doing so, I learned how to function and even thrive with various teaching styles and personalities. Each year of my elementary school experience was different, but every teacher I had taught me academics and, more importantly, something new about myself. 

When you find out your child’s teacher, know this: no one does this job because it’s easy. They do it because they love teaching and they love children—and that means they love your child. Every teacher in your child’s school will not only teach your child academics but they’ll also help your child grow as a person, and isn’t that what the school experience is all about? So many times I’ve "talked up" other teachers to parents who aren’t so sure about their child's assignment.  Every single teacher has something positive to offer! What if parents encouraged each other the same way?

When you find out your child’s teacher, consider this: what’s best for your child isn’t always having the “most popular” teacher or the teacher your family already knows. Sometimes your child grows the most by having a teacher completely different than the familiar. My kindergarten teacher was a smart, sweet black lady named Mrs. Anderson. My most vivid memory of her involves sitting on a carpet and singing “Bill Grogan’s Goat” while she played the accordion. She was nothing like my mom and I doubt that my parents knew a thing about her before they received that letter.  But that was fine and she was wonderful!

When you find out your child’s teacher, remember this: time flies. Your child will experience 6,570 days of life before reaching adulthood, and only 180 days will be spent with this year’s teacher, whether it was the one you’d been hoping for or the one you hadn’t. Capitalize on these teachable, impressionable moments for your child, and make sure they’re excited about that first day of school. Think about the life lessons involved with this piece of news, even if it isn't your first choice. And if it is your first choice, awesome! But it won’t be every year and that is okay. 

I’ll repost each year to remind you. 

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Making Workdays Work For You

I truly love back to school. What I truly DO NOT love is walking back into this...

I've yet to figure it out: I can pack up this room in 1.5 days flat knowing summer vacation awaits, but it'll take me at least three times that long to set it back up.  (Even though I've been in the same classroom for a decade now...) What gives?

For all our complaining about kids with focus issues, let's face it: we teachers are the worst to have focus issues.  First things first: we've got all our teacher friends to catch up with after a [not quite] long [enough] summer break.  Plus, we bought loads of stuff over the summer [at the Dollar Spot] we've got to incorporate into the classroom decor.  And let's not forget we've got a meeting of some sort to attend every other hour. [Seriously- if I work with you, don't let me forget. Speaking of which, where's that new planner I bought this summer?  And the cute pens? Let me run out to my car and see if it's in those bags in the back...]

...this is my [large] bin of items I've purchased for school this summer

It's always amazing to me how quickly a teacher workday passes compared to a day with the students. Coffee, chat, work, meeting, chat, work, lunch, chat, work...the next thing you know you're pulling "overtime" on your first day back. [Do teachers call it overtime? Or just regular life?]

Every year, I say I'm going to do better.  So this year, I'm putting it in writing, both for myself and maybe for some of you if you're interested.  Here are some tips for making these short-lived workdays work for you in a way that will hopefully have lasting effects.

1.  Prioritize. 

Make your first tasks the ones that must be done in your classroom (furniture arrangement, bulletin boards, library organization, etc.).  Save small things, like writing name tags, to do at home in front of the TV so you don't have to stay there all night.

Start with the things that have to be done by Open House. As tempting as it is to reorganize the inside of a binder for a unit you're going to teach second quarter, don't do it! [That's a message to my later-this-week self.]

2. Socialize sparingly.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoy gabbing with my teacher besties as much as the next person. But oh how quickly time gets away! If you do want to chat, try to bring something into their classroom you can work on while you talk and remind them to do something while you talk. Then switch classrooms after a while so you can do a bulletin board while they do paperwork.

I still remember some solid advice from Erin Cobb from Lovin' Lit at the TPT conference two years go.  She said if someone is in your classroom talking and you just can't shake them, make up an errand. Say, "I'm going to the office, want to walk with me?" or pretend you have to use the bathroom. It's not personal; sometimes it's just necessary to get the job(s) done!

3. Set short-term goals.

I'm talking hourly here.  We all love a checklist, but by the end of the day, how much of it really gets checked off?  Count the items on your daily checklist at the beginning of the day. Then divide it up by how many hours you have in your classroom.  Then you'll have in your head, realistically, how long you have to spend on each task.  Otherwise, you'll still be reorganizing that first cabinet at noon when your teacher bestie yells, "When's lunch already?"

4.  Enlist help.

Especially if you have a couple of non-official teacher workdays to spend in your classroom, ask for help! I know we like to do it all on our own because we're perfectionists [control freaks] but I'm always amazed at how much non-teachers enjoy seeing the inner workings of a classroom given the chance. [This is not necessarily true of your husband, but he IS still required to come help you move the furniture.]

Ask a college student who hasn't started back yet or a retired friend to come help you for a few hours.   Before they come, make a list of things they can do without your help and while they're there, focus on things they can't do.  In other words, don't label folders or hang border if someone else in your life is willing!  It took me too long to learn this lesson, but it's a lifesaver.

5.  Give yourself a break.

Don't walk around and compare your progress to the teacher down the hall. Don't see something they did that you wish you had done and spend an extended lunch break running to Target to get the supplies to [almost] copy them. Don't feel like every corner of the room has to be perfect by Open House. It's okay to have a blank [but neatly covered] bulletin board and there comes a time when you have to shove the stuff you haven't organized in a closet and forget about it for a while. It's okay.

There are many aspects of the teaching profession that make it unique, and the magic act we perform on our classrooms in a week's time each August is one of the highlights.  This social media driven world we live in adds extra [but unnecessary] pressure.  However, the students who walk into your newly transformed classroom in the coming days are going to be much more interested in the smile on your face than the decorations on the wall.  I promise...so keep smiling!

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Teachers on Summer Break...

I saw this photo on Bored Teachers' Facebook page at the beginning of the summer and the image has stuck with me.  It cracks me up because 1) we do sorta act like that and 2) people really are jealous.  Teachers tend to get all defensive about this, arguing that we work 60 hour weeks during the school year and that if we didn't get a break we'd all go insane.  While that's true, it's also true that having summers off is pretty darn amazing!  In the last three weeks, I've visited the mountains, been to the waterpark, chaperoned my youth group at the beach, and spent a long weekend at the lake.  I'm home for a couple of days now just to pack for my next vacation.  Life is good and I'm not complaining!

With that said, even with all the strutting, real teachers never stop think about our students and our classrooms.  More than once over the last month, I've thought about this past year's students, laughing at something they would've found funny or remembering something I meant to share with one of them.  While we do cheer when that last bell rings, it doesn't untie those heartstrings.  And while still thinking about the last school year, I'm also preparing for the next, checking out teacher blogs and Pinterest for the trends of next school year (please, dear God, let them be less annoying than bottle flipping and fidget spinners).  Do I need a focus wall?  How can I make my classroom library more cozy? What Donors Choose grant should I be writing?  What novels do I want to read with next year's class?  Our minds are always going...

Not only do I have trouble slowing down my mind, I also have trouble keeping my wallet closed.  Just today I placed an order with Teacher Created Resources for polka dot border, nameplates, and a couple of bulletin board sets.  I polka dot border EVERYTHING and I must have a stockpile when I walk back into my classroom in August.  Right now, it's free shipping with orders over $49 if you have the latest catalog and the prices on those sort of items really are cheaper direct from the manufacturer rather than through Amazon, as much as I love Amazon.

[By the way, I get asked about those flowers on my front wall often.  I purchased them from Dali Decals on a Living Social deal four years ago.  They still have the exact flowers available at this link.  There are always deals for decal sites available on Living Social and Groupon.]

After I'd already placed that order this morning, I went to Target this afternoon to pick up some other things and they had begun putting back-to-school items in the Dollar Spot.  Furthermore, when I went to the back of the store the Target employees were stocking THE back-to-school section.  I felt like a vulture as I weaved in and out of their boxes and peered over their shoulders, but it was worth it!  I scored the following items...

These are THE best storage for markers for students.  I already have two in my classroom and was excited to snag a third to complete the set.  They don't collect dust and are very sturdy for five bucks.

Not sure if I'm going to use this at Open House or on the first day (they're about 5" x 7") but these were too great to pass up with 24 in the pack for $1!  While I have things like this I could copy, it's always nice to have something ready-to-go and so professional looking.  There are also some $1 sentence strips hiding behind there...you can never have too many!

I have an old schedule pocket chart and of course I've re-written those times every year so long that nothing matches anymore.  This 25 piece set with every subject and plenty of time cards is a great replacement for only $1!  

There were four of these posters in a pack for only $3 and I almost bought a nearly identical one online this morning for $3.49 for only one. Target to the rescue!

Last but BEST... this will be my second year using a teacher planner that I simply picked up at Target for around ten bucks.  Last year's was from a company called Blue Sky but this year this Mead one was calling my name with it's purple cover and cute font.  Is it bad that I thought about writing some big topics for each month in it already?? 

SO...while we know the most of the world is "hating us cause they ain't us" we also know that we're always on the clock in our minds... Even if our bodies are all kinds of elsewhere.  Happy summer break, friends!

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Best First Week Ever

When I first started teaching, I wondered how teachers did their jobs before the Internet.  A few years later, I got a Promethean board installed in my classroom and couldn't imagine how I ever taught without it.  (What's an overhead projector??) In recent years, I feel this way about Teachers Pay Teachers.  We are so fortunate to live in a time where so much technology and resources are right at our fingertips.  Day in and day out, it's not just me teaching my students but also other experienced, enthusiastic educators whose products and ideas I snag from TPT and their blogs.  I left my classroom yesterday afternoon feeling it had truly been my best first week ever!

Of course we started the week with some obligatory getting to know you activities.  We used a fun K-6 time capsule resource from Mrs. Dessert.  The students listed some facts and favorites on the front and wrote letters to themselves on the back.  My teammate even gave me the idea to spice it up with some other pieces of data, like foot size, height, and multiplication fact knowledge.  We put all our findings in big brown envelopes that we'll open during the last week of school.

While we worked on our time capsules, we enjoyed root beer floats after cracking the code on an activity from my all-time favorite teacher-author, Deb Hanson!  This may have been the biggest hit of the week as students solve reading and math puzzlers finally ending up with clues like, "What part of a plant grows under the earth?" and "What is an antonym for sink?" When they realized we were going to enjoy root beer floats next, they literally jumped up and down!

We spent a lot of time on growth mindset activities this week, as I found out last year that AIG students are just as susceptible, if not more, to getting stuck in a fixed mindset.  I see this problem a lot in math, where primary math has always come easy to these students.  The first time they're faced with a math problem they can't do in their head, many of them shut down.  We used resources from one of my favorites, The Teacher Studio, as we also dug right into partner work in math with her Thinker Tasks.

Not only did we get right into math, of course I wanted to dive right into reading (my favorite)!  We began one of my novel units on the third day of school--Sarah, Plain and Tall- get it FREE here like over 10,000 people already have!  We also began one of Deb's units on Genre (I consider myself on a first-name basis with her even though I only met her once at last year's TPT conference). We complemented our genre study with my very first book tasting, which I modeled after this blog post from another one of my TPT favorites, Teaching with a Mountain View. I, like her, snagged a new Book Tasting Resource from Head Over Heels for Teaching in order to pull this off.  Read more about this worthwhile lesson in an upcoming post.

It truly was the best first week ever, and I think my students agreed.  One of my more athletic boys said to me on Friday afternoon, "You know what's weird about me this year?"  I said, "No, what?" and he answered, "I actually want to come to school!"  We all work hard, especially during the first week, but THAT, my friends, is why we do it.

Hope some of these activities might give you some ideas to make it the best first (or second or third) week ever for you and your students as well!

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Why I Hate the First Day of School

I love, love, love teaching, but I hate the first day of school.  I surely wish we could fast-forward to mid-September.  We'd all be comfortable with each other, we'd be teaching academics instead of rules, and for goodness sakes the supplies would be labeled and put away.  I breathed an audible sigh of relief today once I managed to successfully store the umpteen tissue boxes my parents graciously sent in.  I mean that "gracious" sincerely; I'm so fortunate to work in a school where the parents care, support and donate more than we even ask for.  But for today, it's a lot to sort out!

I generally have a good sense of time without having to look at a clock.  I think it's a teacher superpower.  But on the first day of school, I haven't the foggiest notion what time it is.  9:30 feels like 2:30 and suddenly at 2:30 I realize I haven't even told them what's for homework.  And the idea of students not coming to the classroom until the usual time in the morning?  Understandably, that's a joke.  I get it- parents want to walk their kids in, but why do I still think, in my head, that I have until 8:05 to get prepared for them?  I was just starting to write on the whiteboard this morning while going over some last minute things with a new co-worker when they made the announcement they were letting the kids in.  My co-worker literally went running out of my classroom mid-sentence, blurting, "I still needed to pee!"  And it was on... 

I am also fortunate in that many of my parents label their kids' supplies for them before they even send them in.  You'd think this would make desk organizing a cinch on the first day.  But, no.  Apparently which folder is for which subject is a potentially life altering decision.  It takes forever.  Today, I finally put a time limit on it and said, "Okay, shove it all in your desk.  We're moving on!" Last year, I actually had a student ask me to help him sort his folders into rainbow order.  This same child couldn't have told you where even one of those folders even was one month later.  

I'd be curious to know if any school has ever gotten every child home correctly on the first day.  If so, they deserve to go ahead and call the first day of school the last and close down for the year, because they have arrived-- THAT is a school of perfect staff members, parents and students.  I'm pretty sure it's a mathematical impossibility and we're all just rolling the dice each year hoping we aren't the lucky (guilty) ones with a stranded student or two.  

There are many petty reasons I hate the first day of school, but the main one is deeper than that.  These kids aren't "mine" yet.  They think they want to be, and I know they already are, but it takes some time to sort it out.  I've read their files, but that doesn't tell me what I really need to know.  It takes time to learn their idiosyncrasies and their fears.  I don't yet know their strengths so I can work to bring them out.  I haven't yet figured out what makes them laugh or how they look right before they're going to cry so I can try to stop it from happening.  I can't wait until the time I really know them and they are more than just a name on my roster.  

Sometimes this takes a couple of weeks and other times it takes more like a couple of months.  Based on the comfort level I felt in my classroom today, I'm thinking it's going to go quickly this year.  I hope if I've learned anything in these past ten years, it's that-- how to make kids feel comfortable from day one.  Because really and truly, we all hate the first day even if we love school.  It's boring, it's long, it's awkward, and there are a lot of menial tasks to accomplish.  But it's also necessary so that we can enjoy days 2-180 living, laughing, and learning together.  Bring it on!  

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It's That Time

This morning I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.  I'm not a morning person so that can only mean one thing-- it's time to go back to school.  If you are a morning person and can't use the fact that you're all caught up on your sleep as a sign that it's that time, there are others:

Your car always looks like this.  You are constantly caught in a tug-of-war of whether to unload your car before your husband comments and knowing as soon as you unload, you'll feel the need to fill it back up with another haul.

The nightmares begin.  It's open house and you don't even know what grade you're teaching.  It's the first day of school and you aren't wearing a bra.  Or maybe it's the week before you can get back in your classroom and the mess you left behind is haunting your dreams.

You are torn between acting professional again and continuing your summer revelry.  A perfect example happened to me yesterday while I was trying to focus on completing a presentation for a workshop I'm helping lead next week.  Guess I won't have time to catch 'em all after all...

When you do return to your classroom, you are hit with the odd realization that just last week you were eating Pringles on the beach, and now you are wrapping that same Pringles can in contact paper.

Your texts to your husband have changed.  Instead of asking if he'd like to meet for lunch, all you want to know is what plug should go where so that you can avoid the "catching your classroom on fire" nightmare.

Last, but not least, you finally feel an urgency when you look at that bag of school stuff you brought home to work on this summer.  Now that you realize planning the whole next school year might have been a lofty goal, it's time to at least look at the first couple of weeks.

Ready or not, it's that time!  We can't deny the signs, nor can we deny that excitement that creeps in when we first walk back into our classrooms, whether we want to admit or not.  That's how we know we were made for this!

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Best Year?

What is it about August 1st that makes us crazy?  Even though I supposedly have three weeks of freedom left, as soon as August hits, all I can think about is how I left my classroom.

And even though my mind should still be here...

Suddenly, the back seat of my car looks like this:

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a sale today and tomorrow and the online code for checkout is BESTYEAR.  Don't we tend to think that every year is going to be the best year?  The year I finally keep my desk cleaned off, the year I'll finally use the perfect classroom behavior system, the year I'll stay caught up on grading...   August 1st has me making all those resolutions in my head today.  

In reality, we can't possibly predict the challenges a whole school year will bring.  If ten years in the classroom has taught me anything, it's that.  The year you think will be the easiest sometimes turns out to be the hardest and you can bet the year that has you intimidated and scrambling from day one will teach you the most.  Just like in real life, all we can do is take it one day at a time. 

Last school year, I had big plans.  I changed jobs (same grade but AIG), took all the classes to become AIG certified online, started the year with a new principal, assistant principal and curriculum coordinator AND had plans to launch this blog and have my best TPT year yet. It became evident right away that AIG did not mean easier (it's just differently hard), grad school classes are no joke (even if they're online), and a school can appear to be the same but feel completely different when the office staff completely turns over (not bad different, just different).  Blogging and TPT took a back seat, as in that annoying little pop up back seat in the back of my SUV that hardly counts.  But this year is going to be GOOD different (I hope).  

Thanks for your patience as this blog has been way too quiet for its first few months and I hope you're ready to join me for a great school year.  I really am hoping it will be the "best" one, at least YET.  I'm making those August 1st teacher resolutions today and at the top of my list is this blog.  I'm ready to share it all with you: the good, the bad, the funny, the not-so-funny, the beautiful moments and the disastrous ones.  They'll be coming at us so fast we won't know what hit us before we know it!  But for now, enjoy these last few days of summer, even if your car is a little bogged down like mine.  That classroom can wait-- thinking about it counts for now!  

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The Night Before School Starts Back

For you non-parent non-teacher types, tomorrow is just another Monday.  Perhaps you enjoyed a three-day weekend thanks to the New Year’s holiday but otherwise it’s just another Sunday night.  You’re waking up from a nap, watching some football, maybe finishing up some laundry…

For the rest of us, it is THE night before school starts back.  It’s the first day of school all over again, this time without the excitement of that first day, without the clean slates and shiny classrooms.  Tomorrow there won’t be any adrenaline to push us out of bed; there will only be the reality that we need to pack real lunches and plan acceptable outfits.  When we get there, there will be no introductions or icebreakers; there will only be the reminder that testing starts next week and we’ve got a lot to learn between now and then.  (So I know you missed your friends, but please, please be quiet and listen…)

There are parents who cannot wait to drop off in the car rider line in the morning and soak up the first peace they’ve experienced since before the blessed holiday season.  There are others who will be sad to let go of slow mornings and lazy days with their little ones, and still others who have no idea how they’re going to drag their kids out of bed since bedtime has been completely disregarded for the last two weeks. (I imagine my husband is feeling similarly about waking me up tomorrow.) And while I’m not part of the parenting world, I imagine that most parents experience a mixture of all those feelings.  (Don’t worry…snow days will set in soon…)

There are also different types of teachers.  There are those who left their classroom in perfect order with January’s lesson plans neatly typed out on their desk (okay, maybe there are only one or two of those but I’m thinking they may exist somewhere).  There are those of us who typed up our plans sometime last week so we could shake the feeling of impending doom but now we can’t even remember what we decided to teach tomorrow.  And I’m sure there are some of you who won’t even start those plans until later tonight, soaking up every last minute of denial possible.  (Cheers to you—I feel your pain!)

However, on the night before school starts back, it’s not the parents or the other teachers I find myself thinking about.  Instead, it’s those twenty little people who call me Mrs. Jones.  I haven’t seen them for two weeks and truth be told, I miss them.  I may need to remind myself of this feeling by 9:00 am tomorrow when I’ve already been interrupted twenty times and repeated myself twice that, but I’ve truly missed them.  I miss their smiles, I miss their ideas and funny comments, and I miss the feeling I have when I’m in those four walls with them just doing our thing. 

           I’m not sure but I think maybe that’s how you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to do… when you miss it when you aren’t doing it.   So if you’re a parent and you’re sad tonight because you’re sending those kiddos back to school tomorrow, be thankful for the chance to miss them.  Soak it up when they walk back through the door tomorrow afternoon.  If you’re a fellow teacher and you’re begrudging those lesson plans tonight, remind yourself what’s on that paper isn’t what really matters.  What does matter is the twentyish kids somewhere tonight who couldn’t care less what’s in your lesson plans.  All they know is that tomorrow they’ll be back in those four walls with you, doing their thing.

It’s our job to make it a place they are excited to come back, so let’s be ready…not with the perfect lesson plans or the right outfits, but with our smiles and in our hearts. That’s what the night before school starts back is all about. 

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