Whew, what a day! I know it's Sunday, but I needed to put in some serious work time today in preparation to become a K/1 classroom by Tuesday. I thought I was going to make some fairly minor room changes, and to finish the organizational stuff I had started and not had time to finish. But, I ended up helping move things for the incoming 1st graders and still have all that organizing to do plus a pile behind my desk.
This week will bring a big challenge in the form of being a classroom with two grades. I'm a bundle of feelings over this challenge: excited, nervous, afraid of failure, anxious to prove myself, desiring to "nail" it and be awesome, overwhelmed... I keep going from feeling excited to work with 1st graders & grow my teaching skills to crying from being tired & overwhelmed. I am nervous about how both grade levels will feel about me and whether they will accept me. Now I'll be part of both teams and not full members of either one.
I know I will need to help the new kids make the adjustment to a new room, new teacher, new friends, and new routine as well as dealing with losing their loved teacher. I will need to help my K's understand the changes to our classroom & routines that we will now undergo. I will need to help my assistant by planning lessons, prepping materials, and helping her work with small groups & individual children. All the while, I will need to plan, plan, plan- lessons, materials, centers for two grades and I will need to think ahead and plan for all the routine, day-to-day procedures and little things that, if taught, make the day run smoothly. In a way, it will be like starting over. The problem here is that I have never taught this kind of combo grade class (though I have taught multi-age at-risk PreK, it's not the same), and I am inventing my routine, schedule, and procedures from scratch right as we speak.
I know we will all learn a lot this year- perhaps no one more than the teacher! I hope the kids and families will be patient with me.
I'll be praying for you - and I KNOW you will do great!
ReplyDeleteRemember the ten-finger prayer "I can do ALL things THROUGH Christ who strengthens me."
When things get tough in the classroom just hold up your ten fingers toward heaven and remember Jesus is with you.
thanks Momma
ReplyDeleteSo how is it going?? I am teaching a K-1 class for the first time too (although I did teach a 2/3 self-contained ESE class during the 06-07 school year.)
ReplyDeleteWould love to share ideas!
It's getting better with each day & week. Last weekend I spent the whole weekend (mostly) in my classroom working, which was not good, BUT, I felt a lot better about the situation, the room, me... this past week. I am looking forward to another good week. I, too, would love to share ideas. Send me your email so we can share the wealth. :)
ReplyDelete