I’m busy again!
I haven’t had a moment to catch my breath with all the beginning of the year paperwork, trainings, paperwork, back-to-school shopping, paperwork, organizing/setting up the classroom, paperwork, open house, paperwork, meetings, paperwork, lesson plans, paperwork, emergency sub folders, paperwork, parent back to school night, oh, and did I mention paperwork?
I cannot get over how much paperwork there is at the beginning of the year. Talk about killing trees! Just when you think it’s all over… you get another whole checklist of things that need to be sent home, signed, collected, added to the folders, photocopied, put in another file. Will it ever end?!
Despite all of the hustle and bustle of the first few weeks back to school, I currently have 19 adorable 4 year olds! They are wonderful. I will say after opening countless milk cartons, ketchup packets and tying who knows how many shoes… I do miss the independence my 5th graders had. I am even missing some of the content we got to cover, but my Pre-K’s are just the sweetest!
They were so ready to start school. I could not believe how excited they all were. All but one that is. One of my babies cried the ENTIRE first week of school. He screamed from the time he was dropped off until the time he was picked up. I am happy to report that as of Friday he hardly even asks if/when his mom is coming to get him anymore.
Aside from that I haven’t had too many issues within the classroom although I know everyone is still getting adjusted. I am anticipating a few issues but nothing major from what I can see so far! I have a couple chatters who are very, VERY busy. I also have one sassy little thing who is probably going to be the most stubborn child I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Truth be told, God had to make them cute to make them lovable and these 3 I’m referring to are 3 of the cutest darn kiddos I’ve ever seen!
After 2 (short) weeks of getting to know you and expectations we just started in with content material yesterday. Our theme right now is “All About Me”. We’re talking about ourselves, our senses, keeping our bodies healthy, and our families. This week we’re focusing on Grandparent’s and making a cute thumbprint flower picture for Grandparent’s Day. We’re also working on the letter I, the number 1 and circles. With our “About Me” theme comes name recognition and practice. We will be working on that in depth for a few weeks. Next comes the Apple theme which I am really excited about! I miss living in New England this time of year though, because sadly there aren’t any apple orchards or anything around here! So far, so good though. I really love that even though is NOT fun to wake up at 5 AM for anything, that I do not dread going to work. When I get there I don’t watch the clock for anything other than keeping us on track! I truly love how fast paced the early childhood grades are. We switch activities so quickly it really makes the day move for all of us!
How has/have the first days/weeks been for everyone? What are your students like? Do you have a good mix? Parents who home school have you started lessons yet? Any themes lined up?
All in all it has been a whirlwind of a beginning and I am so excited for the rest of the year to unfold. I promised to bring up the good, the bad, and the ugly… and I will. Here are some major things/frustrations that have happened in just my few very SHORT weeks back to school that I will be touching on in the next couple days!
1. Paperwork
2. Principal on Maternity Leave
3. My Personal School District Frustration
4. New Schedule x’s 2
5. Bus Route/School Consolidation Disaster
6. No Student Computers/Broken Computers STILL in the Classroom Taking Up Already Limited Space
7. NO TECHNOLOGY…internet/email/server
8. NO PHONES…at all
9. No Funds/Short on supplies ALREADY?!
Anyone else having similar issues? I know I haven’t gone into detail yet but I’m sure that list sparks some stories in a few of you at least! I keep telling myself it is all about the KIDS. I’m here for my students and really nothing else. There is always going to be something and it’s always going to be hard to look past… but we’re teachers and we will, because at the end of the day, it’s all about the kids.
HOWEVER we are human and I think it is perfectly acceptable for others to know what kinds of things we have to deal with as educators. We need to be able to vent somewhere and remember everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion… we just need to express it appropriately 
To TEach Their Own. Right? But really, I just like to know I’m not alone in my struggles as I’m sure many new (and old) teachers alike feel the same.
Happy Back-to-School everyone!
Fantastic job here. I seriously enjoyed what you had to say. Keep heading because you absolutely bring a new voice to this subject. Not many people would say what youve said and still make it interesting. Properly, at least Im interested. Cant wait to see much more of this from you.
An awesome post, I just passed this onto a fellow worker who was doing a little analysis on this. And he in fact bought me lunch because I found it for him smile.. So let me reword that: Thanks for the treat! But yeah Thnkx for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more details? It is extremely helpful for me. Big thumb up for this post!