The FIRST first day of school
Welcome back to A Spoonful of Teaching! I'm so glad you're here! I know in my last blog I explained I would be talking about various communication tools in my classroom, but I felt this post needed to happen first. Let's get started talking about my very first "first day of school" experience...
If I had to describe my very first first day of school in one word, it would be “terrifying.” I remember looking for the adult in the room but it turned out it was me. ME?! A 22 year old? In charge of tiny humans?! Scary. Thank goodness it ended up being okay. I was also terribly nervous for many reasons. Obviously, I had never experienced a first day of school from a teacher's perspective. This is not something they teach you in school!! I was also super nervous because my classroom didn’t feel like home yet. I set up my classroom in four days.
Yeah, let’s backtrack to the fact that I got my classroom together in four days. That’s 96 hours to set up a fun, open learning environment for 9 and 10 year olds. Here’s the story:
I was hired last-minute. In early August, one of the professors I had in college reached out to me asking if I had been hired yet. I had not been hired as a classroom teacher, but as a paraprofessional (fancy word for teacher aide) in a preschool classroom. It wasn’t what I wanted, and I was becoming discouraged. It felt like every other student I went to college with had a teaching job. I wanted my own classroom and was devastated I didn’t have it yet. So, she set up an interview for me for the next day. Her family member was the principal and felt that it would be a good fit.
The next morning I had my interview with the principal. I was so nervous because I felt I had no time to prepare! I felt that the interview went amazing and I walked out of her office feeling hopeful and confident. She told me she would probably have an answer for me in the afternoon because it was getting close to the first day of school. Around noon, she called to inform me that I did not get the job. I. was. devastated. I thought this was “it.” I was upset for about 15 minutes (okay maybe longer) and then pulled myself together and focused on my paraprofessional job. About 4 hours later, I got another call from the school. It turns out the teacher she originally hired felt she couldn’t get her classroom ready in time so I was next in line! It was an emotional rollercoaster day. I went from upset tears to happy tears. I needed to get in my classroom ASAP.
Good thing I had accumulated classroom supplies over the summer because I didn’t have much time to buy anything in preparation! My best friend and I stayed at the school until well past midnight setting up everything (almost). It was exhausting but so much fun.
Anyways back to my first first day of school. I remember the first student entering my room. She came 5 minutes before the bell rang so I was definitely thrown off guard. Thank goodness she was as nervous as I was! I remember taking her picture in front of my “first day of fourth grade” whiteboard and then after that, I was thinking “well what now?” It was kind of a sh*t show now looking back on the experience. I had nowhere to put their school supplies. I had like three activities planned and no back ups. Oh and the worst part: when it was time to take them to their elective classes I had to ask my first-in-line student to direct me to the classrooms. Thankfully, I think they all had a great first day. Oh, and I did too!!
Thankfully, my second “first day of school” went much more smoothly. I love the adrenaline of the first day. It’s a great feeling of anticipation and excitement. One of the activities I do during the first week of school is one of my very favorite! I’d love to talk about it in my next blog, but who knows, I might change my mind before then! 😉
If I had to describe my very first first day of school in one word, it would be “terrifying.” I remember looking for the adult in the room but it turned out it was me. ME?! A 22 year old? In charge of tiny humans?! Scary. Thank goodness it ended up being okay. I was also terribly nervous for many reasons. Obviously, I had never experienced a first day of school from a teacher's perspective. This is not something they teach you in school!! I was also super nervous because my classroom didn’t feel like home yet. I set up my classroom in four days.
Yeah, let’s backtrack to the fact that I got my classroom together in four days. That’s 96 hours to set up a fun, open learning environment for 9 and 10 year olds. Here’s the story:
I was hired last-minute. In early August, one of the professors I had in college reached out to me asking if I had been hired yet. I had not been hired as a classroom teacher, but as a paraprofessional (fancy word for teacher aide) in a preschool classroom. It wasn’t what I wanted, and I was becoming discouraged. It felt like every other student I went to college with had a teaching job. I wanted my own classroom and was devastated I didn’t have it yet. So, she set up an interview for me for the next day. Her family member was the principal and felt that it would be a good fit.
The next morning I had my interview with the principal. I was so nervous because I felt I had no time to prepare! I felt that the interview went amazing and I walked out of her office feeling hopeful and confident. She told me she would probably have an answer for me in the afternoon because it was getting close to the first day of school. Around noon, she called to inform me that I did not get the job. I. was. devastated. I thought this was “it.” I was upset for about 15 minutes (okay maybe longer) and then pulled myself together and focused on my paraprofessional job. About 4 hours later, I got another call from the school. It turns out the teacher she originally hired felt she couldn’t get her classroom ready in time so I was next in line! It was an emotional rollercoaster day. I went from upset tears to happy tears. I needed to get in my classroom ASAP.
Good thing I had accumulated classroom supplies over the summer because I didn’t have much time to buy anything in preparation! My best friend and I stayed at the school until well past midnight setting up everything (almost). It was exhausting but so much fun.
 |
| Here's the first photo of my classroom. It changed SO much over the course of the year! |
Anyways back to my first first day of school. I remember the first student entering my room. She came 5 minutes before the bell rang so I was definitely thrown off guard. Thank goodness she was as nervous as I was! I remember taking her picture in front of my “first day of fourth grade” whiteboard and then after that, I was thinking “well what now?” It was kind of a sh*t show now looking back on the experience. I had nowhere to put their school supplies. I had like three activities planned and no back ups. Oh and the worst part: when it was time to take them to their elective classes I had to ask my first-in-line student to direct me to the classrooms. Thankfully, I think they all had a great first day. Oh, and I did too!!
 |
| Here's a current(ish) photo of my classroom. I can't wait to talk about "flexible seating" in my room! |
Thankfully, my second “first day of school” went much more smoothly. I love the adrenaline of the first day. It’s a great feeling of anticipation and excitement. One of the activities I do during the first week of school is one of my very favorite! I’d love to talk about it in my next blog, but who knows, I might change my mind before then! 😉
Comments
Post a Comment