Twenty-one days is all that I have left until I have smiling 6th graders entering my classroom for the first day of school. That seems so far away, but I know that it will be here before I know it. :(
Don't get me wrong, I am excited to start school again, but it just seems like I haven't had much me time since I've been working at a summer camp.
I got some not so great news this week from my AP about the status of my classroom. If you have been a follower for a while you know that I had to move out of my classroom three weeks early before the school year was over so they could get started on the construction in my end of the wing. Since I have been gone pretty much all summer I emailed him to see the status of my classroom thinking that I would love to get in there next week when I am back in town to set up. I was informed that there is no way that will be possible and that it will still be several weeks before we will be able to get in there. I am now freaking out!!! I know that I am not going to have much time during our week of Professional Development, so I am hoping that it will at least be ready the week before. Have you ever been in a situation like this?
Have you seen the giveaway that Lindsay is having over on her blog in honor of her 1st Bloggy Birthday?
You should go and enter for your chance to win too!
I also wanted to link up with Mrs.Crouse from 6th Grade All-Stars for her 1st ever linky party!
She is getting ready to start her first year of teaching 6th grade and I am so excited for her! It is super easy to participate in the linky party, you just have to answer the five questions and then link up over at 6th Grade All-Stars!
One. What grade do you teach?
This coming school year will be my 2nd year teaching 6th grade Language Arts.
Two. What is the greatest advice you received during your first year of teaching?
I received so much great advice for my first year of teaching and I was also extremely lucky that I got to work with so many amazing educators during my observations and while I student taught. I think the best advice I got actually came from my principal. I was lucky enough to also have my principal has my high school Algebra 2 teacher. I was in a strange situation this past school year and was the youngest on my 6th grade ELA team quite a bit. They were not as open to some of the ideas that I had to best meet the needs of our students. She told me that as long as I knew I was doing what was best for my kids, if it was different than everyone else when my door was closed, that was totally fine with her.
Three. Do you have a checklist that you use when getting your classroom ready?
Unfortunately, I do not. I know that I need to make something to help me out, but I am still figuring it all out.
Four. What are some must haves that you must have in your classroom that you cannot live without?
There is so much that I could not live without. On the list would have to be Anchor Charts, Interactive Notebooks, markers, post-its, an extensive classroom library, and my dual board. :)
Five. What is something that all teachers should have in their classroom?
I am a firm believer in having a classroom library no matter what grade or content you teach. So many people think that they only belong in the Language Arts classroom but that is not true.
I am also currently working on a giveaway in honor of having 700 followers. Stay tuned because it will be up soon!
If it makes you feel better, at my school, we are never allowed into our building before our official first teacher day. And you know that the teacher week is usually filled with PD meetings & such. It makes for some long nights!
ReplyDeleteMeg
Third Grade in the First State
Oh my goodness! I would die! Lol. My room is pretty much set up!
DeleteAww that's too bad about your room not being ready! I am not allowed in my building until either the 1st or 6th - there's still some debate over the day lol. We start in-service on the 13th and our first day is the 17th so either way it doesn't give me much time! I am hoping to go in really focused and get everything knocked out without the usual dithering that I do lol! Maybe I should make a checklist!
ReplyDeleteJennifer @ Herding Kats In Kindergarten
This will be my first year as a sixth grade literacy teacher. Having taught third grade for the past eight years, what would you pick as the top ten books for your classroom library?
ReplyDeleteI just had a discussion about good 6th grade books! Check it out! {6th} Grade All-Stars
DeleteMrs. Crouse
I'm in that exact same situation now. Our entire building is undergoing renovation (they've been working on every elementary school in our district over the past two years and this is our summer). Every thing in our building was boxed up and is being stored in a warehouse in another state. We have professional development on the 16th and 17th, a work day on the 20th, and school starts on the 21st. We have been told that they hope to get us in by the 10th!!!!! Yes, I like you am completely freaking out!!! I have been working really hard at home to get my first few weeks of lessons planned, my back to school night packets made, and some new classroom decor completed. I'm hoping that when we do get back in, all I will have to do is focus on putting my room back together!!! Good luck with you school year and your new room!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining my linky party!! i am getting close to 100 followers and thinking about doing a giveaway but have no idea where to start! Help! If you could email me at mcrouse88@gmail.com with help on starting a giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Mrs. Crouse @ {6th} Grade All-Stars
I can feel your pain! Every year we have to pack up our rooms and then wait until the cleaning of our rooms is complete. One year I only had 3 days to get it all together. I hope you can get in your room sooner than that! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat. I work for a school and we just started going up to 8th grade last year. We have been teaching classes for the last few years using Sunday School rooms at the church next door (can you say tiny). At any rate, they are building us a brand new building, it's beautiful! But I still don't know when we will get in to move in our stuff. I actually teach camp at the school. I see it everyday, but I can't get in, so frustrating. Camp ends 8/24, 8/27 is our in-service and I have no idea what my furniture looks like, how many bulletin boards I will have, nothing. I am positively panic-stricken! I live an hour from my school. I have a feeling I will just wind up camping out in my room for the weekend... Ugh!
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled across your blog - It is SOO nice to see other middle school teachers around the blog world (I keep stumbling across mostly elementary blogs!)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with #5! I have wayyyy too many books in my library though, haha! I seriously need a book buying intervention!
Your countdown until school starts makes me feel very overwhelmed because I still have SO much to do before my kiddos arrive! AH!
1) I will be teaching grade 5 again this year after having taught grades 3 and 4 for the past five years.
ReplyDelete2) The greatest piece of advice that I received was to create my own opinion of my students. Some teachers who have had our students before like to give "advice" or insist that "he is weak" or "she is difficult", etc. It is best - and only fair - to receive students with a clean slate.
3) I don't have a checklist but now I'm feeling like I should!!! I would love to see someone's so that I could tweak it and make it work for me!
4) Must haves: literacy materials (books, magazines, newspapers, etc) is definitely on the top of the list. I also love those magnetic clips to use for posting things temporarily on the front board, my trusty plastic chalk holder (I hate having chalk on my hands and then getting it on my clothes - LOL), a podium or very small table upfront center for whole-group instruction (I like to have somewhere to place my lesson or teaching materials so that I'm organized before the lesson begins), and a box of Kleenex!
5) I think that the one thing that all teachers should have in their classroom is not something tangible but rather, I think it should be a desire to be there and a love for teaching and learning. That's the basis for a great teacher!