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| Welcome to First Grade!!!! As a new teacher walking into her first classroom, I was undeniably anxious. I wanted to see the space that I was going to transform into a learning environment for a group of excited (hopefully), first graders. When I walked through the doorway, my heart abruptly stopped beating. The emptiness startled me. I had never seen a classroom completely empty before. I had four tables, twenty-four chairs, and a bookcase to work with. I knew that my future encounters with this classroom would be filled with blood (due to my manifest clumsiness), sweat (due to the amount of effort that I am going to have to exert), and tears (because something will inevitably break beyond repair or not turn out like I want it to- I'm slightly a perfectionist). My mind began to rush over the things I would without a doubt need, the things I definitely want, and the things I couldn't possibly afford with a teacher's salary. I had hope though, because I had ideas and lots of them. My mind wasn't half full or half empty with ideas; it was absolutely FULL of ideas. From my student teaching experience at the same school, I was familiar with the arrangement of the class that had previously inhabited my new surroundings. Additionally, I had taken an entire album full of pictures with beautiful bulletin boards, organized classroom libraries, and theme decorations galore. I'm also an avid pinner on Pinterest with a classroom board that contains an ample amount of classroom management techniques, noise level charts, worksheets, and content area games. With all of these examples in my teaching tool belt, I felt confident that I could turn this seemingly desolate landscape into a thriving jungle of knowledge and learning. Let's see what I can do in the upcoming weeks. I hope that you will follow me on this exhilarating adventure as I frolic through first grade this year! |
