Well, I made it through my first week as a first grade teacher! It was quite overwhelming at first because the schedule is very different from what I was used to. And, of course, these kids are rambunctious 6 and 7 year-olds. But I have a long break in the afternoon which really helps me reset and organize my thoughts.
It’s interesting being in this position of longterm sub. I’ve adopted this class. It is mine now for the rest of the year. There are some things that the last teacher did that I thought were effective, and there are some things she did that I found ineffective and have since begun to change. It’s all about creating your own systems, methods and plans without throwing the kids out of whack. Children thrive on consistency, routine, structure and clear expectations. However, I found that in my first week (fist day, really) that the last teacher hadn’t done the best job keeping her behavioral expectations high (she was sick, who could blame her?) Still, I found it necessary to go back to the basics with the kids. Putting lots of marbles in the jar for the little things they did well. Setting my expectations for different situations explicitly. I still have lots of work to do on this front, but I feel like the students gained respect for me quickly and eased comfortably into my more structured learning environment. My assistant seemed impressed, and told me after the first day that it went much better than she had expected! I appreciated hearing that.
So after one hectic week of learning the crazy dance that is teaching first grade, I had a week off for Spring Break. Wow, that was just glorious! I got a lot of sleep, relaxed with friends and family and logged some hours of lesson planning. Heck, I even went into work for a few hours on Thursday despite it being gorgeous outside. Sometimes you just have to be in the classroom in order to wrap your head around all the things that need to get done.
To sum up, I’d like to leave you with a quick list of observations I’ve made about a few of my kids. Thanks for reading!
C.
–big brown eyes that hide dark memories and secrets
–needs to touch everything
–wraps her arms around my leg while I read a story on the carpet
–knows much more about pain than I could ever comprehend
T.
–has the biggest pouty lip/face I’ve ever seen
–gets angry with others quickly and easily but I’m learning ways to refocus/distract him
–loves being a helper
–skinny body, big heart
