Ready!

    Eight days have passed already.  The room was ready - okay, not as cutesy and stylish as I would have liked, but ready.  While getting very depressed over the room decorations, or lack of, I was hit with a very profound thought.  I have taught for over 35 years and have the joy of seeing lots of my former students.  When they come back no one has ever mentioned how pretty they remember my room being.  I have heard about how much fun our poetry notebooks were - several mentioned they could still remember the poems and said them to their children at night.  They mention when we "went" to Japan and ate Japanese food and sang Japanese songs.  They talk about the wonderful books I read them. Not one has ever said "wow, those were some bulletin boards!"  There is a lesson there.  Mostly for me.  I still want an attractive room.  That is important to living inside it for a year.  But as long as I am ready, really ready for those wonderful kiddos, the rest will work out. 
    I have a great group - 16 really cute kids.  I am blessed already just by getting to know them.  It is going to be a good year, I can feel it.  Do I wish I could back to last year's job?  Oh, yes.  I loved it.  It was so different and challenging.  But you find joy where you put it.  I plan on putting lots of it into this year. 
     I have several websites I need to tell you about.  Next time I sit down to write, I will share some of them with you.  Have a blessed day and thank you for dropping by.  Please consider signing up to follow me.  I would love to not feel quite so lonely on the tiny slice of the web!  Also drop me a comment and let me know what your connection to teaching is. 

Oh my!

     In my naive mind, I thought while moving back into my old room would be a ton of work and of course a hassle, I had no idea.  No idea.  I went over this past Thursday and walked down to my new (old) room.  Oh my.  The cupboard - one old wooden one and one new metal one - were jam packed with "stuff".  Some very good stuff, but I have no idea what all is in there.  Furniture was everywhere.  That in and of itself was daunting.  But it led me to the conclusion, I have no space for my things.  They are all down in the room I was in last year.  Neatly packed away inside the wall of cupboards I had.  I wasn't sure what to do or where to start.  My things had come out of this room a year ago, so I knew they would fit.  However in that year, two teachers had occupied that space.  And left things - lots of things.  I got some things done, but none of it was moving my things in.  I feel sort of like I am invading someone else space.  I want to think about my kids and plan and get excited about our year together, but all I can focus on is how to move into this room.  I will post pictures later when it is "my" space.  Right now, I am feeling somewhat like the man without a county.