Thankfully, the majority of my friends and family know better than to ask what I do all summer, but it does seem to be a long perpetuated myth that teachers just bask in the sun and read books all summer long. I distinctly remember a professor in college toting this as a reason to become a teacher. Ha! What a load of bologna. The image above is the current running list of things I need to accomplish within the next month. Sadly, I know that there are several things I am forgetting, so I have been reaching out to fellow teachers and asking them what other tasks I have yet to consider that need to be completed before the first days of training begin in August.
The tabs on my computer are growing with half-written assignments, powerpoints to complete, and education blogs for how to prepare for my first year as a teacher (again). Luckily, I have done this once already so, I am a little more prepared for the crazy that is about to ensue. Hopefully my husband is as well. @quantumanomaly, remember I love you and it gets less crazy as time goes on. One of my teacher friends suggested I start hunting down back to school deals for supplies, decorations, etc, but I am a minimalist at heart and would rather decorate with student work and reuse items collected from other teachers. Luckily, my cooperating teacher from student teaching just accepted a new position and will be cleaning out her classroom this week, so hopefully I will inherit some nifty hand-me-downs.
Anyway, I don't really know what this post was supposed to be about, but my brain has been on overdrive ever since we got settled and I realized I haven't blogged in a while and I miss you all! Hopefully I can get a little more regular in interacting with you all whenever I am looking for a brain break from school stuff. If any of my teacher pals see this and have any suggestions for what I should do to get ready for the first couple of weeks I am all ears. Also, before you suggest it: yes I have purchased and am re-reading Harry Wong's The First Days of School. Why I sold it after class I dunno, I can only guess I was a poor college student and didn't recognize how important the book would be to my first years of teaching. Every teacher friend has recommended it immediately when I asked them what I should be preparing for my classroom in the Fall.
Stay awesome and hope to hear from you all soon,