I am linking up with a fun blog hop that Fierce in Fourth is hosting. This particular hop spoke to me, as this will only be my second year teaching. The three things I am most jittery about are:
1. Classroom Management- Not only was last year my first year teaching, but I just had a tough class. Before the year started I knew I needed to have my management act together and....I thought I did. Little did I know, I had no idea what I was really in for. I am still working on exactly how things are going to run in my classroom. I think it is going to be a blend of CHAMPS and WBT. Wish me luck!
2. Finding the balance between work and home is stressing my out quite a bit. My career and family are two things that I want to be REALLY great at, which takes work on both fronts. Luckily, I have been married for a number of years and my boys are getting older, but I still need to find that balance between being a mom, a wife, and a teacher.
3. It sounds a little silly, but I am also a little jittery about our daily schedule. Last year, we didn't find out our schedule for Specials, lunch, etc., until the day before school started. It made it a little difficult to plan. Then, I had several days with pull-outs first thing, followed by lunch at 10:50 (yes, 3rd graders with lunch at 10:50 makes for a long afternoon). A schedule like that made it hard to plan a balanced day. As I sit and type this, I can have a ton of grand ideas about my day, what I want to do and how I want to do it, but ultimately a lot of that is in the hands of my principal.
I must say though, that even with all of my jitters freshly off my chest and out in the open, I'm still super excited about the upcoming school year. Now, if I could just get my keys back so I can really start getting my act together.
I found you on the first day jitters linky. I just posted about my classroom management system and it has worked sooooo wonderfully for me. I had a nightmare class my second year, and this even worked for them. Check it out here:
ReplyDeletehttp://fancyfreein4th.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-classroom-management-system.html
Layla
Fancy Free in Fourth
Hi Stephanie...you might want to check out a site called ClassDojo. It is a free, animated tool to use in your classroom for tracking behavior. I plan on using it this year. I am now a follower and would love for you to hop over to my blog and check it out.
ReplyDeleteAmy
www.adventuresinteaching.net
Classroom management is the foundation to a successful school year. Mine is constantly evolving even after several years of teaching because every class is different. I am also going to try and use ClassDojo this year. Check out my blog for some other classroom ideas. I am your newest follower.
ReplyDelete-Jaime
Bright Concepts 4 Teachers
I have read about and looked into ClassDojo, but just didn't want to go there in the middle of last year. Based on a couple of recent suggestions, including those on this blog, I think I may need to re-visit it. Thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie. I found you through the first day jitters blog hop, I like your blog. I started very recently also! I hung the mustache poster in my room as well :) I saw you mentioned CHAMPS and WBT. My school is married to CHAMPS (which I don't hate!) and I love WBT. Stop by my blog sometime!
ReplyDeleteI'm your newest follower!
Courtney
flockingtofifth.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by my jitters blog hop! :)
ReplyDeleteWe also receive our schedules right before school starts. I'm the kind of person that can't do any planning without my schedule set in stone!
Ashley @ Fierce in Fourth
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteLet me know when you find the secret to balancing home and work! I have two littles at home that I never feel like I have enough time with and a job I LOVE! YIKES! Plus I'm sure my husband would like to spend time with me. he he he!
Margaret
Kinder Journey
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI found you on the blog hop and I'm your newest follower. I'm a newbie blogger and would love for you to hop on over and check out my blog.
Tammy
Groovyin3rd.blogspot.com