To work

Sitting in bed. Cup of tea. Sleeping cat. Quiet holiday Monday. Somehow I have to work up the energy to get myself into school. I promised myself I would go in today. Staple up that last bulletin board. Clean the last clutter off the counters. Bring a plant in the brighten the room. (I can have a plant! I have windows! Glory glory glory!) Maybe make some copies. Fully plan the first few weeks- weeks full of get to know you, name learning, rule giving, pretesting, and general observation of who these new students are.
Anyway... I guess it's time to leave this cozy day and get my mind around SCHOOL. School tomorrow.

are we here again?

First day back for teachers. I love coming back to the school. Setting up my classroom, getting organized, planning the year. Everything feels fresh. Feels like a new start. This year I'm in a new classroom. I have windows. I have a little more space. I have...boxes all over the place from moving. So that will be my day tomorrow (after whatever morning stuff the admins have planned for us). Sort. File. Email. Begin to think about the first day with my new students. A new beginning. Here we go again.

Questions

I want the perfect first day. That thought consumes me. I'm in the school a week before the other teachers, moving desks, filing papers, and trying to remember what I will feel when I stand in front of 30 strangers. I know, from the past, that systems need to be decided before the first day. The classroom needs to be a functioning, well oiled machine before 8th graders walk in- with them comes chaos. Only one things slows that chaos down- a clear picture on my part.
So, now I ZEN. I sit in my classroom and think. I look around the room and try to imagine a face in every desk. Is there enough space around the drinking fountain? When they get up to sharpen their pencil, is there a path from every desk? Will the turn in basket be here... or there? Or should I have two? When students turn in work, how will I collect it? What will I grade, what will just get a glance? Will they keep journals? Do they all need graphing calculators? If I have a class set of (anything- books, calculators, markers, compasses, protractors) how will I keep it from being destroyed/lost/stolen? Do they check everything out? Are they assigned a number? Are there baskets at every table? How did they sit? In rows? In groups? How do I communicate home? Newsletter? e-mails? How will I communicate daily and weekly plans? Where will I post our learning targets? Will I start each day with a problem or a riddle? How will I teach group dynamics? How will I stay caught up with planning, grading, organization, and the two thousand other things I HAVEN'T thought of once this year gets going.
I have a lot of questions.

Late Night Dreams

School, just around the corner. How do I know? The school dreams have started. Dreams of the first day, a classroom in chaos. School dreams never show a perfect day, but show the worst case scenario. Last night I saw visions of the first day of school-- and I had done no preparation-- school started NOW.
No matter how many first days I have, the nerves never go away. I must be crazy, thinking I can get up in front of 32 people and keep order and teach math. Suddenly, in the light of day, it hits me how much needs to be done before one student sets a foot in my room. I learned, in my first year, that a less than perfect first day will be something that can haunt me all year long.
SO, tomorrow, I go to work. When the dreams start, it's time to take control. Tomorrow it's time to unpack boxes, think about systems for the year, and get a feel for what is to come. I'll meet with my teammates and start to plan our attack on the year. This, to me, marks the beginning.