First Day Jitters

Tomorrow is it.....my first day with our new class....I'm pretty sure I'll have a restless night. I usually do. It's a night of wild dreams that usually involve children going wild and principals from my past who are evaluating me as the classroom management falls to pieces. Either that or I'll have a dream that I am completely unprepared for the students. I once had a dream that all the photocopying I had done was blank and I couldn't get the chalk to write on the board.

I'll go in early tomorrow so I can feel prepared and have some time before the show starts! I always feel a bit like an actor on stage when the kids are all seated and looking at me. I'm never nervous at that point but I know I have to act a certain way. I have the speech pretty much memorized....it's part of my repertoire now.....it's all about good listening and what that looks like. I always start with the listening speech. If they don't know how to listen, it's a lost year. So we talk a lot about listening and we practice and practice....They think it's a game. I get them to chat with their neighbours and practice listening when I ask for their attention. They think it's fun because they get lots of positive feedback. Personally, I'll be exhausted by the end of the day. Every little thing will have to be explained. Everything from sharpening pencils to which shelves they can access....everything from how we line up to how we ask for help. Those first days always feel so long. It takes a while for my brain to get back into teacher mode. There's a ton of multi tasking on the job. While I'm reading with a group of children, assessing each one as they read, I'm also watching the rest of the class, reinforcing one child who is working quietly, redirecting someone who is chatting. Then a child from another class comes to the door to borrow my stop watch, a wasp circling the class distracts everyone...I impress them by turning out the lights and getting it out the window. By the time I get back to my reading group, another child has lost a tooth, I suddenly realize I forgot to send down the attendance and then what do you know, it's recess! It's just a typical day. It's something I love though. I never dread the work because each day is different and every day I get to hang out with kids. It's a fun world. Kids are so transparent and trusting.

So, tomorrow will be an adventure. New faces, new names, new personalities.....I can't wait to meet them all.