First Days of Kindergarten

Well, I am officially a kindergarten teacher and guess what... I LOVE it! I already have a few stories to tell and I want to be sure to document this entertaining year.

Story 1: On the first day of kindergarten, I was explaining to the kids that if they keep their "owl" all day and stay on green, then they will receive a Skittle at the end of the day. When reviewing, I asked "What will I give you for staying on a green?" One little boy eagerly blurted, "shpaghetti!." We all laughed and giggled and made jokes about giving them a handful of spaghetti at the end of the day. This just really made my day, as it was really nice to be able to joke and laugh with my class without them losing their minds.

Story 2: Yesterday, I was talking to the class about manners and using words such as please and thank you. I asked what the magic word was and one little boy said "abracadabra!" He was right, it WAS a magic word.

Story 3: I have one little boy who keeps crying every time I correct him. Well, today, I looked over at him and he had raccoon eyes. I swear! I really think he had on mascara!!! Not sure what to make of that one, so I just told him to go wash his face.

I'm sure I will have a story a day for the next school year and would love to keep you entertained with them.

I'm going to write a second post sharing my classroom pics in detail. I hope you teachers might get a few ideas (many of which are already stolen).

Fluttering by Faith,

Erin

Ramblings of an Overwhelmed Teacher

I'm feeling very overwhelmed tonight. Changing grade levels is so scary and invigorating at the same time. I'm very excited about teaching kindergarten, but there's so much preparation to do. I've been working on my room steadily for the last few weeks, yet it doesn't look or feel like much has been done. And everywhere I look there's more to do. On top of that, I haven't really even started on curriculum planning and all the nuts and bolts that go into operating a class. The problem is that I can't seem to finalize any decisions on techniques, strategies, etc that I want to use. Being that it's my first time in kinder, I know that I will probably go through several things on trial and error before I land on what I like.

To be perfectly honest, I'm kinda scared. Not scared that I can't do it, but scared that I won't do it well enough. I feel like the low man on the totem pole again. Instead of contributing knowledge, I'm asking a million questions which I feel like makes me appear not to know what I'm doing at all. I've finally got enough experience under my belt that I should be steady.

And what if I DO excel? Will I ever be recognized or rewarded for it like everyone else around me? No! Why does it matter to me? Not because I'm conceited but because I'm human. Instead, All I get is fear of ONE person rating me ineffective one time, then boom, everything I've worked for is down the drain. Thanks Louisiana, for really making teachers scared.

The thing I have to keep reminding myself is that GOD PUT ME HERE. HE WILL TAKE CARE OF ME. Never in my life have I ever wanted to teach kindergarten and now I'm thrilled to be doing it!

I promise I really am excited and looking forward to this year. I've just got all of these doubts, fears, thoughts jumbling around in my head tonight. I'm actually typing this on my phone from bed, so I apologize for any whacky typos.

Below is an example of why my room overwhelms me. I can't wait to write a post and show the finished product.

I'm baaaaack!!!

I'm back. On a whim, I have decided to reactivate my blog. I don't really have much to say at the moment, but I will. A few things have changed since I last posted. One, I have finally earned my master's degree in reading instruction. I am also now certified to teach ECE-5, and I'm happy to say that I'm going to be teaching kindergarten this school year! I want to document my experiences as I go through the year. I'm sure I will have many funny and head-scratching moments in days to come. This blog will most likely focus around my trials, lessons, thoughts, and experiences in a few main areas: fitness, finances, food, friends, family, and teaching! I tend to be very random, so I'm sure it will be more than that. Anyway, I hope to have a planned post up for you (if anyone reads), or just myself, very soon! Fluttering by Faith, Erin