I guess I am not as consistent with this blogging as I had hoped to be. However, in my defense, this year has been mostly about playing catch up from the "Year of the Pandemic".
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I am sitting here at beautiful Lake Cumberland in a cabin on a Sunday afternoon after a retreat with seven other women and thinking ahead to the coming school year. It is still a month before school starts but my mind is racing with all the things that need to be done before I welcome a new group of children into my classroom and into my heart. Also, going through my mind are thoughts of worry, anticipation, wonder, and excitement all at the same time.
Of course, there are always professional development hours that need to be met. I like to get as many of those out of the way during the summer as I possibly can. Luckily, this year it looks like I will be able to get all 24 completed before school begins. There is also, of course, setting up the classroom. Each year this looks different depending on my mood, the number of students, my theme, what new furniture I have acquired, mostly though my mood. I am one of those teachers that like to change her room around throughout the year. Well, at the least the seating arrangement. Something I want to do this summer before I do anything of those other things is paint my classroom. I am super excited about doing that. I am ready for a fresh look. These students have seen the same color scheme since they started as kindergarteners. I am hoping they will be excited for a change also. That makes me think about how 4th grade is all about a fresh look or fresh start. It is the beginning of their intermediate elementary journey. A handful of students jump right in and handle this well but most students struggle in the beginning. Parents and students aren't usually prepared for the difference. Students are expected to handle more academically. This means the classwork will be fast paced because there is more to learn in a year. They are also expected to be more independent and responsible for themselves. This means remembering deadlines, keeping up with supplies, and communicating information between home and school. Students will fail a lot before they succeed. BUT THAT IS OKAY!! I don't know how many times I can say that. We learn when we fail. In my class, we celebrate mistakes because mistakes make our brains grow. Any day that our brains grow is a good day! It is still a month away but, I am really looking forward to the beginning of a new year with a new group of students. I don't even know their names yet but I already love them. I know you have heard it a million times from every teacher you have spoken to, but please indulge me one more time. This has been a year for the history books. Teachers have taught harder than they have ever taught in their entire careers and some (not all) people have assumed that we have had it easy because kids have been home 50% of the time. But, this year has been not only physically tough but mentally tough.
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