2 Weeks Later

My classroom is [pretty much] DONE and ready for Open House! Tomorrow I will meet my students, and they will have a chance to scope out their new learning environment. I have made tons of progress, and through much anxiety have somehow arrived at this point. Now if only my lessons would plan themselves! School starts Monday! =)

Here is some visual evidence of my labors:

I Have a Classroom!

Here are some initial photos. Try to imagine it without the mess. I will have everything unpacked and organized soon enough (otherwise I'll go out of my mind). I also have to start putting up posters and working on bulletin boards, because the room is fairly devoid of color and warmth at the moment. Other than that, I love it, because I finally have a place to live out my dream of making a difference.

And So It Begins

I have officially survived my first 2 days of work! Unfortunately, I don't have tons of exciting stories to report yet. The Beginning Teacher Institute included mostly introductory speeches (learning about Loudoun County's ideals/goals and the mentor program), group discussions, breakout sessions with our fellow new teachers, and plenty of networking. It was nice to bond with other nervous newbies, especially those that will be at my school. The best thing that came from this first phase was a strong sense of community and support. This district makes it impossible for its educators (particularly new teachers) to feel alone or stranded. I am excited to start collaborating with my 4th grade team in the coming days, where I'm positive I will find even more support, outreach, and overwhelming kindness.

Tomorrow I finally get to start setting up my classroom! Stay tuned for photos.

Going for Gold

What better way to motivate my students (while celebrating the Olympic spirit) than to have Classroom Olympics! I've decided this is the perfect activity to kick off the school year, because it will bring them back into the learning mindset and will begin creating a strong classroom community. Here are some ideas for events:


-Speed Spelling (students race to spell words, one letter at a time, as a team)
-Math Meet (students solve math problems, aiming for quickness and accuracy)
-Trivia Trials (students compete to answer questions related to history and geography)
-Leaping Learners (students jump as far as they can, measuring the distance)

Please share any other ideas you may have! I've also thought about creating a bulletin board entitled "Learners Go For Gold," or something to that effect. I'll put the olympic rings up there, which will symbolize unity/teamwork in our classroom and working hard to reach our goals. We'll have a class discussion about what we want our long term goals to be for the school year, and these will be posted on the olympic board, allowing students to track their growth.


I'm getting excited (and nervous). I start new teacher orientations/training on Wednesday, August 8th. Almost time to get this party started!