year 3, t-1

Although I'm just about halfway to veteran status, tomorrow is going to bring a lot of firsts: my first day at my new school, my first day as a co-teacher, and my first day teaching the 28 lovelies who will call our classroom home for the next year.

I am so calm that I am worried about how calm I am. I cannot believe what a difference it makes to have a school, a principal, and a whole team who supports you.

Here are what I presume to be my biggest challenges this year:

1. Co-teaching. My co-teacher, Mrs. B (you should know that our names rhyme and its totally cute), is amazing. If I could have picked anyone to teach with she would have been one of my first choices. But co-teaching, no matter who you are paired with, is really hard. I have a lot to learn about sharing my physical and mental space with another adult for 10 hours a day.
2. Management. Jokes? No, I'm serious. I am a master of what I would call Tier 2 management. Tier 1 is kiddos running wild, so Tier 2 is perfect order and organization, BUT it's entirely teacher directed. Kids know how to get in line because you assigned a line order so they don't even need to think to do it. Tier 3 is what my school (and I) are aiming for: children get in line because they understand social rules and they are caring enough to allow their friends to find a spot. No line spots. Hard work, big payoff. I'm going for growing good humans this year! 
3. Not losing myself. For the past two years, I've developed opinions. Now, I'm around a whole bunch of other smart people who also have opinions. My first instinct is to defer to the experts. I have to keep reminding myself that sometimes I am also the expert. Tricky. 
4. Going paperless. I traded in the SexyFlexy for an iPad. My goal is to keep my life organized on a tablet instead of a notebook. I actually think that it allows for more powerful organization. If you are at all interested in hearing about how I am managing, please hit me up!
5. Learning 250 names. 'Nough said. 

On Friday, a colleague said to me that he taught for 7 years before joining our team, and he learned more in one year at my new school that he had learned in all of the other years combined.

Get ready, Wellesley Waves!