And Vacation Comes to an End

Yep, as you probably guessed from my lack of posts, I have started my student teaching gig. Last week was spent getting the room ready, and this week more of the same. I went to a teacher meeting on Tuesday morning where I met most of the other teachers in the school. The rest of the time I spent in the classroom getting it ready.

It's funny about the first few weeks or months on a new job, at least with me. You go in, you meet new people, you slowly get to know each person and their intricacies, and then you start to feel comfortable. I get immediately back into a routine, down to packing the same lunch at the same time, passing the same people on the street each morning, and the same people on the street each evening. Kind of like the movie Groundhog Day in a way.

The people at the school are really friendly and welcoming. As I get older, I start to put people into groups and categories based on the people I already know. Most of the teachers at the school have already been put in categories of former teachers that I had, based on the appearance of themselves and their rooms.

Luckily Linda is a minimalist, so our room, while big, isn't cluttered. I always think cluttered room, cluttered minds. And Linda's personality is a combination of my friend Karen Clark and a former boss of mine. I think we're going to work well together. When asked about how she organized her room so well, she commented about her relationship with a former co-worker whom she team-taught with. She said, "Well, I'm a global thinker and Mary is a detail person. So it worked out well." I consider myself both detail oriented and global, but tend to lean more toward the details. I think we're going to be fine.

Next week I am told to "absorb everything". I will be following the students around the whole week, including to all their "specials" (gym, art, music, computers, library). I won't be doing much teaching, except for some early spelling or reading assessments. I am anxious to get started and watch Linda in action. From chatting with her while we've been setting up the room, I have learned that she cares tremendously about her students. I'm sure that it will be a treat to teach in her room.

I'm going to try to keep up with the posts, but with this change in my regular routine, I may need some time to breathe instead of type. Bear with me and I will try to work blogging into the mix. Working out may take precedence too. But then again, it really needs to. I feel so out of shape.