I have decided to revive this blog and use it as a means to track my progress throughout my first year of teaching. I hope those of you that decide to follow me on this journey will enjoy having the opportunity to keep up. I can't make any promises about writing, but I definitely think it will be a healthy way of venting, a useful way to keep track of successes and mistakes, and a fun way to keep my "fans" informed.

I will be teaching fifth grade in the fall with a group of no more than 24 students. This class is in the middle of a loop. For those of you who don't speak teacher-ese, that means that the same group of kids has the same teacher for two grades in a row. Their previous teacher who had them for fourth grade is moving to a different classroom this fall, so I will be taking over for their fifth grade year.

Right now, I'm beginning to prepare for the year ahead. As a baby teacher ( as I refer to myself) there is an unbelievable amount of prep work to be done to feel even remotely confident when the kids show up on the first day. I'm so thankful to have secured my job so early in the game. It has allowed me to mentally prepare at least some. Now I'm down to the business of planning, scheduling, and purchasing everything I'll need to fill my classroom.

I've been working on scheduling quite a bit lately. It is crucial to keep in mind that a teacher needs to be very flexible when considering the school day. Of course I'm planning to do this- I'm a very go with the flow person when it comes to the classroom- but if I have a plan, it will be easier to stick to. Let's hope the creative juices keep flowing so that my kids aren't cursing me within the first two weeks of school :-)