Friday, August 2, 2013

Ready or not, here it comes!

I am now a little more than 4 weeks away from beginning my student teaching experience. YIKES! As you can imagine, I have a mixture of emotions going on for that right now. On the one hand, I'm feeling completely unprepared and want to put it off another month. On the other hand, I'm super excited to jump in there and get started. I have been reading middle school blogs like it's my job lately. I was awake at 5am yesterday doing it. Somehow, I just do not feel prepared for this. Sometimes I am prepared for something,  but anxiety makes me feel unready. However, in this case it's because I actually have just not had the time to put anything together yet. Which, is an excuse. I'm aware, but regardless of that, I'm not prepared at all. I still need a few supplies, I have yet to even open the math text book, I haven't been to the classroom yet, and I just decided what book to do for my novel unit last week. I haven't really started preparing my unit yet, unless you count pinteresting. The problem isn't  motivation, because I am completely motivated, and student teaching consumes my thoughts lately. The problem is mostly that I'm just so completely overwhelmed that I'm not sure where to start.

I put together a binder to collect ideas for student teaching and to gather all of my important documents and dates and such. It's been pretty helpful so far. I have a section for my novel unit, math, language arts, life skills, and other. I have jotted down some thoughts for my novel unit and have some other really creative ideas I might want to try out, but I'm still feeling very, very far from ready. 

I decided that I am going to do Holes by Louis Sachar for my novel unit this year. I remember that I absolutely loved the movie and the book when I was younger. It was a fast read, and I think it'll definitely catch the attention of both the guys and the girls in my 6th grade class. I have some really awesome ideas for things I want to do with it. I'm going to try to have my friend who works at a pet store bring in a lizard or two, we're going to study women of the wild west, juvenile boot camps, and famous inventions. We may even pick our own nicknames for each other like they do in the book. It's going to be a blast, and once it's completely planned out I'll feel much better. 

I tend to over think things, which leaves me working on everything 8 times longer than most people would. I'm working on trying to be more decisive, but it's really hard for me. Sometimes I am too much of an overachiever for my own good. I need to learn to take a step back and let good be good enough sometimes.

One thing that I have decided on is what my "about me" bulletin board is going to be like. I've decided to make it a Facebook theme! I saw a couple Facebook boards for famous authors and artists that other teachers have done, so I figured this could be a really cool way to introduce myself to the class. I'll have a profile picture and an about section where I can mention my birthday, my hometown, and where and when I graduated. I'll have a friends section and a photos section where I can put pictures of me and my family and friends. I'll have a likes section where I'll put small pictures of my favorite books, movies, and music, and I'll also be able to list my interests there. My favorite part is going to be the dry erase status message section. That way I can update my status for the class just like I do online. Also, my wall is going to be changeable as well. I'll be able to post questions and pictures and interesting articles, and the students can respond to it with post it notes. I think it'll be a really great way to start interacting with the class. 

Mrs. Coyne should be contacting me anytime in August to have me come set up the classroom. I'm really excited that she is getting me involved so soon and that she is going to help me stay organized and prepared FAR ahead of time. Procrastination would just make this experience so much more challenging and stressful. 

And now....it is...

CURRENTLY AUGUST: 

LISTENING to the fan and traffic. I concentrate best in silence, even though I wish that weren't true. 

LOVING that I finally have a day to relax and catch up with myself and that Corey has the day off too. Also, that things are working out with the FAO. 

THINKING that I wish I had found my motivation earlier this summer and got an even bigger head start on all of this. Stephanie, one of my closest friends, will be coming next week and taking time off work makes me nervous, but I'm so excited to see her, and I need one more break before all of this begins. 

WANTING a few new teacher supplies, some one on one time with Corey, for all financial problems to disappear, and to get some details of my novel unit finished.

NEEDING to get this to-do-list finished, and to take a long nap in the sun. 

BACK TO SCHOOL MUST HAVES 
A few new items for my teacher wardrobe, colorful pens, a nice travel mug for coffee, and a  planner.

3 comments:

Ruth S. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ruth S. said...


I love your enthusiasm! It takes me back to my student teaching experiences and the wonderful teachers who were my mentors. I hope you've pinned your blog on Pinterest! If it's okay with you, I'd like to pin it to my boards!

Renee said...

Thanks Ruth! I think I have pinned it to one of my boards. Feel free to pin it too! I'm getting so excited about student teaching, I can't imagine what it will feel like when I'm about to start my first year :)