Over 2 Months Later...

I have NO IDEA how all of you teachers out there make time for teaching, family life, AND blogging. There aren't enough hours in the day!! Maybe it is just because I am a new teacher and I am also working another job... but I don't know how you do it. Every time someone mentions to me that I haven't blogged in a while, I feel like punching a wall. HOW ABOUT YOU WRITE IT FOR ME?! I'll just tell you what I want it to say and you can write it since I spend all my free time asleep! Just kidding... but not really.  It has been over 2 months since my last blog post, even though it feels like it was just yesterday. Oops. Let's see... where were we?! Oh yes! I had just finished teaching summer school. I hadn't even started setting up my school year classroom yet. Hahahaha... I had no idea what was coming. Summer school was a breeze compared to what I was about to walk into.  I went into my new classroom on the first day that I could get my keys. I had friends to help and plan to get started on. Boy did that plan go our the window fast. There was SO. MUCH. STUFF. in that classroom. Seriously. It was the entire center of room (about 10ft by 8ft) and it was stacked all the way to my very high ceilings. There was furniture galore, more desks then I would ever need, left over student work, left over professional resources, garbage, dust, geckos and cockroaches. Ew.  The classroom I was moving into had previously been shared by 2 teachers. One of the teachers had moved to a different island, so she had left majority of her stuff. Luckily she had a lot of things that I found incredibly helpful. But it was still a lot of stuff. The other teacher had moved into a classroom that was itty bitty, and couldn't take most of her stuff with her. So she just left it in the room. Along with a lot of garbage (old student work, broken supplies, old food-YUCK). Because there had been 2 classes, there were enough desks for all those kids. I counted over 30 desks. That's a lot when your class size is going to be 8. I'm very thankful for our wonderful and helpful custodian who immediately offered to help me move any unwanted furniture and trash out of my room. Thank you, thank you, thank you! My planned time for going through stuff already in the classroom was 1 day. It ended up taking 1 week. I was tired, frustrated, and hot every day. Oh yes, I was doing all of this in the middle of a Hawaiian summer, in a classroom with no AC... it was HOT! In addition, almost every day more "stuff" showed up into my room for anonymous other classrooms. Although I was grateful for all the resources, it was just more stuff that needed to find a home. Once we got all of the sorting, throwing away, and organizing done, we started bringing in my stuff, setting up the furniture the way I wanted, and decorating!  Decorating was absolutely the fun part. I don't have a classroom "theme" so I just went with bright fun colors. There is a little bit of chevron and polka dot, but mostly it is just solid bright colors. All this work was totally worth it because my room is absolutely huge! I see some of the itty bitty classrooms that some of my co workers have, and I am forever grateful that I have such a giant room. I also got blessed with a very wonderful classroom EA (advantage to being a SPED teacher). She came in almost every day that I was in the classroom working to help me. She did all of the tasks that I didn't want to do, and she always did it with a smile on her face. To this day she is the greatest resource that I have, and I am very lucky to have her help and support.  Here are some pictures of my bright and giant classroom (things have changed a little and gotten more filled up in the 2 months since these pictures were taken!):

^This is my student computer area.

^Front of my classroom/student desk area

^Math manipulatives/dictionaries

^Another view of the front of my classroom

^Teacher area

^Back of my classroom (Morning meeting/calendar area)

^Material storage and another view of the teacher area

^Classroom library

^More classroom library and my EA's area behind

^In classroom bathroom area! 

We had parent night the night before school started. That was terrifying. But most of my parents came. They were all very friendly and loved my classroom. First scary part of being a first year teacher... check! As I went to sleep the night before the first day of school, I was scared, but also prepared. I had extra lessons ready to go just in case. I had memorized my students names and pictures. I knew my classroom was as perfect as it could be. I actually got a really good nights sleep! The first day of school went pretty smoothly if I remember correctly. I only sort of remember it as one giant blur. One of my students never showed up, so I went from a class of 8 to a class of 7. I had six 2nd graders and one 3rd grader.  A few weeks into the school year, we had some issues with the grade level below me, and they asked if they could move the only 1st grader up into my class. I said sure! I had one kid never show up, so I had the desk and materials for one more student. Why not?! Let me tell you... trying to coordinate schedules with 3 grade levels is no easy task! Luckily all of the teachers are very helpful and understanding. They frequently remind me of things since they know I have a lot to keep track of. They are all so great. :) So now, I am officially a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade severe SPED teacher! Now we have been in school for almost 2 months. The first quarter of the school year is coming to an end soon, and I can't believe how fast it has gone. I was really hesitant about accepting this position. I had very little experience in severe special education, and I didn't know if I was up to the challenge. But I can honestly say that accepting this job was the smartest decision I have ever made. I love my students. More than I ever thought would be possible. They understand me, and I understand them. I have eliminated problem behaviors that other teachers have been trying for years to eliminate in these kids. They are calm and relaxed in my classroom, and they are learning more than I ever thought possible. They are smart, and happy, and I can't imagine having any other class for my first year. These kids make me smile every day, and I have never once dreaded going to work. I can't wait for the rest of the year, even if it means I never have time to blog. :)  Now if I can just stay on top of all the meetings and paperwork... :)