Remember Dori on Finding Nemo and the song she used to sing? "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming." Well that is how I feel right now. I am trying to swim, but I am stuck in the deepest part of the ocean and I can't see the light just yet! I know that this year of teaching is going to be incredibly rough, but I also am still young (and inexperienced) enough to think that I can change the world. Well maybe I know that I can't change the world, but I can certainly change the minds of my 4th graders. I have dreams for my classroom. I hope that it can be a fun place where my kids can be themselves, but I also want them to learn. I want them to be focused, and I want them to get what I try to teach them. I want it to be an atmosphere that is encouraging and not controlling. Again, I know that that this is an extremely idealistic point of view. I am enough of a realist to know that my dreams will most likely be crushed, and that this will be the hardest year of my life. I want this blog to be a place where I can write my feelings out. I want to remember my highs and lows of this year.
Today was the first day that I was able to go to my classroom!! It was exciting, yet discouraging. Exciting because I now have my very own classroom. I have been working towards this day the past 22 years of my life. From the time I was young, all I wanted to do was be a mommy and a teacher. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord has called me to this profession. With His will and guidance, I know that I can be a great teacher. However, as a first year teacher I am obviously completely unprepared for this year. Those of you who know me, know that I am a planner to the extreme. I am a big picture thinker, and I love to think ahead. But I literally cannot see the big picture. I have so many questions that cant be answered by another teacher, they are answers that I have to learn for myself by going through the motions.
I came home today and sat in my moms bed and cried for the 1st time. (I'm not really sure that it bodes will for me to have already cried before I even begin my job!) I cried because I am extremely overwhelmed. I know that I don't have enough instruction materials, I have no idea of how to even begin that first week of class. Do 4th graders know their multiplication facts? If not, how do I even begin to teach that?! What is a word that is too hard for them to spell? Is Charlottes Web ok to begin reading with them the 1st week of class, or do they need to work up to that book? Where do I want them to put their supplies? Do I want to have my makeup folder by the door or by my desk? What do I put in the supply cabinet? Do I put all of the students supplies or my supplies? Where do I put the reading center? What math manipulatives do I need to buy? How do I go about buying them? As you can see, I have many questions. On top of these questions are about 1000 more (just ask my poor mother, she sat and listened to all of them).
I know that this year is going to be an incredible year in so many ways. It will be incredibly difficult. It will be incredibly exciting. It will be a year of incredible growth as a teacher and in my walk with the Lord. I know that Jesus will continue to sanctify me throughout this process. I am so incredibly excited, but also incredibly terrified!
These next few weeks I will continue to swim through the deep water and be gasping for breath. But I do know that the light will come soon, and all I have to do is just keep swimming!
"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver." Psalm 66:10
I hope some of my advice/answers will help you! This will be my 4th year teaching and I have been teaching 4th grade all of 4 years. Like you, I had SO many questions that first year (and still do!) and I was also overwhelmed! Do you have a mentor? I was blessed with a wonderful mentor who is also the other 4th grade teacher. I cannot tell you how many questions I've asked her. Literally, over the summer before school began, I went to her with a page full of questions! If you don't have a mentor, talk to a teacher in your grade level. *Most* teachers will be more than happy to help you! I'm going to try and answer some of your questions based on my experience in 4th grade!
ReplyDelete1) Multiplication facts: I'm not sure what your state's standards are, but here in SC, students learn multiplication facts in 3rd grade, BUT many come to 4th forgetting them or with limited knowledge. I have songs that i use to teach them and I tell the kids & their parents, you just have to memorize them. Now when i say that I sing them, we sing the products to a tune and I don't have one for every number. For example, 1s are easy, 2s are easy. For 3s facts we sing "3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33" in the happy birthday tune. For the 4s, we sing it in the Old McDonald tune. 5s are easy so no song for that. We sing 6s to the happy birthday tune. 7s are " 7, 14, 21, 28 yeeehaw, 35, 42, 49 yeehaw, 56, 63, 70, 77, she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes, yeehaw. For the 8s we sing it to take me out to the ballgame like "8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 and 56, 64 and 72" (it ends funny), and 9s are The Addams Family and it goes "da, da, da, da, (snap, snap), da, da, da, da (snap, snap), da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, there's 9 and there's 18, 27, 36, 45 and 54, 63, 72, 81, da, da, da, da (snap, snap) da, da, da, da(snap, snap), da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da.
2) For spelling, I've used something different every year but start out smaller and increase. Maybe google sample spelling lists.
3) I've never used Charlotte's Web, but only because our 3rd grade does it!
4) I have baskets in the middle of my groups desks for supplies. Most prefer to keep their pencils in their desks. You can see these baskets on my blog "For the Love of Teaching".
5) I keep the makeup folder on my desk only because you never know if a sneaky student might want to take a test out or what not.
6) I don't have a supply cabinet, but I do have an area where I have all my markers in a basket, colored pencils together, etc.
7) Reading center - I don't have an actual center, but I do have a reading area with 2 chairs, a bean bag, and a cushion at the back of my room for students to read at. I put students in groups and during independent reading, I meet with one group and choose another group to read at the back. Each group gets to read back there once a week.
8) Math manipulatives: Some I use are 3d shapes, base 10 blocks, fractions strips/tiles, pattern blocks. Can you do a purchase order at your school so they buy them? Or go to a teacher supply store and they should have an area for math manipulatives.
I hope this has helped some! Don't be afraid to ask questions to your team teachers or administrators! If you need any help, I'd be happy to answer some more questions! Just leave a comment on my blog or email me at lanageren@yahoo.com. I bet i just made record for the longest blog comment! :)