School's out for SUMMER!

School's out for SUMMER!  I have been singing that song to Brett for the past few days - the only lyrics I could remember at the time - "School's out for Summer, School's out forever!"  So those lines have been on repeat in the Paulk household.

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher's dirty looks

I've been known to give a few dirty looks a.k.a. "The Evil Eye"  Sometimes you just gotta let a kid know they are acting squirrely.

Things I've learned as a first year teacher.

#1 - Don't take it personal
A kid is screaming at you - don't take it personal.  A kid is being disrespectful and back talking - don't take it personal.  A kid is continuing to make bad choices - don't take it personal.  At the beginning of the year, my feelings were hurt when a kid was being disrespectful - I grew a thick skin real quick when I realized that they are just kids and they need a loving example in their life.

#2 - There will never be enough time in the day to get everything done.
I about killed myself first semester running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  There. is. so. much. to. be. done.  It is ridiculous, the amount of never ending paperwork, lesson planning, beginning of the year testing....  I am a visual person & have to have a checklist.  I feel accomplished when I am able to check things off the list and move on to the next.  I also like to have my checklist manageable.  I had to make an effort to get a few things done a day and leave the rest until tomorrow.

#3 - It's okay if a lesson fails.
That sinking feeling you get when kids are looking at you with that blank stare on their face.  Or better yet, they are done listening and doing their own thing in the back of the classroom.  Then, 2 minutes later, hands shoot up (or just start screaming)  "I don't get it!  What do I do?!"  The art of self control kicks in when you learn to bite your tongue and try and implement a Love & Logic technique.  Not every lesson is going to be perfect - learn from what didn't work and improve it for next time.

#4 - Learning how to talk to kids (and discipline them)
Never having kids makes it hard to know how to discipline them.  One technique that I learned about this year was Love & Logic - Where there is a logical consequence for choices.  Sometimes Many times it is hard to come up with a logical consequence and the default is to take time off of recess (their time).  I want to be able to come up with more logical consequences for next year. One of my classes was a room full of boys - and boy was there drama at recess.  It was like a mild version of Fight Club.  Who knew that I would double as a referee on more than one occasion? 

#5 - To have fun and enjoy my kiddos
Even though there is A LOT to be taught and not enough time in the day - it's important to realize that they need to enjoy being kids and have fun too.  A huge part of being a teacher is the relationships you develop.  It helps in classroom management and motivates students to work hard.  I truly enjoyed getting to know my kids and their stories and helping them to reach their potential.  I had a fantastic group of kids and am sad to see them go (the majority of them :)

My empty classroom until summer.