A- Always be positive! Even on the most difficult of days! Your
attitude will affect your class more than you think!
B- Be prepared for anything! Have a great lesson planned? Everything going smooth? Sounds like a great time for a fire drill or
a kid puking at their desk! You never know what could happen in the course of
the day. If something doesn’t go
according to plan, you have to be prepared to deal with it!
C- Communication- Keep good communication with the
kids and their parents.
D- DEVOLSON- Unfamiliar with DEVOLSON? (Dark Evils
Vortex Of Late Sept Oct Nov). Find ways
to make it through DEVOLSON. There are
lots of fun meme’s and games for DEVOLSON!
Google it!
E-
Extra time.
Keep in mind that sometimes you need extra time to complete a lesson or understand a concept. If your school is
really picky about schedules…do the best you can…but keep in mind, just because
your math block is only 90 minutes doesn’t mean everyone will complete
everything in that time.
F- Facebook.
Do not accept friend requests from students or parents. As tempting as it may be, it is never a good
idea. I have had parent request that I
ignored all year and if I had a great relationship with them and wanted to keep
in touch (and knew there were no younger siblings that could pass through my
grade) I accepted their request in the summer.
Also, NEVER post about your students or negative remarks about your
school.
G- Grades.
Stay on top of grading. You will
regret falling behind and having to waste a weekend or a holiday grading
papers!
H- Homework-Make it meaningful! Students spend 7+
hours a day at school, they don’t need to do meaningless work at home. Depending on their grade, keep in mind that
many kids have 2 working parents who don’t have hours to spend on homework.
I- Initiative – Even it if it’s your 1st
year, take charge of something. It will
show other teachers that you are a leader and care about your place in the
school.
K- Krazy Glue- Keep some in your desk. You’d be surprised how often it comes in
handy.
L- Lunch.
Eat a good lunch….you need it! Don’t skip it to run copies or grade
papers, your body needs fuel to be at it’s best!
M- Moms- If you have Moms (or Dads) that want
volunteer, let them! If you don’t want
them in your classroom, ask them to come help with bulletin boards, coping
papers, or cutting things out. Most
parents just want to help.
N- Never Enough Time…there is truly never enough! Every teacher feels this way! If you find a way to beat this...PLEASE let me know!
O- Only 10 months….it will seem like an eternity at
the beginning of the year….but it really is a small amount of time!
P- Prepare/Prep – Do as much as you can ahead of
time before a lesson. It will pay off!
Q- Quick- Days may drag on but when the school year
ends you’ll realize how fast the years go by!
R- Recess- need I say more? Kids need to run off all that extra energy! Get outside whenever you can. Inside recess is not a teachers favorite (although I have found that I get a little extra done in my room while the kids are playing).
S- Smelly- Keep a bottle of air freshener handy…..you
never know when you might need it!
T - Tattling-
If you teach a younger grade, nip tattling in the bud at the beginning
of the year! There are so many great
idea on Pinterest about tattling. I
always teach my kids the difference between reporting and tattling. Don’t just “let it go” of you’ll spend a good
portion of your day dealing with that.
U-
Understand- When you students have a problem, listen to them, understand them. You never know what could be going on in their home life that can affect their school performance. Take time to listen.
V- Vary-
Vary your teaching strategies, vary your center activities, vary how you
line up your class…constantly switch up how you do things when you can. Stick to solid routines but occasionally
change it up! Example! I use Write the Room as a writing center I can teach at the beginning of the year and then change them out each month! Check it out! Click on the cover to preview this awesome activity!
W- Wash Your Hands….need I say more? Ick!
X-
X = Xtra materials (yes I know that doesn’t
really start with X, but give me a break).
Keep extra supplies and materials on hand, you never know when a new
students will join your class.
Y-
Yes! – Yes you will survive! Whether this is
your 1st year teaching, your 30th year, or you’re beginning
your journey with student teaching! YOU
WILL SURVIVE!
Z-
Ziploc Bags-
Stock up! You’ll find so many
uses for them!