BACK TO SCHOOL – for the 25th time as a teacher

Back to school is just around the corner for most of us.  I don’t actually go back until after Labour Day, but I assume that many of you are thinking about classroom set up and planning.  And some of you are already
back in the classroom.  Even though the first day of school is a month away for me, I thought I’d write down some of my thoughts on back to school and what it means to me.

I am always excited to go back to school.  I love that feeling of being reunited with the people you spent so much time and effort, (and sometimes blood sweat and tears) with during the past year.   There’s a definite feeling of anticipation.  I wonder how many of my students went on a trip, how many saw each other over the holidays, how many went to summer school, etc. etc.   And I wonder if any of them will not be coming back to our school this year.  My school has a little bit of transiency and I usually have one or two kids who move away over the summer break.

The past few years have been very difficult for me as far as classroom management.  I feel that kids are changing and self-regulation is becoming the focus of all my time and effort in the classroom.  (But that’s a post for
another day.)  I just want to bring this up, because the last few year ends have had me in a complete state of exhaustion.  I can’t think straight, I’m
overwhelmed, I’m getting high blood pressure…  So even after all of this, I still feel that excitement of anticipation when the school year starts back up again 2 months later.

It’s something that you don’t find in most jobs, that sense of a new beginning every year.   A new year means a fresh start every time.  In June, I clean up the cobwebs, and the dust bunnies that have gathered over the year.  I find things that have fallen behind furniture, and put everything away in it’s place.  So this means in September I can start anew.  This year will be my 25^th Back to School.  I feel the excitement just as much as I did my first year (I’m just not as nervous).

For the past 12 years I have been in the same classroom – some years I change up the room layout a bit, but for the most part I’ve been really happy with the layout I have.  This year, I’m not going to change it up.  I think I might change the theme.  I have several that I made in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  I’m leaning towards the purple but I also love the Summer Party, so I have a decision to make.

I’ve been busy this summer and I’m sure all of us have.  But after going to the Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Florida last July, I tried to focus on my family and let my store be my second focus.  The past few summers I have spent so much time and energy on my store, that I think my family has suffered.  This year I have tried to make it balance.  I think it worked out
well.  My kids and my husband look happy and refreshed, and I feel like we had sufficient time to bond together.  My kids are of an age now that I really enjoy hanging out with them.  We have some very interesting conversations these days. And I know that once they are teenagers they will no longer want to hang out and talk with us, so I’m trying to savour these days.

Anyway, the school year will be starting soon, and my point is that even after all my years, and all the changes to me and my teaching, I am still excited about a new year, a fresh start, and a new group of students to hang out with every day.  I hope you feel the same.