School doesn't start for another two weeks. Actually, it's almost THREE weeks until I meet students, but teachers report the week prior (and then we have a four-day weekend). I'm ready to go back. Not that I'm ready to deal with the day to day hassles, but it will be nice to be back in a regular routine. The Princess ate dinner at 7:30 tonight after a two-hour pool session, and I'm sure we won't leave the house again tomorrow until noon. I already know that if I don't get us back on some kind of schedule next week, we'll have big problems on my first day.
The Princess will go back to school next week, although her pre-K is still in summer mode. She'll be with the same kids and the same teacher as June (we took the summer off but almost everyone else stayed), but the following week she'll move into the REAL pre-K class. That teacher is very big into sight words, initial sounds, learning centers, real kindergarten readiness. As a teacher, I appreciate that and I'm confident she'll have the necessary skills for the following year. As a mom, I think my baby girl is too young for that kind of intensity. (And as for the Princess, she doesn't really like anyone who doesn't immediately recognize her royal status.)
Since she'll be in school, I'll have seven hours a day to myself. For a whole five days. In a row. Of course, we live 35 minutes from school so it's not practical (or economical) to come home every day and clean the house like I want to do. Maybe one day I'll do it, but not all five. I'll probably go into my classroom for a few hours each day, in the morning before it gets too hot. I already know I have to move my desk and table, as the custodians put it back in the wrong place. (My beloved custodian who cleaned my room for the past six years died suddenly last month. I'm not sure how they are handling his position, if it will be filled or not. I know that with budget cuts, my Mister's school is down four custodians this summer and everyone else has to pick up the extra; basically he's working 1.25 jobs.) I also want to print and post my new Cognates bulletin board set, and of course photocopy as much of my first unit as possible.
We get access to our class lists either tomorrow or Friday. I try to read all of the IEPs before school starts, make notes, and determine what special seating needs I'll have to make. I like to have a seating chart ready on the first day, and make adjustments as needed. I put a post it on every desk with a number, display a class list on the board with the desk number next to each student, and keep a grid of student names for when I call roll on the first day. This lets me see which students actually look at the board as soon as they come in, who my natural leaders are (the ones who reprimand students for not looking at the board for their seat assignment), and start class immediately in Spanish. My first conversation with them simply greets, exchanges names, and shakes hands; communication and culture right from the beginning.
I'm also hoping to do a few Pinterest projects next week. I want to make one of those Teacher Toolboxes I've seen floating around, I bought the box at H0me Dep0t but I haven't made it pretty yet. I also want to put felt under each of my student chairs, I have the rubber bands but not the felt yet.
What do you still have to do this summer?
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