Twas The Night Before...

The first day of school.  Tomorrow is a day that I have wanted and waited for for a long time!  I am so excited to get started (I think I over planned because I am so excited to get moving into the school year).  :-)  However, that is by far not all that I am feeling.  I am finding myself feeling nervous.  I want the school year to be perfect.  I know all of you veteran teachers are laughing as I say that, but a teacher can dream can't she?  :-)

My classroom is set up just the way I wanted.  It is organized and perfect in my mind.  I have planned and spent a lot of time thinking about what is most important to me to get across to the kids on day one. I know that I want a classroom community where each member respects one another and puts their best efforts forward everyday.  I want my kids to know that I care about each of them individually and that I want to see them succeed.  This week is filled with plans on how we can learn to grow as a community of learners together.  We are learning how to make goals for ourselves and then we are going to make those goals.  Even I am going to sit down with the kids and make my own personal goals for the school year.  I want the kids to see that I think it is so important to make goals and modeling it is the best way for them to see it.

I said that I want the school year to be perfect.  It will be the perfect "first" year for me.  I am excited to welcome 27 students tomorrow morning at my classroom door.  I am also super nervous to welcome 27 students tomorrow morning at my classroom door.  That is a lot of young minds to encourage to grow and learn.  Can I do that?  I know that I can.  I have before in all of my long term subbing experiences, but there is a part of me that wonders.  This time, it is the "real deal."  It is my classroom and there are no safe outs.  I am 100% responsible (I always viewed it that way when subbing, but now it is really true)!  Pressure!

I am sure that on the last day of the school year, I will re-read this post and think how silly I was for being so worried.  After all, in 9 months, I will have completed the school year, my kids will have grown (in learning and height) and I will be ready to start thinking about year two and how to improve even more.  To all of my new students (and teacher friends), I hope you are as excited and nervous as I am tonight, because I think that the right combination of the two equals the perfect start to a perfect school year.

Happy first day of school to many of my teacher friends.  You will all have a perfect start to the year tomorrow because you have all prepared well and I am sure are a little bit nervous to start all over again this year!