I'M A SECOND GRADE TEACHER!!

I’M A SECOND GRADE TEACHER!!!!!

  So, in case you didn't pick up on the slight expression of sheer joy, I'm a little bit over-the-moon kind of excited to be teaching second grade this year!! I can HARDLY contain my excitement and thankfulness that I definitely, for surely, absolutely have a full-time teaching position in second grade this year. I am completely, off-my-rocker stoked.

  Having moved on from my last job (teaching kindergarten for two years), moving to a new city in a new state, and basically starting a whole new, different life this year, looking around for a full-time position at a school I actually wanted to teach at, in a grade I actually wanted, with a certificate that was actually accepted was the biggest challenge I've bumped into yet. But, this year is a year of newness…it’s a year of change, of growth, of learning, and I couldn’t be more grateful. It has NOT been easy…there have been a LOT of dead ends, false leads, unanswered emails, and failed tries. I’ve tried some new things along the way too. I was a substitute and a nanny, thinking those would be two jobs that I would just totally LOVE, right?! HA…oh SO wrong. Subbing was extremely challenging. Teaching is just NOT the same when the classroom and kids are not your own. Your own kids are, of COURSE, sweet little munchkins who you get to see every day and mold into the little well-oiled workers you want them to be. Managing and teaching according to someone else’s tactics is a tricky skill to master, but I definitely got to experience a lot of new environments and communities that ultimately lead me to where I am now. And, as far as being a nanny for a few months, let’s just say that I am DEFINITELY not ready to have my own kids any time soon. Haha! I LOVE babies…I do. However, craving “kid time” like we get in the classroom is INFINITELY different than hanging out in a house all day with an 8-month old baby. It just doesn’t fill the same void…aaaaaannd, I may or may not have a SLIGHT touch of butterfly-bouncing that really does not do well doing the same thing or staying in the same place for extremely long amounts of time. I love to switch it up and do something new as soon as one activity gets too dull or finishes up. That’s probably why I am such an “accomplisher” (my description of my own functioning and behavior): I like to accomplish my goal before I get too bored with doing the same thing. ANYWAY, needless to say, my full-time, crazy-demanding, time-consuming, brain-challenging, problem-ridden, extremely-rewarding teaching job is as amazing as a breath of fresh coffee-scented air on a rainy day with a good book sent from heaven. Yeah…THAT good. 

  SO, I have spent the last couple weeks getting as ready as I possibly can be. Scouring TeachersPayTechers for lessons and ideas, reading every second grade blog I can find (and the first and third grade ones, too), and brushing up on all my Texas standards and requirements have occupied most of my brain activity. I visited my parents in Phoenix and got a bunch of old school stuff sorted through and “organized” (use this term loosely)…it will all be on its’ way to me next week when my mom and aunt pack up the van and drive to Texas! I have the best family ever.

  I’m here in Texas, taking my Texas teacher test, organizing my room, planning my year-starter lessons, and attending trainings. Life is good. I’m far beyond extremely blessed and so thankful for this life I’ve been given. Much love!

  P.s. Pictures of the new room for “Miss Dumbrell’s Dots” coming soon…along with any lesson ideas and resources I stumble upon along the way.