20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Teaching

I can hardly believe I'm typing the words...I've completed my first year of teaching!! Now that I have 20 seconds to breath, I can finally work on something that is NOT for my classroom. There were so many things that I would have loved to blog about this school year: more adventures in the PNW, classroom organization hacks, introducing genius hour to a primary classroom, and various picture- worthy classroom projects. Maybe next year I can reach my goal of one blog post per month next *laughs as I think of the various tasks I've taken on in addition to grad school next year*. Now that I'm out of the trenches, I've had some time to reflect on what I wish I would have known as I entered this crazy, exhausting, amazing school year. 

20 things I'd go back and tell my August self now that my first year is OFFICIALLY over: 

1)  Don't fool yourself into thinking you're going to be able to maintain a blog this first year. Not going to happen. 

2)  Get out of your classroom and EXPLORE in September and October when its sunny. Soon the rain will come and will NEVER stop.

 (Good choice to invest in some hunters, btw).  

                                                                   

3)  You will never be 100% prepared. Some of your best lessons will come from your rear end- just roll with it and go with what is working for your students. 

4)  Don't be afraid to share what you know even though you're new- sometimes a new perspective is nice. 

5)  Don't try to do TOO many new things at once. I don't like the "It's just how we've always done it" phrase, but sometimes there's a reason why something hasn't changed- don't mess with what's working! 

6)  Being observed in your own classroom is way less scary than being observed in college. Don't lose sleep over it. 

7)  Anchor charts are your friend...leave empty wall space for them when you're setting up your classroom. 

8)  Calm down. No one knows everything all the time.

9)  Don't be afraid to change something mid-year...do what your kids need. 

10)  You think you know how important building relationships are with your students- still, DOUBLE the amount of time you had planned for this at the beginning of the year. 

11)  5 deep breaths before you greet those cute little faces- every. morning...BREATHE. 

12)  Start slow to go fast- focus more on classroom community and procedures and less on curriculum at the beginning of the year, you'll catch up.  

13)  Start a chocolate drawer from day one. You never know when you or one of your teammates will need it ;) 

14)  Your kids won't remember how nice (or a hot mess) your classroom looks- they'll remember the memories you make with them. 

15)  Iron sharpens iron: spend your free time watching other teachers (in person, youtube, blogs, etc.). This will make you a better teacher! 

16)  Other teachers will tell you you're working too much. Truth is..yes, you are..but keep working your butt off. Invest your time now to make future years easier. 

17)  Don't compare yourself to other people. 

18)  Your kiddos are going through harder things than you could have ever imagined when they first walked through your door. Be gracious. 

19)  Worry a little less about those standards you worked so hard to learn in college. Close your door, and TEACH. 

                          19.5- Your doors were cute, but don't let anyone convince you to try it again ;)  

                                                  

20)  Give everything you've got to those love bugs... and then when you think you don't have anything left in you to give.. dig down deep and give them some more. Your kids deserve it. 

 While I've learned WAY more than I could ever possibly write down...this will have to do for now! These two traveling teachers are ready for another cross- country summer adventure!

When all else fails...try a light up scarf!?

Extra-engaging activities, added classroom incentives, a trip around the world....can you guess what type of year I’m talking about?! I survived my first “week before winter break” as an official teacher and I’m so happy I have passed that milestone in the year-phew. While the buzzing excitement of winter break approaching (by students AND staff) made it hard to stay focused, I came prepared with a couple things up my sleeve that helped our week go by quickly and that were lots of fun!

Thankfully, my team already planned a “Holidays Around the World” unit for social studies.  Each of our firsties got to travel to 5 different countries (one in each of our classrooms).  They all got a paper suitcase to carry all of the crafts they made at each country, and they also got their own personal passports to carry around with them and get stamped!  
 The country I taught about was Holland. We had so much fun using google maps to see where our “plane” traveled and exploring what Holland looks like from an aerial view! I found a great “Holidays Around the World” TPT resource by Traci Clausen, which is where I found the wooden shoe craft and pulled some of my lesson materials from. She has a great resource with many other countries included in the packet-you can find it here! While it was a super engaging way to teach first graders about families and traditions in other countries, it was also nice for me as a teacher to get to know other first grader’s in my hallway by getting to teach them a lesson! I’ve noticed it definitely helps when I need to give those friendly reminders of expected behaviors!

Once I noticed how well my students received the Holidays Around the World unit, I figured I would keep up the themed teaching and let my students participate in some activities they normally wouldn’t. Since my team was already planning to make gingerbread houses with their students, I decided to roll with that theme! We got to explore creating different types of shelters through making our own gingerbread houses- how cute!
  
We also did some comparing and contrasting of gingerbread books, and my favorite- participated in a Gingerbread Coding activity (thanks to Teach Outside the Box)! Since I knew I would be introducing code.org to my class in the new year, I thought a paper coding activity would be a great way for my students to become familiar with what coding is! They had a blast with creating their own game boards and coding their way to the finish line.
    
Finally, we were able to make hot chocolate in our classroom as a way to practice our "How-To" writing!  We kept track of each step as a class, and then my students wrote their own booklet in the shape of a mug!  Find it *here* in my TPT store :)

 Although my students were very engaged and excited in some of the extra things we did leading up to winter break, it wasn’t without its challenges!  I did find one bribe, however, that I think I’ll be continuing year after year…. a light up scarf challenge ;)  (This probably would only be exciting to lower el… but I’m telling you, it worked like a charm!)  We use Class Dojo in our classroom, and each student has a goal of getting at least 3 dojo points per day.  On the last day before winter break, I told my students that if they all reached their goal by the end of the day, I’d wear a light up scarf.  Wow- I had never seen them so motivated!  We finished our day with the overhead lights off, my light-up scarf on, and a story on the carpet.  It was such a fun way to enjoy the last bit of time I had with my students before our break!

 While it was surprisingly hard to be away from my kiddos for almost two weeks, Brandon and I enjoyed having some extra time to explore our new home and celebrate our first anniversary!

 Hiking Poo Poo Point 


We traveled to Victoria, BC for our anniversary.
 New Year's Eve in Seattle!

Our Cross-Country Move (2 months delayed)

Wow- what a ride it has been!  Exactly two months ago today, we were traveling through the middle of Nebraska, anxiously awaiting our pit-stop in Colorado.  

 

The big yellow moving truck with our Buick towed behind us was not the most comfortable way to travel, though a much smoother process than actually ACQUIRING the moving truck (sad, over told story that we hope to never relive again).  Although our main goal was to make it to the Seattle area as quickly as possible, we were able to have some fun on our way out! 

 We got glimpses of the Rockies in Colorado (and wished we could’ve stayed longer),

 drove across the absolutely beautiful state of Wyoming (and spent an extra hour there due to a flat tire), 

and even got to hit the corner of Utah to eat my very first In-N-Out burger!  

 My favorite part of the trip, however, was without a doubt driving through the northeastern corner of Oregon near the Umatilla National Forest!  We got to the mountains full with evergreen trees right at sunset, and immediately rolled down our windows- AHH the smell of fresh evergreen trees is my new favorite!  By this point, I was second guessing our relocation choice- did any schools need teachers in Oregon?? 

                                   

As we continued to head northwest the next day, though, there was no question that we were headed for the right place for us.  City + glimpses of Rainer + fresh blue water + surrounded by greenery (the only time I can handle blue and green together these days ;) )  = one of the best places to live.  Driving in was so beautiful that I could almost forgive the big 12 stuck in the mountain (never thought I’d have a least favorite number until I moved to Seattle).

Since that day, it has been a period of non-stop business as we got all settled in at our new apartment,

  

(Michigan & DI themed, of course!)

 tried to learn how to get around the area, and prepped for the beginning of the school year!  We’ve loved almost everything about our new surroundings (I mean..we wouldn’t miss the traffic). The best part is… it isn’t just the scenery that we’re loving about our new home- our school district is truly everything we could have hoped for and we have felt so welcomed at our schools!  We’re very fortunate to be in buildings with so much support and with wonderful people.  It’s certainly a good thing that we love our schools so much, because its basically our second homes for now, and the sole reason this blog post is coming our in October instead of August. 

It’s been crazy, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.  I love learning new things,working to become a better teacher every day, and of course I love my firsties J 

We hope to expand our list of fun things that we’ve gotten to do and places to explore in the Pacific Northwest outside of our classrooms, but here’s some things we’ve managed to do so far!

First Hiking Experience- Cougar Mountain in Issaquah

  

Rainier National Park

July- the Calm Before the Storm.

It seems like forever since we made the decision to pack up and move across the country to pursue our careers in teaching, and we still have a little less than a month to go!  The next couple weeks will fly by fast, though, and there’s still so much to do.  Collecting materials for our classrooms is in full swing, and we are slowly turning our living/dining room into a storage unit.  Two lower el. teachers in a one bedroom apartment without physical classrooms yet is interesting, let alone getting it and all of our other belongings across the country!  We’ve gone through every option possible- getting rid of everything that can’t fit in a car, trying to attach a small trailer to our car, and renting a moving truck.  We even considered taking my dad’s ’91 Suburban, Old Blue, across the country with us (see pic. below).  Although the hot August trip with windblown hair due to no air conditioning would have given us a lifetime full of stories, I’m not too disappointed that our suburban road trip didn’t work out.  It seems as we're back to square one, and with having 2 cars full of teaching stuff alone, its looking like an expensive moving truck is our only option!  I can’t wait to keep you posted on our road trip adventure across the country next month- it’ll be entertaining, I’m sure.  

In the midst of figuring out our new lives as future Washingtonians, I’ve picked up a new hobby that I can’t help but share- especially to my teacher friends!  If you follow me on Instagram or snapchat you probably have noticed I’m a tad obsessed with bullet journaling.

If you’re not into planning everything down to the minute, this may not be your thing…but come on, have you been around a group of teachers?  If so, you know our planners are constantly out and we’re prepared for anything (which is why our dozen thirty-one bags we carry around with us everywhere are filled to the brim).  Bullet journaling is perfect for teachers because not only do you get to satisfy your craving for an office supply visit to pick out the perfect materials, but it is completely customizable.  We know all too well that in the world of education, nothing stays for very long and flexibility becomes our middle name.  Although I haven’t actively used this during a school year yet, I’m hoping this system keeps me organized and prepared throughout the year!  

Here is a video of the creator of bullet journaling explaining the basics of how to get started, but from there you can make it what you want!  I’ve included some pictures of what I’ve implemented in my bullet journal so far, and will probably add some more teacher-related things once the school year starts. If you're interested in joining the #teacherbujocult, Jessica Chung of Pretty Prints & Paper also has some great ideas for bullet journaling as an educator, and there are much prettier-looking BuJo’s than mine on Pinterest or on BohoBerry. 

Enjoy this warm July weather and happy bujo-ing! 

Adventure Awaits

I never thought I'd make it to this point: blogging about my experiences as a new teacher in a new city..what?! It seemed like I would forever be browsing other teacher blogs or adding more pins of my "someday" classroom, only to realize that I have 29483984732189 more classes before I am officially a teacher.  I am ecstatic that I now know what to look for on those teacher blogs, and have been able to start adding those pins for my REAL classroom.  Better yet, I'm going to be teaching my favorite grade (first), and my husband is in the same district just down the road from my school teaching Kindergarten!  We really have so much to be thankful for, and we cannot wait to see where this journey brings us.  

We will be leaving for Seattle in August, so we're ready for summer full of packing, planning, and spending time with those who will make it hard for us to leave!  Keep checking in for updates on our move, our classrooms, and our travels around the PNW area!