So it’s about to be your first year teaching! I am sure
you are filled with so many emotions. You are going to finally get your own
classroom. You’re excited to decorate it, you’re excited to meet your students,
you’re excited to be a teacher! You’re also freaking out because you have no
idea how to set up your tables, how you’re going to organize centers, etc. It
is so normal to be overwhelmed with a ton of different feelings and panic of
how you’re going to get it all figured out before the kids arrive. No
worries, you will!
Firstly, if this is your first year AND you’re teaching
First Grade, ohhh be SO EXCITED because I literally laid out everything for you
in this post:
I recommend reading that any way if you’re a brand new
teacher – I gave a ton of advice in it. Either way, though, keep reading on
THIS post for a lot of tips!
First Year Teacher Tip #1: Surround yourself with positive, creative
teachers who still LOVE what they do.
Those teachers who you walk into their rooms and it just inspires you – talk to them! Pop in their room once in awhile and say hi. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions. It’s easy if you combine it with a compliment. “Wow, I love your center rotations board. How does it work?” They’ll probably light up by your compliment and gawking and tell you all about it.
The teachers who you see walking by with their line of
kids and they’re smiling, ask them for advice!
Hopefully your school has lots of them! There are some
schools with a pretty negative atmosphere but there are still most likely those
positive teachers in there somewhere, find them – even if they’re several grade
levels different from you. Make friends. Be social. It’s so important to be
happy at school so finding like
minded teachers you enjoy being around that are uplifting and positive is
crucial!
First Year Teacher Tip #2: Get to that committee sign up sheet
ASAP!
Many schools have a committee sign up sheet and require you to sign up for at least 1 committee. This decision will affect you ALL YEAR so make sure you get to it as soon as possible and are informed as possible as to the requirements of each committee. There will most likely be an email or announcement of some kind when it’s put out and, trust me, many teachers RUN to the front office right there and then to make sure they don’t get stuck with a super time-consuming or super un-fun committee. Be one of those people there first.
Before the sheet is even out, though, ask a teacher you
trust if there is a committee sign ups sheet. If there is, ask them what they’d
recommend signing up for. Ask questions. Once the sheet is out, you could also
ask the front office staff about each position. Obviously you don’t want to
sound like you’re trying to be lazy but you could be honest and say, “I want to
help and am excited to pick something but this is my first year so I want to
make sure I don’t pick something crazy” and hopefully
they say something like, “Well don’t sign up for the ____ then! They meet
weekly!” or “The ___ is pretty easy. They just have to ____ and ____” to guide
you.
DO NOT sign up for something that has to meet
weekly or has really intense requirements! I know you want to be the best first
year teacher ever and impress everyone but you have a lot of other ways to do
that.
The best thing would be something that is already well
established with other veteran teachers who have been doing it for years that
doesn’t have to meet/work often or something that is maybe a once or twice a
year thing, preferably after winter break so you’re a little more settled into
the school year. Something like field day can be a great one IF the person
doing it with you is the person who has done it the past 5 years so they
already planned everything and you get to help – if you’re doing it with
someone else for the first time, however, that can be an overwhelming task!
Again, ask someone for advice! Every school is different.
If you’re not required to sign up for anything, I’d
honestly say don’t! BUT make sure you’re at a school where a lot of people
simply don’t sign up and that’s normal. You don’t
want it to be not technically be a
requirement but then your principal pops in your room one day once all the
spots are filled and asks why you didn’t sign up for anything and asks you to
take what’s left (which, trust me, is empty for a reason). Also make sure it’s
not tied to any bonus or something where you have to be on a committee to get
the bonus before you decide not to sign up.
First Year Teacher Tip #3: Always eat lunch in the lounge.
I know you have a million things to do but it is SO
important to take a few moments to be around adults, laugh, and share
your day. It’s refreshing and a mental break you need. Even if you’re not BFFs
with the people who have lunch when you do, it’s still important to sit down,
breathe, eat your lunch, and be around other adults for a few minutes.
It is soo tempting to make copies during this time –
you really do feel like you get a bunch done in that little break because you
feel super focused because you know you only have 15 or so minutes – but it
should be a RARE thing for you to not eat your lunch at a table of friends in
the lounge. Only if you forgot to make copies or get called to the office or
something. RARE. :)
It is another thing that doesn’t seem like a big deal
but starts to weigh on you. Trust me.
First Year Teacher Tip #4: It won’t always be this hard.
It won’t always be this hard. Repeat that to yourself when you feel overwhelmed.
You’re doing SO many things for the very first time. Of
course it’s going to feel overwhelming, but every amazing teacher you see was a
terrified, panicked, overwhelmed first year teacher once. Maybe there are
exceptions buuuuut I don’t think I’ve met any of them soo :)
You’re literally learning how to do EVERY single thing
that teaching encompasses right now. Of course you’re overwhelmed! Doesn’t mean
you’re not awesome and totally ready to take on this new adventure!
Realize that all of the gathering resources, laminating
them, cutting them out, etc. is stuff you’ll have ready to go next year.
Next year, even if you
switch grade levels, you’ll know so much more than you do now and
that will be so comforting. You’ll have a year experience finding your teaching
style, classroom management style, how to handle homework, how to handle
parents, and literally hundreds of other things you didn’t know before the
first day of school this year.
I repeat:
It won’t always be this hard.
First Year Teacher Tip #5: Get into your new classroom the
moment you’re allowed to and then walk the halls!
Okay so I bet you were probably going to try to get into your new classroom the second you’re allowed to start setting it up anyway but you want to be in your new school the moment teachers are allowed into the building because, in many schools, this is PRIME purging time for teachers to get rid of stuff they don’t want anymore and, as a first year teacher, you need basically everything, right??
It may not be the case at all schools but, at many,
teachers go into their classrooms over the summer and clean out stuff they
don’t want anymore and put it out in the hall outside their door or in the
lounge. If that is the case, it is FREE stuff!
Don’t wait a week to go into your new classroom because
you’re overwhelmed or don’t have everything ready to take in or whatever – I
say be there every day for at least a little bit so you can be the first to
pick through any goodies people may have left outside their door!
IMPORTANT - though - make sure it is okay to take this
stuff and that is what people do. Make sure it’s stuff they’re actually getting
rid of, not putting out in the hall to reorganize. Before you take ANYTHING
from a pile outside a door, pop in their room and ask them in a super friendly,
“Hey are you getting rid of this stuff?” and if they say yes, profusely thank
them as you take it.
Don’t be a hoarder, though – only take things you
really need and will use.
First Year Teacher Tip #6: Ask Questions!!
It’s hard to not feel afraid to ask questions. You want everyone to think you’re the best first year teacher ever. I get it. But don’t ever feel ashamed asking questions! Especially with the other teachers on your grade level team if you have one.
Asking questions is a great way to bond with your new
coworkers! Don’t just hit them with a bunch of questions obviously but you can
always genuinely compliment something you love in their room that you
think you may want to try yourself and then ask them how they do it.
Examples:
- Wow I love your center rotations board! It looks so
organized! How do you do it?
- Your Monday – Friday buckets are awesome, is that how
you organize your copies?
- This is so cool! Is this how your kids turn in their
work?
Don’t be weird and snoopy (lol) but when you visit with
another teacher in his/her room, quickly glance around at what’s on the
tables/desks, walls, etc. It really helps to see the way another teacher does
something in person! If you feel awkward doing that, search classrooms on
social media – plenty of people share their set ups! You can ask them questions
too! In my experience, bloggers are typically super helpful, nice people who don’t mind
answering your questions, or at least I don’t! I mean, if you’re writing a blog
or sharing pictures on social media of your teaching ideas, you probably love
talking about them and are doing it to help other people so you probably love
connecting with them and don’t mind helping. I love feeling like I’ve helped so
please don’t ever hesitate to ask someone who posts a picture of how they do
something for advice or clarification if you need it! Try to not be sad if they
don’t respond, though. I know I personally get hundreds of messages a day and
it’s so easy to miss some by accident. I try so hard not to but it happens so
definitely don’t take it personally, they probably didn’t even see it!
There are some exceptions to this:
Try not to ask your principal or admin a question you
can ask someone on your team or a friendly coworker later. Your first year is a
lot of smile, nod, and ask, “Wait, what was she talking about?” later to
someone you trust :D There will be a lot of acronyms or terms you might not
know yet. Unless you really need to, try to save your question for later with a
coworker friend in a casual setting rather than the middle of a meeting.
& DON’T dooooon’t DON’T please don’t raise your
hand and ask a question during a staff meeting to ask a question :)
First Year Teacher Tip #7: Read teaching blogs!
READ TEACHING BLOGS!!!
Clearly I would be passionate about this one :)
Seriously though, pretty much every single thing you
could possibly want to know, a teaching blog probably has answered for you.
& answered in a way that makes sense. & probably even has pictures.
Do a search and pick the teaching blogs off the first
few pages. Teaching blogs are obvious once you recognize them. Read the info on
those!
For example, if you’re a first grade teacher and wanted
some fun ideas for teaching graphing, if you typed in “Graphing First Grade”
into your search on your browser, a lot of results would come up, hopefully including
my Graphing and Data Analysis in First Grade post.
Pick out the posts from teaching blogs (rather than websites) to read as I
think they’ll be the most helpful!
You can do this for everything you can think of – from how
to set up math centers to open house tips to how to deal with a chatty class to how to teach numbers and number sense to fun ideas for teaching short A, etc.
I personally LOVE writing posts like that and have
written so many for how to teach different math concepts, reading skills, and
other fun activities you can do so definitely check out my
to see my most helpful posts organized by topic so you
can quickly learn about anything you want! I love to include a lot of pictures
and be as helpful as possible so I hope you enjoy those!
So, as I said, for absolutely anything you ever want
help with, do a search and pick out the teaching blogs to read for tips! There
are so many great ones out there!
& SERIOUSLY, if you are a new K-2 teacher, you MUST
read:
Even if you’re going to be teaching kindergarten or 2nd
grade, there are still so many helpful tips in that post!
First Year Teacher Tip #8: Utilize your school’s instructional
coaches if your school has them.
If your school has instructional coaches, that is
AWESOME! They are an amazing tool to help you become even more of the amazing
teacher you want to be.
Ask them questions! They are typically awesome at
whatever they’re a coach for (math, literacy, etc.) and it is literally their
job to help you teach it well so ask them if you ever want help!
I feel like they’re so often underutilized by teachers
at schools. Don’t feel like it makes you look super new, they’ll probably be
impressed that you took the initiative to ask them for advice.
If you ever feel like maybe you could do small groups
better, you could ask them to model a lesson. Be aware – though – that they’re
probably going to say they want to come watch you do it then give you tips
after. They might actually do this anyway as part of their job. Listen to what
they say!! It’s so easy to want them to just say, “Oh my gosh that was perfect!
You don’t need to change a thing!” but if they are doing their job well, they
will tell you what you did well and
what you need to work on. They will have critiques. Even the best teacher ever
has things to work on… always. That’s actually a great lesson to learn now.
You’re always going to be learning and getting better! You may be used to
getting 100% on your evaluations in your internships and classes – don’t expect
that! Honestly, the things they say sting a little because you want them to say
it was perfect but try not to get offended, instead truly reflect on the
negative feedback and try to implement their suggestions. You may be shocked
that they were right! Ask them how you could do it better and then try it with
your students!
Really though, if ever you’re lost on how to teach
[whatever], ask your school’s instructional coach for advice and ideas. They
may even have cool materials you can borrow to use in your lesson!
They’re also usually close to your principal so it’s
nice if they like you :)
First Year Teacher Tip #9: Treat the custodians and front
office staff like royalty.
Be nice to everyone of course but make a special point to be kind to the front office staff and custodians. They do SO much for you behind the scenes that you probably have no idea about!
The front office pretty much runs everything in the
school so be on their good side :)
Make a special effort to thank the custodian any time
you see them doing something in your room. They’re really the backbone of the
school and work so hard.
First Year Teacher Tip #10: You might question your decision to
become a teacher a lot this year.
It's totally normal.
Teaching is amazing and I think it is one of the best
jobs ever but it can be overwhelming! There are going to be so many aspects of
teaching you never knew existed and there are going to be haaard days. Remember
this is your first year and being totally overwhelmed and questioning your life
a million times is normal your first year.
I think every new teacher (or at least most?) goes
through a weird phase during their first year where they become really
depressed about teaching. I don’t know why but it happens really often. First
year teaching depression is real and it happens to even the best of the best
new teachers. If you sort of anticipate it and take steps to avoid it as long
as possible (be around positive teachers, laugh about silly moments, etc.),
that can be really helpful. Your goal is to try to keep loving teaching as long
and as much as possible because there will be times in this first year where
you hate it and question your decision to become a teacher. Those freak out
panic awful feelings will pass and you will get over that hill. It feels so
uphill and awful while you’re climbing up the hill but you’ll get over it. And
even if they hide it well, the other first year teachers feel the same way!
Don’t let me scare you with this though. Your first
year will be challenging but it will still be fun, filled with so many great
memories and you will absolutely LOVE those kids in your first class for
forever and ever. You will think about them 20 years from now. They will always
feel like your babies because you worked harder for them than anyone else.
This brings me to tip #11!
First Year Teacher Tip #11: Have a To Do List AND a DID list.
You guys.
My “Did List” is the best thing I think I’ve ever done
to help me feel accomplished. It only takes a total of a few minutes each day
to do and yet makes me feel 100% better about my day.
If you ever feel like you worked so hard and yet got
nothing done all day, you are going to love this trick!
Basically, as you go along each day, you write down
each productive thing you did. It takes a few seconds at a time that only equals a few minutes total
each day but makes you feel so much better about yourself. You’ll be shocked how many things you actually did! Or it’ll motivate
you to do a couple tasks here and there to make your list look longer :)
I simply put a little dot and write each thing I did:
* Made homework copies
* Did 2 loads of laundry
etc.
and it fills up fast! :)
I simply put a little dot and write each thing I did:
* Made homework copies
* Did 2 loads of laundry
etc.
and it fills up fast! :)
If you’re a list maker, you will LOVE this. It
motivates me every day. I am obsessed with it. It’s so easy to stare at your to
do list every day and think, “Oh I’m going to get this and this done tomorrow”
only to be disappointed when you feel like you were running around everywhere
and didn’t cross anything off. This will help show you that, no matter how long your to do list looks, you actually do get SO much done each day.
Yes, I know Saturday and Sunday are smaller. That’s on
purpose. :)
It’s okay to not be as productive on those days… if
Saturday and Sunday are blank, I consider that an accomplishment actually. Try
to not work on weekends when you can!
I write ALL my things I did, including laundry, dishes,
whatever. Hey you did it, give yourself credit for it so you can see how
amazing you actually are and all the things you get done in a day. It’s easy to
get down on yourself with mounting to do lists and this helps me SO much with
that!
As far as a TO DO list, I recommend having a master
list that you make copies of and use every week by writing down the things you
do every single week THEN making copies of it. Here is the one I use:
Write the things you do every single week then make
copies of it so you’re not writing the same things down every week. There are
some things you do
Every.
Single.
Week.
Write those down then
make copies of your list.
Those are honestly the easiest things to forget to do,
even though you do them every week, so it’s nice to cross them off. Plus you
probably don’t even write them on your to do list since they're just assumed each week so it’s nice to cross them
off and helps with that whole feeling accomplished thing. After you cross it
off, add it to your did list :)
If you look above at my picture example, the things in
black are on my list every week. You probably have things like that, too, that you do every single week (copy homework, change class jobs, add new word
wall words, etc.). I don’t write them every week. I wrote them once then
made copies of the paper to use as my to do list. This saves so much time!
Then under that I add anything new that week in pencil. I usually
do that in a different color other than black (usually pencil) so they stand
out to me. You can see the lighter colored writing underneath the black writing - that's what I added to the list that isn't on the copy.
You could easily make your own to do and copy list to fit what you need but
if you want mine already made for you, I put it in my TpT shop here for FREE!
It’s super simple but I like it that way :)
First Year Teacher Tip #12: Always submit your attendance on
time.
Always submit your attendance as soon as the bell
rings!
Remember how I said to treat the front office staff
like royalty? This is the easiest way to get on their good side. Don’t make
them call you to remind you.
It’s super easy to forget to submit so I recommend
having something kids do as soon as they enter the room so they’re not
bombarding you while you’re trying to take attendance.
I highly recommend my kid graphing cards I show in my Fun Ideas to Teach Graphing post
where, first thing in the morning, kids grab their kid card that they made to
look like them and answer the daily graphing question to make a class bar
graph. It also quickly takes attendance for you. You simply look at which kid
cards weren’t used, do a quick glance to double check those kids aren’t in the
room and that no other kids are absent, then mark them absent and submit.
First Year Teacher Tip #13: Have a system so you always know where all your students are.
Along those same lines, one reason it’s very important
to submit your attendance right away is that it’s very important to always know
where your students are at all times. Have some sort of system where they check
in and out so you ALWAYS know where they all are.
I personally love the cup trick I show in my 20 Classroom Strategies You Can Start Right Away post.
Scroll until you see a picture of a blue cup that says “Restroom” on it and it
will explain the simple system. That’s a post I think you could get a lot of
classroom management ideas from by the way. If you have a second, read that
too! :)
Always have an up to date class list handy that you can
grab in case of a fire drill so you can make sure you have all of your students
or see who is missing.
If you wear a lanyard, you can tuck a small piece of
paper with all your students names on it behind your ID so you always have it
with you.
First Year Teacher Tip #14: The first few weeks of school are
all about teaching routines, procedures, and expectations
The first few weeks of school are all about teaching
routines, procedures, and expectations so make sure you walk around your room
and know what you want all of those to be! Even the tiniest little things!
Here is a giant list of classroom routines and procedures to get you started on thinking
about it! You don’t have to figure all of these out right now but they’re nice
to think about!
Setting up your expectations and strong classroom
management is crucial in these first few weeks!
I have shared a lot of classroom management tricks over
the years on this blog and on social media including in the post I was just talking about.
Here are some of my other most popular and helpful ones I recommend to new teachers:
Here are some of my other most popular and helpful ones I recommend to new teachers:
You may feel like you didn’t teach much content the
first week or so of school and that’s okay. Solidifying the routines and rules
will help the year run smoothly all year and is super important. CONSISTENCY IS
EVERYTHING. If you say it is done a certain way, it is ALWAYS done that way, no
exceptions. Even 5 year olds are looking for any opportunity to see if the
rules can be bent. Noope. :)
First Year Teacher Tip #15: Smile at the kids and show them you
love them every day. Be Kind.
On that same note, though, ALWAYS be kind and show the
kids how much you love them. Say hello. Get to know them. Randomly chat with
them during the day. Tell them about you. Let them share about them. Bond. They
will listen to you so much better if they know you love them.
Even when you’re stressed, greet them with a friendly
and calm smile when you first see them in the morning. It may be the first
smile they see that morning. Your love and attention may be the only love and
attention they get from an adult that day.
You don’t have to have the most exciting lessons on the
planet or the cutest classroom ever to show them you love them. They’ll know by
the way you treat them. Firm and consistent with expectations but always, always kind.
Treat them like you would want someone to treat your kids.
Have fun with them. Even a silly joke or giggle during
a lesson or while they’re working can go a long way.
Let them see you’re human. Tell them how proud you are
of them. Tell them when they’re making you sad talking while you’re talking. Be
real. They love you. When you’re human and they can see you as a real person
that they love that loves them back, they will behave so much better.
Forcing yourself to smile and sound excited when you’re
explaining an activity or whatever will help them enjoy school and pretending to be happy and excited
can often actually make you feel happy and excited. Especially when your
students act happy and excited in response rather than groan.
First Year Teacher Tip #16: This year is all about finding your
style so try new things and have fun!
You’re going to try a bunch of new things for the first
time. Some things will work, some things won’t, and that’s perfectly normal!
Teachers are constantly trying new things and ditching them when they don’t
work. This year is all about trying new things and finding what works for YOU.
What works for the teacher next door might not fit your style. You’ll develop
all that as the year goes along. Don’t be afraid to ditch something you thought
would be amazing that isn’t working for you and try something else. Give things
time though – truly try them out before you ditch them. Most things will feel
like they’re not working at first so give things time to let you and your
students get used to them. Keep what works, toss what doesn’t! :)
This year you’ll be figuring out your classroom
management style, organization style, how you manage centers, how you teach
math, how you teach reading, how you teach writing, procedures you like, when
you like to make copies, and figuring out basically everything including how to
not have a cold the entire first year of teaching while your teacher immune
system develops…
First Year Teacher Tip #17: Don’t touch your face!
…. Which leads me to #17 which is kind of a silly one:
Don’t touch your face!
Your first year of teaching is when you develop your
teacher immune system as you’re surrounded by a school full of (most likely)
hundreds of kids so try to take a few precautions to not be sick with the flu
your entire first year of teaching:
Try not to touch your face during the day.
Have a separate box of tissues you use apart from the
students’ box.
Try not to touch their writing utensils and tools
(that’s a hard one in the lower grades but try to have your own things – keep
your own caddy on your desk and one on your small groups table with pencils,
markers, etc. that only you are allowed to touch).
Wash your hands before you eat and try to bring lunches
you don’t directly touch with your hands to eat.
Teach them how to cover their coughs and sneezes with
their arms and how to wash their hands if they sneeze or cough into them, wash
their hands after the restroom, etc.
Try to eat healthily and get your vitamins. (I know, I
know, it’s hard)
Change out of your school clothes as soon as you get
home! How many kids did you hug today that were all over your clothes? Plus,
it’s the perfect excuse to get into pajamas at 4 P.M. – take it!
I know it sounds silly but it’s really common to get
sick over and over your first year teaching because the kids all come to school
with different strains of the cold so once you get over one, you get another
one so it’s nice to take a few precautions while you build up your immune
system.
You probably will get a cold a few times during this
first year of teaching, though, so make
sure you always have generic substitute plans ready (with copies of work to
do already made in case you didn’t make copies for that week because you didn’t
feel well) and put them in a specific place on your desk so if you ever need to
call in sick, you can point the office to them and won’t feel so scrambled or
try to crawl into work anyway. It doesn’t take a long time to prepare and
you’ll feel so much better knowing you have it!
First Year Teacher Tip #18: Get resources in YEAR SETS and try
to copy ahead.
I highly, highly, highly, highly recommend consistency
in your activities, especially in K-2. Have your reading centers be the same
EVERY week but switch out the new phonics sound. Have your sight word
activities be the same EVERY week but switch out the new sight words. Pretty
much have everything exactly the same each week but switch to the new skill
being taught whether it’s the new phonics sound, math concept, sight words,
spelling words, etc. This will save you SOO much time and stress having to explain
new activities all the time. Once they’ve done it a few times, the kids will
know exactly what to do every day without you telling them anything and can
focus all their brain activity on just learning the new skill rather than HOW
to do the activity to do the new skill. I hope that makes sense!
If your curriculum doesn’t provide that, look on TpT in
your grade level for year sets of things. The beautiful thing about getting
things in year sets is you know what you’re doing every week and aren’t
scrambling for activities. All you really have to do is make the copies, not
search and scramble to find new things and then still have to make copies.
That’s why I love my Phonics No Prep Packs because the activities inside them stay the same but
the sound changes so kids always know what to do and plus they’re fun :) I talk
about them more in my New to First Grade?
Everything You Need to Know post so check that out if you want to
see more about them! I also show pages from them as well as other fun phonics
activities in my Short A Activities post, Digraphs Activities post, and EW UE UI Activities post. Most of the
activities I show in those posts I have in year sets so if you love a
particular center, I probably have it for all the sounds so you can use them
all year. So be mindful of that when you’re shopping on TpT or wherever. Before
you buy something, read the description to see if there is a bundle that has
that same activity for all the sounds so you know that if you like it, you can
add it to your routine and save so much time! There is a lot of cute stuff out
there but if there’s just ONE of it, then you have to search for the next ONE
for every sound every week – no, thank you! :)
Once you get a resource like that, when you go to make
copies, bring the next week’s page too and copy both, paper clip them, and then
you’re prepped for 2 weeks and it didn’t take that much more time. You could
even do it for many weeks at a time and copy way ahead. Copying ahead feels
sooo good when you can do it!
First Year Teacher Tip #19: Don’t get obsessed with data
It is super important to use your data to do the very
best for your kids and let it help you differentiate your instruction to meet
their individual needs.
However, DO NOT get obsessed with data. I could rant
about this but I will keep it short. Even if your school is obsessed with it,
even if your administration is obsessed with it, don’t get obsessed with it.
Use it, learn from it, grow from it but don’t let it affect how you feel about
yourself or your students.
It does not define your worth as a teacher nor your
students’ worth as students. Your students mean way more than the things their data
shows. Make sure you’re never looking at them like a number or an already
passed test. They’re all there to learn and grow and have fun and enjoy school
and enjoy learning :)
We’re in a data crazy time right now in some schools so I wanted to throw that out there. Don’t judge a kid by their data coming in either. They may surprise you!
First Year Teacher Tip #20: Don’t feel inadequate for taking
things home or staying late.
You WILL take things home this first year. A lot of people are going to give you the advice of not staying late or not taking work home. I understand what they’re saying and definitely think you should make it a point to not make that a habit but your first year… you’re going to. You’re making all your centers for the first time, you don’t have files of things you’ve already done and made to pull from. They mean well when they say, “You’re still here?? Go home!” but it really can make you feel inadequate thinking thoughts like, “Why can everyone else get everything done and leave at the bell but I’m still here for hours?” Don’t feel that way. Feeling like you have 9485048353 things to do and not being able to get them done during the school day is totally normal. I mean you’re teaching the vast majority of the school day – how could you possibly cut out centers or make copies during that time? A small break during specials is barely enough time to pee and breathe. The differences between you and the teacher who said that to you are that a) they’ve already done that work you’re doing in previous years, or b) maybe you are actually doing more than them. First year teachers are very ambitious – after a few years you chill out and realize you don’t have to do ALL. THE. THINGS. for your students to learn a lot and love school… but I totally understand that you feel like you need to right now and are excited to but are just struggling to find the time!
You will probably take home lamination to cut out on
the couch, you will bring spelling tests home to grade when your “To Grade” bucket
is overfilling, you will look for cute teaching ideas online, you just will.
You’re a new teacher… and it is quite a rare teacher, even who has been
teaching 20 years, that doesn’t bring things home or work at home sometimes.
Try not to do it a lot but it’s okay if you do. Don’t beat yourself up if you
stay late and the teacher down the hall leaves exactly after the bell every day
and somehow seems to have all her copies made and all her stuff together. Even
if this is only their 2nd year, they still had a whole 1 more year than you to
learn and perfect. You seriously grow so much every year it’s insane. Plus it
ALWAYS feels like everyone else has it all together except you and it’s just
not true – constantly remind yourself that you are rocking it, even when you
don’t feel like you are! & Also, like I already said, you never have to do
this first year teaching ever again :)
First Year Teacher Tip #21: Your first year teaching is going
to be crazy… love it anyway!
This speaks for itself, I think!
You never have to do your first year teaching over
again so enjoy the ride!! You are about to start the best job ever. Be so proud
of yourself for choosing such an amazing career that makes such a huge
difference in the lives of so many. It will be a lot of work but it’s worth
every bit of it <3
Here is a pin for you if you want to pin this to read later! You're more than welcome to pin any of the tips images too if you want them for reference :)
Here is a pin for you if you want to pin this to read later! You're more than welcome to pin any of the tips images too if you want them for reference :)
Make sure you follow people who inspire you so you always see fresh new ideas that inspire and rejuvenate you during the year!
If you want to follow me, here are some fun ways to do that!
and Pinterest!
There are so many great accounts that share so many teaching ideas so I recommend looking for them on whichever platform you enjoy using!
Thank you so much for reading and I so hope this was helpful for you! You have so many people (including me) rooting for you so don't be afraid to ask us for help!! :)
I really enjoyed reading this post. As a pre-teaching student I am in need of all the advice and tips I can recieve and am so grateful I came across this blog. I will save this advice for when I begin my first year of teaching. Thank you SO much for all of the helpful advice! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI hope your first year of teaching has been going well! Thank you for the sweet words about my post - I am so happy that it was helpful for you and I really appreciate you sending me a kind comment :)
DeleteI really really really needed these tips. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to hear that these tips were needed! I hope they were able to help support you and your teaching in some way! :) I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment!
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