To quickly recap this week, I came back from the all staff retreat on Friday afternoon, stayed one last night at Tammy's house, then moved to my new home with the Ford's on Saturday. But really, all I did was drop off my suitcases and head straight to school to work in my classroom. On Sunday, I went to church with the Ford's, then proceeded to go straight back to school to work. I spent all day Monday in my classroom again. Tammy and Jen worked with me on Saturday and Monday, and by the end of Monday, I was mostly ready for students.
Tuesday was the First Day of School and a half day for my students. We took a tour of the school, went over behavior expectations, starting learning classroom routines and procedures, and did a few "get to know you" activities. Before I knew it, it was time to go! At first, I was freaking out. Without understanding how, I had gotten all worked up, thinking I was going to fail and they would just eat me alive. But at some point during the day, I relaxed and realized that they were just kids. I've worked with kids for the last 6+ years of my life, and these kids were no different. Very chatty, but an overall good group of students.
We had two full days together, learning more routines and procedures, and doing more getting to know you activities. Then Thursday night was Open House. Dun Dun Dun!
No but actually it wasn't too bad. My Mentor Teacher and 2nd Grade Teaching Partner, Kosharah, and I did the 2nd grade presentation together. I met almost all of my parents, and we were able to get some volunteers for class activities.
Now, Kosharah is a HUGE praise. She is amazing and wonderful and awesome. We clicked pretty much from the get-go at the retreat. There aren't even words to describe how much of a blessing and answer to prayer she is. We work well together, know how to have fun, but also have differing perspectives on many things, all which make for a great partnership. Personally, I think we have the best relationship/pairing of all the grade level teachers. But I am biased :)
Hard Moments of this week, all of which caused major breakdowns (I've finally cried!…kinda a lot):
- Leaving Tammy and Tammy's house: it had become quite comfortable and Tammy is awesome
- Moving to the Fords: I love and adore the Ford's, however we have never lived in the same city before, so I was moving into unknown territory when it came to living with them.
- Starting school: SCARY! Never done this on my own before
- Open House: also SCARY!
- Generally feeling homeless: Last year, Monterey never really felt like home. But then going home to Thousand Oaks also didn't feel quite home either because I wasn't staying long. Then I stayed with Tammy, but was living out of suitcases. Now here, I love being here but it just doesn't feel like home yet either.
- Working on building and establishing friendships: its kinda weird living with "family" when all your friends are single with roommates, so learning to balance both and still successfully attempt to feel at ease with both.
All in all, I'm in the chaos stage of the transition spectrum, but God is here with me (He has made that abundantly clear over this last week!!) and many loving and supportive people surround me. Thank you for your prayers. They truly have been felt and I am so very blessed!
My Classroom!
Before
And After!
Love to you all!