So what now?

As my excitement for my new job fizzles, reality soon sets in...Now what?

 Well I have been to see my classroom (I will upload pictures when I have it all set up, eventually) and it has definite potential for greatness! I have been to sign all of my paperwork and learn the basics about pay and benefits which is great and all but I was in need of advice. Advice on what I should be doing now in order to prepare for my first year in the classroom.

So far I have been reading books that were recommended to me by some of my amazing ASU brofessors (yes that is bro and professor fused together). I have read 14 Things Great Teachers do Differently by Todd Whitaker which is a great book that I recommend to any teacher, new or veteran. I read, Teaching Ten to Fourteen Year Olds by Chris Stevenson which is kind of long but definitely worth the read, and now I am revisiting "The First Days of School," a classic by Harry Wong.

Let me side track here for just a minute to recall a story about Harry Wong. One of my professors was preaching...I mean...teaching about classroom management and how important it was for all of us to read this book before we go into the classroom. With the most serious look on his face, and passion in his eyes, my professor says to all of us, "If you're struggling during those first days in the classroom just pull out your Harry Wong and take a long, hard look in the mirror." We all about died!!! It took our professor a moment to figure out what just happened and he will NEVER live that moment down. It definitely made the 8:00 a.m. class choice worth it that day.

Okay, so where was I? Oh yes, things I am currently doing to prepare for my new job. Other than reading I have been pinning like it is my day job. I have been digging and searching for new ideas on Pinterest, free posters and goodies from www.teacherspayteachers.com and making tons of lists. I have been shopping (duh) for all sorts of classroom supplies, the basics for now of course; pencils, paper, paper clips, you know, the works. I bought myself a laminator which may be the greatest purchase/invention of all time (Amazon for $30). I went a little cray cray printing things and laminating them to make them look nice and of course I made a kazillion corny posters for my classroom. If you know me then you know that a day does not go by without something corny coming out of my mouth.

Things that I have laminated:
*I made 50 DIY dry erase boards from cardstock, duck tape, and my nifty laminator (Pinterest)
*My Standards (8th grade Math)
*School Calendar
*Binder Covers (Pinterest, FREE)
*Corny Posters
*Blooms Taxonomy Wheel (www.teacherspayteachers.com  FREE)
*Problem Solving Steps (www.teacherspayteachers.com FREE)
*Overview of CCSS for Math k-8 (www.teacherspayteachers.com FREE)

and I am part of the way done printing out and laminating!!

So, other than all of that madness I have been going over my standards, memorizing them, and breaking them down to the nitty gritty. This means I have horizontally and vertically mapped my standards so I can build on my students schema (prior knowledge).  This learning the standards thing is serious bidness. My hope is to start planning some lessons soon but I am pretty sure that will need to wait until I get to meet the other 8th grade math teachers.

Oh yes, please enjoy this picture of my wonderful husband in his new T-Shirt "Real Men Marry Teachers"
Idea-Pinterest
Made by- My MIL