Today is dedicated to providing advice for new teachers! What an exciting time... your OWN classroom! It seems like yesterday that I was preparing for my first class. I can feel the excitement all over again, and my NERVES!! Ek!!
First, Take a deep BREATH! Everything WILL be okay and you will survive this!
Remember that YOU are the teacher. You are a professional in this field and so YOU will always have an answer for any problem/student issue that arises! BUT never be afraid to say to the parents, "I do not know the answer... but I'll gladly find out for you"!
Do everything you can to be prepared for the first weeks ahead of time. I always go ahead and write out my lesson plans for the first two or three weeks. I have everything copied and ready to go, divided into my "weekly" folders (more on this in a moment) just waiting for me to pull it out and go each day. Now... keep in mind, that this is a "tentative" schedule of your day. Things will happen and you will find your "plan" has changed a little.. be flexible and calm. You will eventually find another time slot to fit in whatever activity or skill you were going to teach when little Johnny threw up everywhere :)
Along with this, have EXTRA skill sheets or activities planned as well.
Now onto my "weekly" folder system. I have file folders dedicated to each day of the week. Each Thursday my assistant copies all of the activities we will be doing for the next week. Using my lesson plans, I sort the activities based on what day we will be completing it. This way on Monday, for example, I just have to pull out my Monday folder and everything I need is there!
I am having difficulty uploading the pictures I took of it... will add them later on! The stand that holds all of my weekly folders sits to the left of my desk, behind my teacher computer. (To keep the "mess" hidden) I will add that mine personally could look cuter, but the purpose it serves is irreplaceable!
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