FINALLY!

Wow! It was worth the wait! My classroom is (semi-) ready, I am certain I am working with the most incredible staff of teachers and educators, and my students are here! WOW! This week has already been a blur! Did I mention it’s only Tuesday??

Monday: Haul day/ work-your-tail-off day.

Arrived at school at 7:55 a.m., hot coffee and Diet Coke with vanilla on easy ice from Sonic in tow, eagerly awaiting the keys that would be those of my classroom!

Moved and unpacked ALL my classroom things in the most positive mood I’ve been in a long time when it comes to moving stuff! (1. I despise moving, 2. I had to move in the midst of that lovely scorching Southern summer heat!, and 3. I seriously despise moving. All things considered, I was very happy for very good reasons!)

BEFORE:

My wonderful new teacher friend Anna helped me organize things into piles. THANK GOODNESS she was there because I was already really scatterbrained! I felt like I had 200 different tasks to do, and I wanted to do all of them at the same time.

After deciding on a “game plan” for where things would go/hang (temporarily or permanently), we got to work. I was determined to get things on walls! And thank goodness for this stuff:

After taking a snack break with my Goldfish crackers and visiting some of the veteran teachers’ rooms, I refocused on what I needed to get done. Which was pretty much everything. Still, I am optimistic and thankful for this classroom. I started thinking things could be worse. I could have no computer, no desks available, no air conditioning, etc. I know there are many classrooms in schools elsewhere around the country and world that are not this fortunate. With a renewed spirit and encouragement from my new colleagues (what, I have colleagues?!), I was ready to tackle the rest of my room.

I worked...and worked...and got some more caffeine in me to work some more. I stayed at school until... 8:30 p.m. Lunch and dinner waited until 9:00 p.m. Here’s what my room looked like after 12 and a half hours:

So it turns out you can get a LOT done in one day! Yeah, I was quite ready for bed, but I ended up working some more at home. It’s still unreal sometimes that this is actually my classroom. Wow, this is actually happening! Kids come tomorrow. Trying not to stress too much and staying positive! Good luck to those putting their classrooms together!