Summer is done.
Today I loaded up the car and headed over to The School to unpack and get my room set up. Amazing how long that can take.
Every year we have to box up and pack up our rooms. For those, like me, who have absolutely no built-in storage, this means EVERYTHING. Mrs. Eagle had cabinets and all sorts of counters in her old room so it was simply a matter of just putting stuff away. My room, however, has nothing of the sort, so I have to box it all up so that the janitors, bless their hearts, can empty the entire room to strip and wax the floors. Then they haul all the stuff back in and, thankfully, read the little map we tape to our doors so they know, more or less, where things go. I have to give them credit - this year I didn't have to hardly move a thing. They were rock stars.
A few years ago I got tired of the Spring hunt for boxes with which to pack up my room and instead bought big plastic tubs to store things in. This has turned out to be one of the smartest things I've ever done. For one thing, it increased my storage during the year. Four of these huge tubs can sit under the work table by my door. That means I can store things in these four tubs during the year. The other ones I simply stash in an out-of-the way corner (I do not have a square room so there are a lot of weird little corners) and then I pull them out every Spring and pack them up again.
I do not, however, label them with what's in them. Because that changes every year. Which means that today was kind of like opening presents at Christmas. Wonder what's in this tub? Oh wow, books, pipe cleaners, and my precious red Swingline stapler! Cool!
I did get a lot accomplished. Still need to get out and hang up posters, and figure out kid seating, bring in the plants and clean a few things, and then I should be ready to go. Heavens, I even got the technology up and running and working. That can sometimes be a disaster but this year worked out fine.
Now if I can just find a way to fit a rumored 34 kids per class into a room that's made to accommodate 28...
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4 comments:
Our cleaning crews got backlogged and we do not know when we will get in our rooms. We hope it is not later than the 9th, but we cannot get anyone to commit to a day.
Oh, well! Another week of summer for me!
Gotta love the summer work that teachers have to do. I'm an ESL teacher, so we have a TON of stuff to pack and move each year. My school will be overcrowded this year, too. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the time I had to teach 9 kids in a closet.
I still don't know if I will get to stay in my classroom this year. If I do, it will be the first time EVER that I haven't had to move classrooms. That is ten years and ten separate rooms. Typical.
Good luck finishing the unpacking.
Wow...I wish I could get all that done in one day!! I am starting my first year and I'll be teaching 2nd grade. The teacher before me left a ton of stuff so it's been a daunting task to distinguishing between what stuff she left and what are necessary materials.
I'm so glad I found your blog! I would love for you to check out my blog- http://myjourneythroughstudentteaching.blogspot.com/
I love plastic containers! I discovered them a few years ago when I put some of my private things in storage. Plastic keeps out water and lots of little beasties. In the classroom, there is just never enough storage, good for you on the reducing and reusing bit!
Merry New School Year!
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