It is funny how I was only away from teaching for what seemed like a hot second, aka one year, before I actually started my new job. The first week my feelings changed, I felt like I was a first year teacher all over again, just a better foundation than before.
For those of you who don’t know, I moved from Fairfax County to Loudoun County Public schools. Sounds like a smooth transition, I mean they are both in Virginia. It wasn’t bad, but it is funny how quickly I forgot about all the boxes that needed to be moved, unpacked, organized. How many meetings you had the first week and how many times you had to run to the store. You know for “essentials” like first day gifts for the kiddos, Expo Markers, and organizing bins. I am pretty sure my husband thinks I should NEVER buy another basket or bin again. 🙂
Not only was I a little overwhelmed by the new county, new school, and sorting through my things (after I loaned them to a first year teacher and realized quite a few things were now missing), I lost my Uncle Ben. It was unexpected and threw a new whole version of “overwhelmed” into the mix. Luckily, it helped me to get to know my new 5th grade team. They are absolutely amazing people: Andrea, Christine, Matt, Bobby, Lisa, Lydia, and Tristan. They were so supportive and jumped in when I couldn’t be at Open House. I honestly don’t know what I would do without them. God definitely put me at this school and on this team for a reason.
Back to my classroom, now that life has slowed down and I am less overwhelmed. I finally took pictures of my classroom, which will continue to evolve as the year progresses, but for now. This is what it looks like. 🙂
