My 1st 7 Weeks of 1st Grade (Again)

It's been a really long time since I've been in first grade, and I have a lot to learn all over again...I have just finished my first 7 weeks of 1st grade. It has been a crazy 7 weeks. I really love teaching first grade. There have been a couple of days where the class is out of control and things aren't going well and I wonder what I got myself into, but most of the time I have a lot of fun. I really do love it! Due to a 40 million dollar budget deficit in D.C. public schools, over 300 teachers were laid off last week. Chad and I feel very blessed and excited to still have our teaching jobs. Because of the layoffs, my class and situation at my school has been changing quite a bit since school started. I started the year with an aid and 13 students. Then I got a different aid, and then a different one. Then I was told to combine my class with the first grade teacher next door. We were going to co-teach a total of 27 students together. That lasted 1 day and then she was told she was going to teach 2nd grade so the next day I had all 27 students by myself (my aid was moved to kindergarten). Then the next day they were split again and I had 20 by myself. Then the next day I had 20 with a co-teacher. I co-taught for about 2 weeks and then my co-teacher was just laid off this past week. So now...it is me teaching 18 students by myself. It has been really crazy with all of the changes and especially hard on the kids, but I think everything should be stable now. 18 is still a pretty good class size and while there are advantages to co-teaching, I think I prefer to do it by myself.

Anyway, like I said, teaching first grade is a lot of fun! The kids are really cute (most of the time) and make me laugh. They are always making me cards and giving me I love you notes. One boy in my class keeps telling me how fun school is which makes me feel good. Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks:

1. Show 'n tell last Friday: One little boy sang the whole My Girl song to the class and it was the cutest thing ever. Another little boy sang I'm Proud to Be an American - again - so cute. These two boys made my week.
2. We learned about the bald eagle in social studies and now my students point it out everywhere we go on school signs. They really remember what they learned.
3. We learned about living and non-living things a few weeks ago and every time we go outside my class continues to show me what is living and what is not and how they know. It is great to see them continue to use what they have learned.
4. My class is doing really well in reading and math and really progressing. I have seen so much improvement in so many students throughout the 7 weeks!
5. There have been so many great days, cute things said, and fun experiences. I can't think of any right now, but there are always tons! I'll have to post on a more regular basis all of the cute things that happen.
6. I had a formal observation this past week by the vice principal and she said my lesson was exemplary and she was very proud! Yeah! (It's a good thing she didn't see my math lessson that day!)

Right now the big challenges are the behavior of 2 of my students who are out of control. They are slowly getting better, but really have problems. The next big challenge is the time commitment. I work about 70-80 hours a week planning lessons, grading papers, calling parents...Sometimes it gets really overwhelming, but Chad has been very supportive and helpful and is doing a great job keeping me sain! I had no idea how much work and energy it takes to be a teacher. I am truly grateful for all of my teachers and their hard work. I had no idea what it took. There are so many things to keep track of - grades for 6 different subjects, attendance, uniforms, behavior, contact with parents, who turns in what, who completes which centers, assessments...I have always considered myself a really organized person, but wow - I can't seem to get organized anymore!! The 3rd challenge is that my students cannot read, so it takes a lot of thought to figure out how to give them assignments they can do and especially how to test them. I have to do a lot orally, which takes a lot more time. They can't read directions and I find myself explaining how to do things over and over again. Part of that is my fault too. The 4th challenge is just learning how to break things down simple enough for a first grader to understand. Sometimes I think I am presenting something in the most basic way possible, but then I realize it still needs to be broken down more. I am still learning what a 1st grader is capable of and still practicing how to bring things down to their level.

Overall, I love teaching first grade and it is not as hard as I thought it would be. Hopefully I can continue to say that and it only gets easier.