Classroom » 2012-2013

I'm not gonna' lie.. It's my favorite thing to photograph the classroom right before school is back in session. You know, when the bulletin boards a freshly decorated, the toys and books placed neatly and perfectly, on the shelves, and the weather bear still has all his limbs! Hahaha. Doesn't it look just so picture perfect? This is indeed my favorite time of the year. After the first week.. I take that back, the first day, the kids come to class, you kind of start to loathe the place and it never ever looks quite as appealing. Ever. I think this is a bit repetitive of a post I did at the beginning of last school year. Oh, jeez.. isn't that awful? I swear I am grateful for my job. I swear, I swear. I just have to repeat that over in my head when I'm pullin' into the parking lot at 7:15AM, Monday through Friday.

» Linds

Classroom 2011-2012

No lie.... today was hell. The first day of school is a total disaster. Between broken down buses and losing kids and working all day with no break.. just.. oh myyyy. I hate to talk negatively like this because I know it's not going to help me get through this or cope with it but today was just a real downer. Not like I didn't expect it to be, but boy, I just feel like making some bad decisions like quitting my job and going to work at Target with all my bff's. Anyway, here are some photos of the classroom I took before the little heathens came. Decorating, paperwork, and the whole crafty bit over summer.. I can deal with and I do actually enjoy. I was just not prepared for today.

At least my classroom is cute, huh? Yeah. It didn't last long. Here is to hoping tomorrow is better. Cheers... No seriously. Here goes a Robotussin induced nap.

xo, Linds

On teaching

Today is my first Monday back to work without children. I have finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. It's been one of the longest and trying years I have had with my job, since I started a little over three years ago. I have worked hard to stay patient and understanding, especially to the children. There are times when I felt like I had reached the end of my rope but still I have pushed myself through these days of being not only mentally, but physically exhausted. I have learned a lot with my new placement within the program. I have to look at the pros of the whole experience. I have grew a lot as a person through my job. It's something I can actually see in myself every day. There are many of times I dislike and become fed up with my job just as much as the next person, but I have to remind myself how blessed I am to have a job, at all. Perhaps even more importantly, I should reflect on the lives I hope I have touched while trying to create a solid foundation for these children's own lives. Even more so than just the education they receive, the trust they put in me to steer them forward on the right path.Now I will begin my new job duties for the summer of endless recruiting, thorough cleaning, intense training, and so on. I am trying my hardest to keep up with the blogging. It's been a terrific outlet for not just my creativity but as a way for me to step back and look at my life through fresh and positive eyes. With that being said, I heard this quote below during a past training and I like to keep it tucked safely in the back of my mind when I notice I am in need of a new perspective.

“I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child be humanized or dehumanized.”
— Haim Ginott


xo, Linds