Preparing a classroom is a ritual I’ve always loved. You’re given a space that is very boring, and you have two weeks to create something warm and homey for littles. Of course, it must include creature comforts for the teacher, as well. My classroom is pretty bare. I have yet to find all the reading and math books. Last year it was used for another purpose, not a classroom.
In years past, I’d have been stressed to the max walking into a room with clean, empty closets and cupboards. I’ve always installed my own curtains, area rugs, and furniture to cozy the place up. But, this year, I’m going to keep that to a minimum. At least that’s what I had in mind until yesterday.
With all the tables and chairs in place and leveled books in order, I moved in the first load of belongings. Consumables for the kids. In my classroom, the parents pay for nothing, (if I can help it). As a young parent in this crazy world, no one will be bringing crayons or colored pencils to school if I can help it. I can’t imagine raising kids in todays world. The least I can do to help is provide the supplies necessary to learn. Teacher’s around the US are doing the same thing. People don’t realize what the classroom would look like if teachers didn’t donate hours of unpaid work and supplies. It would be a different first day of school. Our kiddos deserve much better than that and so teachers step up.
Yesterday was the moving day for my comfy Teacher’s chair to make it to the classroom. A recliner, this chair was a bad purchase from Costco. It’s never really fit in any house since 2007, always ending up in the bedroom. Too nice to give away, it’s been waiting for a purpose. Being beige, it certainly never reflected my personality. VST and I bought it because it was a comfy chair. Now, it’ll go to school.
Taking a recliner apart is simple. There are two levers at the base. Pull those up and the entire top comes off. The top was light as a feather as I carried it to the pickup. It was the base that was challenging.
If you have never moved a swivel rocking recliner, you’re in for a workout. With a round pedestal, rolling this way and that, every time I grabbed one arm of the chair, it would swing around and hit be in the behind. Try and drag it???? Like a stubborn mule, it wouldn’t budge. Stuck in place. Slowly, I worked this monster into the garage, having to turn it this way and that to navigate the doorway. I felt like a new episode of “Lucy”. You know things are not going well when you are talking to the bottom portion of a recliner. Let’s just not discuss exactly what THAT conversation was like. Kind of one-sided. Not pleasant.
Once at the back of the truck, I was licked again by my lack of strength. There was no way I could lift 70 pounds of chair into the back of the truck. Just no way. Heck, I could barely drag the chair out of the house. In my classroom now sat the top of the chair, with the bottom portion still at my house. It was then, I called Ninja Neighbor to the rescue.
At 7 last night, she and and her friend, an adorable new Top Gun agent came to the rescue. This young woman actually works at the Top Gun Training facility to the East of my town. She was in full uniform, not a hair out of place after a long work day. It was her smile and adorable personality that made me glad I’d just made another new friend. Military personnel are some of the most polite people I’ve ever met, and she fit that image perfectly.
So, Ninja Neighbor and Miss Top Gun lifted that chair like right into the back of the pickup like it was Forrest Gump’s feather The maintenance men will unload it for me tomorrow, and I’ll have a comfy chair in which to rest after long mornings with kids. I’ll also have a wonderful chair on which to sit during story time, my favorite time of the day. My chair will be shared with kids during Show and Tell, every morning. Yes. Dahlia told me. They still have Show and Tell in 1st Grade at our school.
My first graders are the class returning to a normal world. They weren’t scarred by two years of distance learning like all the older children in the school. However, they WERE raised in a sea of masks. Who knows how much that affected their emotional growth or speech development. Time will tell.
Just a note. I have a new principal. The darling woman that hired me was promoted. This was just announced. My newest, new principal is wonderful. She sat in on my interview. She’s friendly and seems to be on top of everything, having been the assistant principal last year. She and I have a first year in common.
There is a new math adoption this year which should be fun! It comes with shiny new work books that look colorful and challenging. I’m not sure if some of my students will be able to count to 100. I hope so, but, then, they are only 6. Think of that!!!! Walking for only 5 years. Talking for only 4. We’re expecting them to write on the first day of school? Many of them don’t really know their ABC’s. Or worse, many don’t speak English at home.
I need to get going. Today, I’m planning to be at school by 6. The classrooms are still very hot from the summer. I’ll be planting my indoor garden station with some herbs and flowers. In the olden days, I’d be gentling a gerbil, or placing a parakeet. In this day and age, animals aren’t allowed in the classroom. How very sad because animals add a lot of interest to a normal school day. Somewhere along the line, I’ll sneak in something. Maybe a few fish or a tadpole. There will be animals in my classroom by the end of the year.
Whatever you do today, make it count. Smile at someone new to your area. Wave at someone you don’t know. Tell a checker at the store “Thank you” for just coming to work. But most of all, “Choose Happiness”. It’s the only way to roll.
More tomorrow.