Wait! You don’t have to do it all. Get your student’s to help build their Classroom Communities, along side of you.
Teacher’s All Over Ontario are heading back to their classrooms this week in preparation for the upcoming school year. Many will be spinning in circles slightly overwhelmed with the task. If you are a new teacher entering an almost empty classroom this will ring even more true. So what do you need to do? Where do you start? How can you get it all done? Classroom Communities are built with your students, not for them. They must be part of the process to have that understanding so the best thing you can do is let them help make the room their’s too.
Step One: Stop trying to do it all, leave some work for your students. Their Classroom Communities will be strengthened as they take pride in their environment.
When I first started I thought everything had to be perfectly labelled. Bulletin Boards needed to be filled. Desks in a precise formation. Then the curriculum, the layout, the rules, the never ending last minute purchases just in case I was forgetting something. Now, I know the list is truly never ending so I don’t try to complete it. Instead I prioritize, reflect daily and then decide. As I said in my previous post “Getting Ready for the First Day of Teaching” linked below. You don’t need to have every detail complete and miss your last weekend of Summer with your family… Write out your list and involve your students. Put labels out and have students write their own name and choose their own spots. Spend the first day arranging things with your students and showing them the routines you want completed daily. Explain that as you learn different things your boards will display their learning and they are going to help you do this. You can always adjust as needed and it makes them feel like they are truly part of the decision making process. This in turn will intrinsically build the Classroom Communities we all want to foster.
Step Two: Okay, so what do I actually need done? How can I leave meaningful opportunities for my Students to build Classroom Community?
Have a good day plan for the first few days ready. Schedule time for games that are inclusive and fun. Have some really great read aloud’s ready at a moments notice. If you are walking into a brand new room try to make areas of the room related to your subjects that make sense but also know this will come together over time and you can do this during your first few weeks of planning time. If your day plans are prepared you will be good. Bring them outside for some journal writing and reading, read a book to them in the grass. The kids will be needing this time to get to know you and their peers. This will build their friendships and expectations for the year don’t undervalue this time. Relax, enjoy and build relationships with them. It is the most important thing you can do your first few days. Remember you can stay exhausted each and every night until way past dinner but your most productive choice will be to go home, rest and be mentally ready for your next day.
Step Three: Breathe, Relax, Repeat. Remember to have fun your Classroom Community with depend on how you approach your students each day.
Do it with optimism, happiness and independent approaches, you won’t be sorry. The kids will quickly value how you make them feel. They will become more responsible for how their actions are making other people feel and the blossoming Classroom Community that you crave with begin to immediately unfold. Does this mean that there should be no leadership on your part? No, they definitely need guidance but at every possible opportunity give small options for choice, allow critical thinking and self-help skills to prioritize over a need to micromanage (we all mean well , but stop) and see how many things you don’t really need to do because they are more then willing to help and added bonus it makes them feel good. I’m adding a few other great reads in this area that you will hopefully enjoy too. Just for fun.
With Love, C.
https://www.myteachingcupboard.com/blog/how-to-build-a-classroom-community
