Setup of the Classroom

So, it's been a while since I've written... and I guess I just need to catch everyone up on how things have been going.  When I went into the room two weeks ago to go through things, it was as if a Magic Fairy had just swooped in and *bling* set up the classroom for me.

First Week of School Mountain

That is what I'm calling this week. Because it was a roller coaster.

Things started off rocky. I was feeling extremely disheartened and frustrated. I was feeling oppressed and stifled and (just like last year) ostracized. 

But then something miraculous happened. We got the ok from our principal to plan separately. First grade will basically plan in two groups. The ladies I am planning with are positive, open, and warm. We all teach differently and all appreciate each other for it. Common planning sessions are a time to share ideas, successes, and struggles. I feel so optimistic about the year ahead.

Uphill

I have completed teacher work week. My schedule is printed, my classroom looks wonderful (pictures to come later), parent letter is printed, and website is up and running. I feel organized, excited, and optimistic.

Sort of.

It is so odd being back at school. Things are going pretty much as expected. Half of the people are going "Wow, you're Montessori now! That's awesome!" and then others are treating me like I spent the summer with lepers and I'm about to infect them.

Revised Letter..... by Sandy Wade

I talked to the former teacher of my classroom for an hour on the phone today.  Miss Patrice is an incredibly sweet, understanding woman with whom I am very lucky to be able to work with.  We have decided, together,

Being Authentic in a Non-Montessori Classroom

Hello everyone! I'm a good friend of Sandy and I'm lucky enough to be contributing to this blog. I'm so glad she set this up because I've wanted to blog for a long time. I've had a few rough starts but it never took off. Now maybe since a group of us will be working on it, I won't be so hard on myself if I don't post anything for a while.

On to introductions. I've been teaching for about 3 1/2 years in a non-Montessori environment. One year I was a full time tutor in a school, one year I taught kindergarten,  half a year I taught second grade, and last year I taught first grade. So I've been bouncing around everywhere. Some of those changes were upgrades and some were shifts because of budget issues. So here I am. I've been teaching for a year in the school I'm in now and have been working on getting my Masters in Lower Elementary Montessori.

My letter

So here is the letter that I came up with.  Really I took a few of the letters from other teachers in my school, took a few suggestions from some friends of mine, and this is what I got.    We'll see how it goes through the year.

Hi, my name is Sandy Wade, and I'm about to embark on my journey as a Lower Elementary Montessori teacher.  I'm writing this blog for two reasons:  1)  I am trying to get my thoughts sorted out.  Setting up the Montessori classroom is one of the most intimidating things I think I have ever had to tackle.