It’s the week before Spring Break and everything seems to be
piling up together! This is the time that I really get a taste for both sides
of the spectrum. As a student I’m working on my KPTP, I have a presentation to
give tomorrow night, preparations to make for my observation on Wednesday, and
a general craving for break so that I can simply sleep in past 6am on morning
(not to mention the fact that we lost an hour last night). As a teacher,
however, I see the last minute planning and preparations behind the scenes to
try and get the students where they need to be and everything caught up to
date. Not to mention and inservice day followed by a seminar meeting that night
which leads into a workday on Friday at which point all grades must be caught
up to date. Add onto this two Praxis tests, an early morning PD meeting at
7:10am and an open house for senior projects and this week seems pretty hectic
and nearly impossible to navigate! While classroom management has been one of
my big goals this semester to work on, I’ve realized that time management has
easily become another.
Thankfully my CT is thoroughly organized which has helped to
keep me on a straight track as well. Without those skills this week would look
downright terrifying! Even the simple things, such as paper and file
organization techniques as mentioned in this blog has become a key tool to
manage time efficiently. I can see what copies have been made or need to be
made, and using plan time or before/after school to get those accomplished
saves a last minute rush at the copy machine. By being organized I have time
for breathers- and with this upcoming week I feel that they will be needed a
lot! But I was also searching around for some other forms of advice to help
keep me calm and collected when I discovered this article. It has a lot of good
resources and tidbits that should be taken into consideration! Taking the time
to get organized, keep organized and help myself stay on top of everything is
the overarching goal for this week. Spring break is a teasing thought away, but
as both a student and a teacher I know that I need to focus on the tasks at
hand so that when spring break does make its way here I can savor it.
Have a great week, everyone!
Kristal,
ReplyDeleteThe blog and article are both great resources! I feel the same way that you do about being organized. It is so important to make sure that everything is in place for lessons for them to go well. I know if I wake up even ten minutes late for the morning, I somehow feel like my entire day is off. I have to say I also appreciate my CT's ability to keep her classroom so tidy and everything organized and in place, it makes her small room not seem so small. :)
You seem to have a crazy busy week ahead of you! I will be sending good thoughts your way that you can get all accomplished that needs to be. I know, I am also so excited about sleeping in until maybe 7!? haha! My internal alarm clock will probably wake me up at 5:30am - that's always frustrating. I was also talking to my cousin (who is a Kindergarten teacher) this weekend, and she told me to expect to be asked how I relax in my upcoming interview. I guess principals are interested in how we cope with our busy lives.
I hope you have a wonderful week, even though it seems so crazy busy! We are almost there!
Take care,
Amber
Kristal,
ReplyDeleteI am certainly in the same boat as you are. I have had to take a crash course in becoming way more organized than I have ever been in my life and it finally seems to be paying off (though still not without a few stressful days scattered about where I don't feel as caught up as I would like). Regardless of where we all are, this next week should at least bring some reprieve, even if it is only being able to sleep in a little bit later than we otherwise might be able to.
I would also like to thank you for posting the article and that blog. Both appear to have some fantastic suggestions on how to not go completely crazy when things start piling up. Best of luck the rest of the semester!
-Scott
You're over half way through the week and doing great--based on your rockin' observation today. Way to go! I hope your PRAXIS went well this afternoon. I have no doubt that you made it through with flying colors. Enjoy these next two planning/in-service days, Kristal, and savor sleeping in next week. :-)
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