Ch-ch-changes

I don't like change. Not to the extent of actively avoiding it by wearing/eating/doing the same thing every day, but in general, I prefer things to be predictable and relatively comfortable.

I think this may be in part due to my upbringing. I had a very stable, pretty damn near idyllic childhood. I went to the same school from the age of three until I graduated from high school. There is thankfully no divorce in my family, and almost all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins lived in New Orleans when I was growing up. Things were blissfully consistent for me - even to the point of every Christmas Day being basically exactly the same as all the others. (Opening Santa presents under the watchful eye of Dad's video camera, breakfast and presents with Dad's side, presents and dinner with Mom's side, go home and crash. Lather, rinse, repeat next year.) I think that this level of predictability and consistency brings with it a host of good things, including a sense of being rooted in traditions and a close community. In fact, elementary school teachers learn that routines and predictability in a classroom are incredibly beneficial to children.

However, the slight downside is that I have not often in my life been forced to undergo major changes. My first new school (and class with boys!) was at UVA. I only moved to a new house once in my memory, and it was approximately 90 seconds away from the old one. In general, change is just not something that's happened to me that much.

That said, let's recap the past few months for me, shall we? Get married. Go on honeymoon. Return to pack up life and move 855 miles (yes, I Google Mapped it door to door) to a city with no friends. Start new job at brand new school. That's a lot of change for a girl who hasn't even had a freakin' Christmas that was distinguishable from all the others.

Honestly, I was really worried about how I was going to take all of this upheaval. The marriage part has been fine - as I said in a previous post, I don't really feel married (read: old and lame) because things aren't that different with Hubs, except that I see him less than I saw him before. Plus I don't have to take care of paying bills or taking out the trash anymore because he is more than happy to do those things. Score.

For the most part, the moving thing has been fine too; Durham is a town with a lot to like, especially as I've gotten to know some really lovely and fun people. But I am bothered by the newness of it. I don't even notice it most of the time, but my dislike of change rears its ugly head every once in a while. Yesterday, for example. I spent 2 days in Sapphire, NC with my family at my parents' mountain house. When it was time to leave to go back to Durham so I could spend time with Hubs following his week of nights, I got really upset. All I wanted was to stay with my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin and soak up the familiar vibe from them. The feeling passed after a couple hours in the car and a tearful conversation with Hubs, but it was there nonetheless. I didn't like it, and I wanted it gone.

After a great deal of thinking, I've decided that I don't know that there's anything I can do to fix my aversion to change except to keep forcing myself to undergo changes. I'm never going to be a person who up and decides to move to China one day - or even to dye my hair - but if I continue to see the upsides of change, maybe it will help. (Side note: I'm considering renaming this blog "The Upside" because I keep seeing myself use that word. Thoughts?)

So... the Upsides of all this change:

-First and foremost, the best. husband. ever.

-a big, beautiful house with a spacious kitchen and a freakin' room for a closet.

-the chance to be part of an amazing new school

-lots of wonderful new people

-Local Yogurt (a deliciously acceptable substitute for Pinkberry)

-driving distance from Cville

-being able to go to a store looking like crap because I won't see 234034 friends of my mom or grandmother everywhere I go

I could go on for a while...

I highly recommend this exercise any time you are feeling negative about a change. My mom suggested it first, when I was feeling extremely apprehensive and anxious in the face of the match and the uncertainty it brought for my future. She suggested I make a list of at least 5 positive things to look forward to about a new place, and it really helped. Take it from me.

And remember.... if nothing changes, nothing changes.

Teacher Touches

After getting to be in my classroom and see the exact layout and everything yesterday, of course I couldn't resist going home to start planning and making my classroom decorations, signage, etc. I don't go overboard on that stuff, but I do want to make the classroom personal and fun to be in.

I always prefer homemade decorations, bulletin boards, etc. to store-bought ones, and I'm using a minimum of store-bought, bee-related items. I did come up with an acronym I'm particularly proud of - I think the front windows into the hallway will say "Mrs. D's BEES" - except here is bees:

Cheesy, I know -- what's happening to me??

One thing I feel very strongly about is that third grade is the perfect year to build a lot of responsibility and self-reliance. Kids need it when they get to the upper grades, and really just life in general. One way that I do this is by having an area full of supplies that students are welcome to. I've always wanted to call it the "Help Yourself Shelf" but never got around to making the sign. In my last room, it was always just "the yellow shelf." Students don't need to ask to get materials from this shelf - it is their space, and they are responsible for retrieving from it what they need to complete the task at hand.

I'm kind of obsessed with the how the lettering came out:

The last thing I made yesterday was a template for my weekly newsletter, which I plan to email out to parents every Monday. If someone will tell me how to post that on here I will do it!

So far, so good... a lot of work on the horizon and I can't wait!

At Long Last!

I finally got to start moving in to my new classroom! I had seen the third grade hall last week, but I wasn't sure which room would be mine. There it was: C122, last room on the left.

Hubs was fortunately free this morning (he started nights today), so he was able to help me load and unload my car. Despite trying to only bring what I thought most important, we had eleven boxes of books, 4 large tubs, a million empty containers, and some miscellaneous crud to bring. Yikes! Thank goodness he is such a gem. (He did insist on taking separate cars and leaving as soon as the boxes were in the room and the tables were arranged - but can you blame him?)

When I got into the room, I was so excited to see many items waiting for me. The reading and math programs had already been delivered, as had sets of math manipulatives (JOY!). The school even gave us pocket charts and book baskets, and a fantastic listening center set with a CD player and 4 sets of headphones. Definite upside of a brand-new school: brand. new. materials.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVED my school in New Orleans. But when I moved in, I got used metal cabinets that didn't stay closed, a rusting file cabinet, and next to no storage space. As you can see, this room has shiny new furniture and more than ample storage:

Cubbies for the kids! And a rocking chair for me! (Side note: I opened that carpet later on, and it's an oval with all the colors in English and Spanish! Bueno!)

I'm going to put 4 at a table, 2 on each side. That way everyone can see the boards on both sides of the room.

My desk / file area in the corner. I don't love the orange, but one of my team members pointed out that it looks like honey! Upside!

The other thing about my school in New Orleans was the total lack of space. We had around 650 kids on one city block, PE and recess were on concrete, and there wasn't even a teachers' lounge. Contrast that with my new school - absolutely sprawling, with nature trails and building ruins from the old plantation that used to be here. I even have a view of the woods from my windows! How great will it be for the kids to look out from the library corner and see this?

All in all, I didn't do too much today except take stock of what I have and (more importantly) what I still need. I've already spent well over $100 on my new room, not including generous gifts from family members (thanks, Toots!). It's the plight of the teacher to be constantly buying things for the classroom - and it's the worst for elementary. I have big plans for The Hive... God bless VISA.