New Year New...Classroom?

    I survived my first semester! There were a lot of memorable and not-so-amazing days for sure.  I have learned so much over the past few months and I feel so much more confident this semester. Lesson planning makes much more sense now and I can anticipate situations better. The biggest thing I have continued to learn over the last semester is mastering the authority in my classroom. The kids at this age are learning who they are as people; sometimes (most of the time) it means pushing boundaries. Which, in turn, means that I have to be able to handle classroom management in any situation. 

I have come back from our break refreshed and ready to begin this new semester. Over the break, I listened to a podcast called Teachers off duty, which in the episode I listened to talked about teachers' "new year resolutions". One of the teachers said that she would do a self and class reflection. I thought that this was a great idea! She said that in her class she would have her students fill out a form that they could reflect on as well. They would tell her what they liked and didn't like about the previous semester and what they looked forward to. This is something I would definitely implement next year. 

Coming back from break, I decided that I would up my classroom management this semester. Now that I am more comfortable in my role as an educator I know what will and will not be tolerated. On the first day back I took the time to walk each class through new expectations and revisit old expectations and policies. I reminded them of the homework policy and made it clear how my expectations were higher this semester. Time will tell how it will play out but I will be holding myself accountable and sticking to my word. So far, I have only had a few students try to push it but I have held strong! 

I can not wait to see what this semester has in store! After this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, we are on the home stretch until spring break! 

*I also wanted to share the only picture I managed to capture of my wonderful fiance and I on Christmas this year!