So I am a pretty positive person and people can come to me for just about anything but, lately I feel like I am at the end of my rope. I have been at the same school for 8 years. Its a charter school so they do things a bit differently than other schools. For one thing I like it cause I can teach to my kids abilities. I have a K class but my kids are super smart! I have some students who read at a 4th grade level! I mean really understand what is being read and everything! So I am able to teach them the basics they need but still help them grow.
So last week we are told that we are changing the way we teach and we are going to start departmentalizing.I am not sure why but someone came up with the idea but for a K class I am not sure how it will work. So I teach ELAR and SS to my kids in the am and another class in the PM(our K is full day). In the am I feel like it works, my kids know exactly what do t, groups get done and its wonderful. Then noon hits and it’s a totally different story. This other class is a basic K class and I am having a really hard time going from one extreme to the next. Plus I am a VERY organized person and to try and move ALL my items from one class to the next is HARD! Plus the other class barely knows me and they do NOT have the structure that I do.I have been treating that class likes its the beginning of the year. I am SO mentally exhausted by 3:30.
Every night this week I have been in bed my 8pm! My poor family has not had a hot cooked meal in quite awhile, I barely have time to do ANYTHING. I know it won’t stay like this forever but, its HARD to take away structure and organization and transfer it to a new place.
To anyone out there who reads this thanks for letting me vent. If anyone has any words of wisdom I would really appreciate it.
Counting the weeks til Thanksgiving break 😉
Hello – First, I just wanted you to know that someone was listening 🙂 I feel your pain and have been there! One thing I can recommend is getting a rollable cart (like the old school kind you used to put transparency machines on?). Maybe your librarian has one s/he'd like to get rid of. I am super organized too and used a lot of manipulatives. I would organize my materials for the week (or as much as would fit) on the cart on Monday morning or Friday afternoon for the next week. Then it was done for the week and I didn't have to worry about forgetting anything or wasting time gathering all of my materials when it was time for me to switch rooms. It really helped calm some of my frustration/anxiety over the situation. For what it's worth, I can't believe someone thought departmentalizing K was a good idea. Our school departmentalized as young as second grade and after a couple of years, the second grade teachers were able to convince the superintendent to change. It's made a world of difference. One way they were able to do this was by presenting data that showed how much instructional time was being lost by switching, the effects it had on learning, etc. They kept track of all kinds of data so that they had something substantial to present when meeting with the admin team. Maybe they'll change their minds sooner than later? Hang in there! 🙂