Kickin’ off the first fall teacher outfit round-up since 2018… I can’t believe it’s been that long. 2018? THAT WAS 3 years ago. Let’s be real though… Actually I can believe it’s been that long, ha… that’s why I felt so scattered this back-to-school season (even though I wasn’t, it just felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, at ALL). Based off the first few days, I really didn’t know what I was doing, but I trusted my gut, made some strange last minute decisions, and every thing worked out way better than I expected.
WEDNESDAY | FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
jumpsuit: shein (x-small, true to size) – it has an open back and I wore this white tank top under it (only $3) | shoes: old navy, old, similar | rug: amazon
I tried to make my first day of school plans for about two weeks. I couldn’t get passed the “About Me’s” from my last blog post. I tried about 5 different strategies, browsed a ton of ideas on Pinterest, and spent time reading up about best practices for building an emotional-behavioral program. Nothing. Other than a boat load of frustration. I ended up coming up with a handful of prepared activities and decided to wing it.
WING THE FIRST DAY OF AN EBD PROGRAM? Go against ALL the research I’ve been reading and how I’ve started every other first day of school before? HAVE NO STRUCTURE? What? Okay. Yup… that’s what I did. I didn’t know why but I quickly realized what my gut was telling me… find out their skills, truly understand what they know, set them up to fail so you know where the areas of growth are, build connections between students and staff, and build EVERY SINGLE THING TOGETHER. And that’s what we did. It was the best first day of school I’ve ever had.
THURSDAY | OUTFIT DETAILS
dress: shein (x-small) | shoes: converse (size 7.5) just ordered my first pair of high tops–ah! | yoga mat basket: amazon | bins: target
Connection and belonging are really important… along with teamwork, including the voices of the people (or in this case students) in all decision making, and data. I didn’t know where to start because I didn’t have the information I needed. I’m not the type of teacher who assumes I know what my students need or what’s best for them simply based off my prior experience or the information I’ve been given. I have to see for myself and collect the needed information. I want to build a program that actually works. That works for my students and our community. That takes time.
I love structure and organization. I love when things are black and white and I know the rules. One of my favorite things is having a plan… it’s totally the “J” in my personality coming out… so not having that and trying to build that was challenging while I internally knew I didn’t have the information I needed to do it “right” the first time.
FRIDAY | OUTFIT DETAILS
t-shirt: express (xx-small) | jeans: gap (24, regular) | flats: chinese laundry (7.5, true to size) | mirror: target | abc rug: amazon ($23.99!!!)
For three days, our community build relationships. We threw kids into situations to understand their skills, we took IEP goal data, we asked questions, we sprinkled in team building, we asked our students questions, we had them mostly in general ed… We gave options for lunches and recess, and listened to what their behaviors were telling us. I did every non-best practice aside from building community and relationships.
I learned so much.
And now I have a massive to-do list specific for each student that feels authentic and realistic at the same time. As well as structures that are essential for our classroom to run smoothly for whole group instruction and being a space for students to come when they need to work through their feelings.
The best part of all of this? Our students THRIVED all week long.
As teachers sometimes we think we know best (sometimes we do but sometimes we assume). We think we know what needs to be done and we do it. When it doesn’t work, we get frustrated, blame ourselves, and maybe even the kids. Every group of kids is different and part of being a great educator is listening and adjusting based on student needs, not our need to know-it-all or being right, organized, or in control. If your back-to-school season isn’t going as planned, take a step back and ask yourself what you need to be listening to. What additional information do you need to make the best adjustments for your community? Let go of the need for everything to be perfect and focus on everything being meaningful. Fail and try again. Sometimes it takes months before we get it right and that’s okay. It’s all a learning process. For us and them. Time to spend the next few days creating our program 🙂 Kickin’ off the plan on Tuesday and I CAN’T WAIT!
Wishing you a relaxing weekend and wonderful back-to-school season.
with kindness | ashley
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