Tell All Tuesday: Top Ten Things Teaching Has Taught Me

Today is Tuesday, so that means it's time to link up with My Day in K and Teach. Create. Motivate. for their awesome Tell All Tuesday link up party!

This is such a fun weekly linky where we can learn more about each other and get to share a bit about ourselves too! It's so much fun to read everyone's responses to each week's topic! This week is no exception!

This week we are telling all about the Top Ten things being a teacher has taught us. Lots of alliteration to this weeks topic!! :-)

Being a teacher has taught me so much, and I honestly love each new year because I learn something new. In no particular order, here are ten things being a teacher has taught me.

It's important to not only be a team with the other teachers in your grade level, but also with your students. In your classroom, work together to set the rules and expectations. Make sure everyone knows where supplies go, so that everyone can be responsible for keeping things where they belong. Working together as a team can help make your school year go by smoothly!

Kids love to point out the obvious, and they find the simplest things to be hilarious. Every so often they are going to find something hilarious about you. Whether it be that you just spelled a word on the board wrong or that you wore two different colored shoes to school that day. It was dark that morning, okay?? You need to be able to laugh at yourself, there are going to be days when that's all you can do!!

Regardless of how many years you have been teaching, every single year is so very different from the previous years! You are going to have a constantly changing group of students who bring with them their constantly changing families. What worked so incredibly well one year may never work again, and you'll have to be prepared to adjust for that. Remember to change with each year and tweak what works to fit each new challenge!

Please know that I mean this both figuratively and literally. You are going to have to know how to quickly adapt to change, like when you're being observed by other teachers in your district and the bulb in your projector stops working and the SMART Board crashes. You are also going to know how to quickly adapt to change in direction, since your kiddos will stop on a dime right in front of you or completely dart across your path like a game of Frogger...

Every child is different in so many ways. From personality to learning style, every child is unique. This seems like such a 'duh' piece of advice, we all know kids are different. I bring this up because it is important to remember that each child is unique and they all have different learning styles. You will need to adjust your teaching methods to best meet the needs of the various learners in your classroom.

No matter how much you prep and plan your lesson, inevitably something will go wrong. Usually it's the day that you are being observed by your principal and vice principal and district supervisor. The computer crashes. Your manipulatives have disappeared. One of your littles throws up all over the floor and another walks in it. Realize that things are going to go wrong, and accept that when they do you will get through it. Take a deep breath and remember to be flexible!

It is very important to laugh as much as you possibly can! Your kiddos are going to be brutally honest and tell you all about everything and everyone in their lives. You are going to laugh at the things they say, the things they do, and the things they wear. Take time to find the humor in all situations, because there are days when it will be you're either laughing or you're crying!

Carry a clipboard or a notebook around with you. To your planning sessions. To meetings. Just when walking your kids to their special. You never know when someone is going to tell you something important when they see you in the hallway, and when they do you can write it down. If you write it down, chances are you won't forget it! There is always something you need to remember or somewhere you need to be, so write it down as soon as you find out and you won't forget!! Whenever you are talking with a parent, whether on the phone or in person, write it down! Write down the date, who you talked with, and what you talked about. Trust me, you never know when this information will be needed later in the year!

Find an organizational system that works for you and STICK TO IT! You are going to have so much to file and tools to store. You need to know where things are in your room, filing cabinets, and computer files. You'll have to organize your student data records as well as the different committee notes you have. Figure out how to organize the papers you'll use during the week, what you'll do with extras, and how to address student absence. Papers will pile up quickly if you let them, so start the year off organized and continue on that way!

Tell yourself this every single morning. When you wake up. When you're in the shower. On the drive to work. Before the first bell rings. No matter what happened the day before, no matter how bad things got, you have to let it go. You have to treat each day as a fresh, clean, blank slate. Holding on to the bad things that happened the day before only adds to your stress and the stress in your classroom. Remember that no matter how crazy things get, how much of a headache you have before lunch, or how many things go wrong: every single day is a new day. Treat each day as a brand new start and your stress will be less!!

I hope you enjoyed reading about ten different things teaching has taught me. I am so proud to call myself a teacher, and I am so grateful to be a part of this amazing community! Swing on over to My Day in K or Teach. Talk. Inspire. to see who else has linked up to share ten lessons they have learned!

Don't forget to link up with me for Spotlight Saturday! It's a Teacher's Show and Tell where you can showcase your favorite products, activities, resources, or ideas!! Tell us all about something amazing that we need to try in our classroom or with our kiddos!