First of all, my commute is a bit longer than I expected... nearly an hour door to door. Monday, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays I'll need to leave my apartment around 7:20AM to walk to the metro and hop on a train to the outskirts of the city. I get off at the next to the last metro stop and then take a 7:45 bus to a stop that is about a 5-10 minute walk from the school. On Tuesdays, I have morning duty so I'll have to be on the 7:00AM bus. That'll mean leaving my apartment around 6:30. It's going to be painful until I adjust. My schedule is going to be pretty much identical day to day... it'll look like this:
8:30-12:00- I'll be with my co-teacher and the 13 two and three year olds in our class. During this time we'll do free play, music/movement, snack time, morning lesson, outdoor play, and the kids will eat lunch in the classroom.
12:00-12:30- My co-teacher will handle pick-up for the kids that only stay 1/2 days while I get a lunch break. When I return, there will only be 4 students left for our afternoon class.
12:30-12:45- Story time
12:45-2:30- nap time. If the kids actually sleep, my co-teacher and I will use this time to update the website (a daily requirement with what we did and pictures... a bit of overkill... does any parent really need DAILY pictures and progress online?!)
2:30-3:00- another snack and clean up
3:00-3:15- pick-up
3:15-3:30- room clean up, documenting the day/website/etc.
I'm free to go after that. The only day that is a bit different is Tuesdays. I have morning club (really just kids who get dropped off early) so I'll be there by 7:30. On Tuesday afternoons we have a lesson planning meeting for the following week. Those will be long days.
Overall, I think I'm going to like it. I'm pretty exhausted and it's getting late here, but I'll make a list of pros and cons about the school/job:
Pros:
- The school is really gorgeous and my classroom is super nice. The school is just really nice and seems like a great environment. The educational philosophy also involves giving the kids a good deal of freedom and keeping them outside, teaching them things like recycling and citizenship.. and from what I can tell, it's not just buzz words... even my 2-3 year olds will have responsibilities and freedoms, take class trips, etc.
- My co-teacher is really experienced and really, really nice. She's going to be a huge asset and also just really fun to be around (the down side is that she is the polar opposite of computer savy so I have a feeling almost all of the website updates, emails to parents and electronic lesson plans will fall to me).
- Not just my co-teacher but all my co-workers are really awesome. I think we're all going to be good friends and it's great to like the people I see so much of.
- This week has been a bit trying just bc training has had LOTS of bumps, but the hours still still really easy. I am only at the school pretty much exactly 40 hours a week and that includes my lunch and staff meetings... not too shabby, especially compared to the hours I was used to.
- Despite the cons below, any new job or the start of a school year is bound to have lots of bumps and confusion... especially since my co-teacher and I are both new to Sunny Canadian. I really do foresee it being a great school year.
Cons:
- The school makes us document EVERYTHING. I mean... we fill out reports for everything from paper cuts to how much lunch the kids eat. There are daily updates on the website about what we did that day (complete with pictures), scapbooks we compile of the kids' work throughout the year, we turn in daily lesson plans, etc. While I understand the need for some of this... it's going to mean a lot of extra time/work and I think a lot of it could be streamlined.
- The above forms I mentioned? Things are really disorganized. They are all done electronically but no one seems to know where to find them on the school server. My school email doesn't work and I need to access it to send a required welcome email to parents... but no one can tell me how to fix it... only that I really have to get that email out.
- It turns out kindergarten teachers don't get fall break or spring break. Seriously. Our kids don't get the breaks either. So most of my friends will get 2 weeks vacation because they teach 1st grade and up and I'll be working those weeks. NOT excited about this. I'm all about working hard but I was really looking forward to some extra time to explore some of the farther reaches of eastern europe.
- Training week hasn't really taught me the things that would have been most helpful (like how to log everything, the best route to take when herding 13 toddlers out to the playground, where to find the multiple supplies our classroom is missing, etc). I HAVE learned that my Myers-Briggs Personality type is ISFJ which means I am in introverted sensing feeling judging person (I have a need to serve others, I am bad at delegating, it's hard to tell what is bothering me/why I am moody, I'm devoted to family, I play by the rules, am better one and one, have a good memory, am analytical and I have a great work ethic. While this is spot on... my class room could have really used some TLC during that time... or during the 2 hour session where I was read a staff manual that I could have powered through in about 20 minutes....
Anyway... it's well past my bed time. I hope everyone is doing well back at home. And Grandma, if you're reading this, I owe you a phone call. I hope your hip starts feeling better soon!
Love y'all!
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