It’s hard to believe I have moved my classroom 8 times during the past 7 years. From moves to within the same building to districts across the DFW metroplex, I felt like I have moving down to an art. After all, most of my paperwork is now digital and there were very few personal items that were moved from campus to campus.
When I accepted the opportunity to teach 4th
grade, I found myself hoping I could find all of my story books and games that once
covered the shelves of my elementary classroom in Everman ISD. To say I was excited was an understatement,
when I found my books, as well as the perfect chair for our classroom.
Thanks to the help of a few good men, both my portable at
HMS and my 4 Runner were unloaded. For the
next two weeks, my boxes sat, unopened, in true Ms. Pauley fashion! Apparently this has become my mantra…waiting
until the night before Meet the Teacher to unpack and prepare my
classroom.
My first official project, as a 4th grade
teacher, was creating a bulletin board which hangs outside our classroom. Making paper flowers and cutting out letters,
reminded me how much goes into creating a warm, inviting classroom.
The evenings leading up to Meet the Teacher were spent unpacking,
organizing and hanging up classroom decorations. I’m beyond grateful for the extra help and
laughter that came with those evenings, even when the reality of my school
supply addiction was exposed!
As I looked around the room, I could imagine the learners of Room 304 working together on our math tasks, unpacking our TEKS while sitting on our carpet and most of all, reading to my 4th graders, just as my 4th grade teacher had done back in 1988.
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