Being a travelling teacher is difficult. Yes it's nice that I don't have to do report cards or conferences but my job has its rough moments too. For example, I don't have a home base. Not a place to hang my hat (or coat for that matter). Some teachers are very perceptive and they realize right away that I don't have personal storage space and they are quick to offer me a corner or part of a drawer (Thank you!!) but most teachers are like I was when I was a classroom teacher. I was too into the students to REALLY notice the world around me. I could tell you what Tyler is into when my back is turned but I couldn't tell you what color shirt my parent helper was wearing. I just didn't notice. If I ever decide to go back into the classroom full time this is something I will definitely work on. Paying more attention to the world around me while still focusing on why Anita is having trouble with a math problem.
Another dilemma of the travelling teacher is how much "stuff" should I carry in with me? At the beginning of the year I have a lot of assessment I have to do as part of our grant so the first month is usually assessment, assessment, assessment. After all that is finished I get to finally have quality time with the students I will be working with throughout the year. Thankfully I have the assessments which give me an idea of where I need to begin with each student because I usually only get a minute or two with each teacher a day. Since I work with Kindergartners I do a lot of letter/sound recognition the first two months. Unfortunately a lot of the students I see don't have the opportunity to attend pre-school so all those educational and social bases need to be taught and reinforced. I try to keep the basics with me so I don't have to travel with the full entourage but depending on the needs of the student I may have to bring in additional carts. That's just for one day!
My car is a mess- always. My husband is frustrated. It's not unusual to find the random counting chip or sight word card between the seats of my SUV. Not to mention all the educational games in the trunk during the school year. My son rolls his eyes but my 7 year old daughter...well she thinks it's Christmas every time we take the messy mobile. Inevitably she discovers a new game or a picture book which means...yes.....it makes it's way into the house. My educational materials are like the BLOB. The mess continuously expands until everything has been touched by it. I also have a lot of students that have sensory issues and need to take sensory breaks so guess what that means? PLAYDOH! Glorious playdoh, Kinetic sand and shaving cream are also among my must haves.
My husband had this brilliant idea of buying me one of those monstrous storage lockers at Lowes. I think he dropped $400. on this puppy in the event that there may be some semblance of organization of my "stuff". He put it together and actually gave me space in his precious garage. He was so proud...until I put my "stuff" in it. Even with organizing it with the utmost care I still had to hip shut the door so I could turn the key.
*sigh*
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