The differences between my first year of teaching and my second year of teaching are so dramatic that its almost insane. I honestly cannot remember how I managed to survive the stress of my first year, because now I feel like I’m floating on by! The biggest differences I’ve noticed are:

1. I actually enjoy spending time in my classroom now. Painting and remodeling it was a game changer.
2. I was SO MUCH LESS prepared for the first two days of classes. Last year I started the first day with seating charts and detailed plans and I practiced my speech to the kids. This year I was all like “sit where you want for now” and pretty much flew by the seat of my pants. Of course, on Monday (the first day of our full week of school) we will have seating charts and detailed plans, but I just felt so much more comfortable with the students that I didn’t need to overthink those first two days.
3. Having repeat students is AMAZING! It is a huge pro to teaching multiple grade levels. I already know half of my students (it would be more, but I had a lot of students request to join choir in seventh and eighth grade)! Also, one of them told me they missed my class over the summer so I basically almost cried.
4. Knowing the other staff members makes for a much less stressful school day. Last year I was not only trying to learn all of my students names, but also trying to figure out which teacher was who.
5. I was really excited to start school instead of just really nervous. Last year I literally had no idea what to expect, especially since 6th-8th were the only grades out of K-12 that I had never taught!! Now I look forward to seeing my eighth graders take on more responsible roles, while I have a new batch of sixth graders that are still very childish. It’s the best.

I’m looking forward to lots of great memories this year!