School Year Prep, What’s that?

In case you do not know, I am a special ed pre-k teacher at a therapeutic day school. And in one week I welcome back my wonderful rambunctious special little students into my classroom. Am I ready? Hell to the no. Did I take the whole summer to recoup and get my shit together? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t spend a lot of my time perfecting becoming a potato with my dog. Sure, in between traveling and social events, I got household “adult chores” done that included, but were not limited to gardening and landscaping, painting our living room, updating our kitchen, organizing spare bedrooms, and of course, sorting out and preparing classroom materials that have overtaken our “man-hole” basement because like any other school, we lack storage space in the building. Go figure, right? Am I entering my 18th year of teaching? You betcha! Holy shiitake mushrooms. Yes, this will be my 18th year shaping the minds of little children but that does not mean that I’m the Ms. Frizzle or the Mr. Feeny of teaching. In fact, I think I can associate more with Ms. Geist from Clueless….a hot mess express. I have taught many many students with a variety of abilities and challenges and I can tell you this, I will never have the perfect solution to be prepared each school year and to stay prepared for whatever heaven or hell is thrown our way. However, this year I think I may have just discovered a solution that will save my life in the long run with no pun intended…interval training.

If I can run for an interval of 1 minute without my heart beating out of my chest and gasping for air to breathe, I surely can catch one of those eloping boogers running through our school’s halls. I’m slowly working my way up to longer intervals, let me repeat, slowly. So after 1 minute, if that student has passed your classroom door (maybe several times) and you do not see me, this is my SOS. Please do not get your panties into a bunch or go and call my school’s principal because I referred to my students as boogers; I could have used a lot worse. In addition, these intervals will help me get through transitions, a PE class with my students, music and movement breaks, and well, just getting through the day without saying, “Ya’ll Ms. Stephanie needs a minute to sit down. Let me turn the lights off and put on some GoNoodle “Rainbow Breath,” grab your rainbow and a heart carpet and find a quiet spot.”

But in all honesty, these students are my life. I learn and grow with them. I laugh. I cry. Shit, there are days I want to be the one eloping with a coalition of cheetahs running me down. But ya know what, I won’t and I can’t. Instead, I join my own circus and became ringmaster. Sometimes, the monkeys lead the circus and sometimes the ringmaster joins those monkeys in shenanigans. As long as we are progressing in IEP goals and early learning standards, why not take chances and get messy? Um, did I just hear a bit of Ms. Frizzle? Ugh maybe I do have some of her in me. The point here is that no one will ever be that perfect Instagram teacher. I am not knocking on you if you are “one of them;” I have taken several ideas and tricks of the trade from you, they’re fantastic! But I dare you to take a picture when your students are in action during a transition time or when they’ve left for the day and there is nothing but crumbs, toys, snot, left behind water bottles and take home folders, or quite possibly a rolling turd, yes a rolling turd, it has happened in my classroom. Then, post your not so perfect classroom pictures on social media. I spend hours, even days creating and putting together bulletin boards, color coding student materials and activities, and everything in between and at the end of the day, I’m scrubbing diseases that have yet to be discovered off our tables and chairs that have been left behind by the minions so we can have a fresh start the next day.

If you give me some art materials, science projects, math manipulatives, books, paper, anything to write with, flexible seating, fidgets and sensory supports my classroom will be prepared. We will tackle each day as it comes and progresses. There is no sense in rushing or creating a reality that does not exist. Some days my classroom feels and looks as if you have entered a zen yoga studio and others, well I guess you’d call it a scene from Woodstock 1999. Sure, I have lesson plans complete and catered to my student’s individual needs, but what about my need for sanity? In all my years of teaching I have not once completed every single item that was listed for a single day let alone a week. Children lose interest, are not ever interested or have other needs that need to be met. It is my job to be aware of their social and verbal cues they are giving me to understand their needs so I do not lose my mind trying to fight for some silly dumb matching activity to be completed in that moment when there could be more important items at issue. And you better believe if my eyes and ears are tired that day and cannot tell you my head from my derriere, my fellow colleagues will find those issues and release me from future torture.

We work as a team and a family in my classroom. I do not care what anyone’s professional label is whether it be a lead teacher, teacher assistant, paraprofessional, speech path, OT, rec therapist…we are all the same, just with different titles and paychecks. But if we're being honest, neither one of our paychecks looks fantastic; after-all, we’re not in it for the money. I am no better than my teacher assistant in that I cannot clean a child’s ass, legs and feet when they have a potty accident 5 minutes before bus dismissal. Just like I am no better than a speech path in that I cannot help my student with their AAC device to help them communicate. If I am struggling myself and cannot help one of my students, I ask a million questions until I thoroughly understand the discipline I need to solve the problem. It is nothing to be ashamed of nor something that cannot be brushed to the side. Our children need us more than ever to provide a nurturing, empathetic learning environment that is supportive, stabilized and structured to help them succeed in all areas of growth and development in every aspect of their educational and personal lives. If I did not collaboratively work with all individuals involved with my students and just taught straight from that stupid lesson plan that has to be out on my desk in the event admin were to walk into my room for a surprise visit (which doesn’t happen often to me) and ask, “What’s on the agenda for the day?” my sanity would have been fed to the wolves. So they could chew it up and spit it right back out at me. And that definitely is not a part of school year prep.