Top 5 Tips For New Teachers

My top 5 tips for new teachers.

Mostly this is my advice from mistakes that I have made.

- Structure and Routine- Kindergarten students need structure and routine. In fact, all students of every age need structure and routine. Find something and that is researched based and stick with it. Don't change it up every 2 weeks because you think it isn't work. Research shows that it takes 21 days for something to become a habit. It's even LONGER with children in my opinion.

- Don't stay until 9 pm every night! I did this for months during my first year. It didn't make that big of a difference. It doesn't matter how much you plan, most of the day will be spent winging it because the kiddos are masterminds when it comes to throwing your perfectly laid out lesson plans off track.

- Get and stay organized. I planned so much time decorating and getting my "room ready" that I didn't think about how to organize for small groups, guided reading, parent contact... etc. Organize what you will be using daily. What you really need to think about is how can your organize with something that will make teaching easier. I didn't do this and I really wish that I would have. The triple border bulletin boards with hand painted apples can wait.

-Breaking the rules is okay. Saaaay Whaaaa? Are you tryin to get me fired? No no. What I mean when I say this is... don't panic if you are supposed to be teaching math but you need to let the kids outside to play for a little 10 minute break. If you and your kids are loosing your minds, put on some GoNoodle and dance it out with KooKoo Kangaroo (my fav.)  It is okay to not be perfect. I had it in my head that I would make sure everything was perfect. IT WILL NEVER BE PERFECT! But if you change your mindset, you will find that everyday can still be great! Even if you didn't get to everything on the lesson plan.

-Build relationships with parents. This can be intimidating for a first year teacher. I know that I didn't feel very confident and I thought that the more I talked to parents or asked for help, they would think I couldn't handle things and they would surely know that this was my first year and then they'd lose faith in me and it would be the end of the world as I knew it. So what happened? I ending up having to do all the parties myself, buy all the candy, plan EVERYTHING. It was truly a pain and had I just build some relationships and let the parents know from day one that I would need them to help make the year successful, it would have made my life so much easier.

So there it is! My top 5 tips for New Teachers.

Just breath and know that you will make it through this. Every year after this will be easier!