Classroom stuff!

Oy, where the hell did July go? Just a minute ago it was June, and now July is almost over. How did that happen? And if July is almost over, it means that it is almost August, which is when school starts! And thus the reason for my extremely anxious attitude as of late. I don't have a plan! I always have a plan. Now, I am effing planless and anxious as all hell. I don't know what is going to happen on the first day of school. I don't know what my first lesson will be, or how the pre-algebra class will work. Scary scary thoughts of being unprepared are piling up in my head increasing the likelihood that my first year of teaching will, in fact, be as terrible as all of my predecessors say it will be.

So, what do I do? How can I calm my self down so that I don't have a 'teaching breakdown' before I even become a teacher?! Well, I've found a few things to keep me busy.

• Read my " how to be a good teacher" books
• elliptical my ass off
• become fake smiley barista of the year.
  
• Watch tv
• not do laundry
• make lists of things I want to do.
• Start a blog
  
• Spend too much money on class room supplies.
  
• Create an awesome mountain like painting for my class.
  

Mounting like painting, you ask? I have an idea for motivating students to do their homework. I've created a large painting of a mountain and I made four little cut out hiker men.


I'm going to create 20 steps along the mountain trail and use magnet tape to be able to move the little hikers up the mountain. The plan is to assign each of the sections of my algebra class a little hiker man and if everyone in class does their homework from the night before than that classes hiker man moves up a step. The first class to reach the top of the mountain gets a reward! I'm thinking cookies, as i often do.

So, will it work? Or will it be an absolute failure? Will I not be able to keep up with it and it will be a mess after a month or so then I will just have a big painted (and not even that well) mountain on the wall of my classroom? I'll get pictures of it up eventually...