If you found this blog post because you searched for something like new teacher advice, 3rd grade ELA teacher, teacher life balance, or how to survive the school year without crashing out, you are welcome here. Come over and get comfortable.
This is a judgment-free chitchat. This chitchat is for teachers, teacher moms, future educators, and anybody trying to show up for students while also holding their own life together. I have been holding my own life together with prayer, coffee, and sometimes an unwritten to-do list that’s on my mind to get done.
This year I am assigned as a teacher’s assistant
supporting 3rd grade ELA and Social Studies. Overall, I am excited.
Nervous a little bit? Absolutely. However, I am excited. This is my second
year in education. While I still have a lot to learn, I am walking into
this school year with more awareness, more confidence, and a stronger
understanding that I do not have to be perfect to be effective.
I am also working with a new teacher this year; thank
God! Sometimes having someone else nearby who is learning, adjusting, and
figuring things out too makes the whole journey feel less lonely. We may not
know everything yet. However, we are not about to be out here acting like we
do. We have a built for growth mindset approaching the classroom this year.
What grade and subjects am I supporting
this year?
This school year, I will be supporting 3rd grade
ELA and Social Studies as a teacher’s assistant. That means there will
be a lot of reading, writing, vocabulary, comprehension, history, community,
culture, and all the insightful moments that happen when a child finally says,
“Ohhh, I understand it!” Those moments are the reason educators keep coming
back. I am talking about still showing up even after the wifi goes down, the
coffee gets cold, and somebody asks to go to the bathroom two minutes after
recess.
How do I feel about supporting 3rd grade
ELA and Social Studies?
I feel hopeful. Third grade is such an important year
because students are growing from learning to read into reading to learn. In
ELA, I want to help students build confidence with stories, passages, writing,
and discussion. In Social Studies, I want to support lessons that help them see
themselves in the world around them and understand that history is not just
something in a textbook. I believe it connects people, places, choices, and
communities.
Am I going to have everything laminated and
color-coded by the first week? Let us be serious right now. I am not trying to
win a Pinterest classroom award. I am trying to teach, survive, motivate these
kids, and not crash out in the process.
Is this my first year in education?
No, this is my second year in education. Last
year taught me a lot! I learned about my own patience, flexibility, classroom
routines, student personalities, and the fact that no school day ever goes
exactly how you planned it. You can have the cutest planner doodled out in the
world, and then the Wi-Fi, the printer, or somebody’s dry snitching on their
classmates would humble you into the day.
What brought me into education?
That is a question I have been asking myself more
deeply, what brought me into education? For me, it is not only about
teaching lessons. It is about being part of a child’s support system. I am
talking even if it is just for one school year. It is about helping students
feel seen, capable, and encouraged. It is about being the kind of adult who
does not give up on them. Plus, these things matter, even when the day is long
and the classroom energy is giving full moon behavior.
Education found me in a season where I was still
figuring myself out, and somehow it keeps teaching me too. Every day I learn
something about children, families, patience, communication, leadership, and
myself.
How am I balancing teaching, motherhood,
and college?
So far it has been done carefully. Prayerfully.
Sometimes dramatically.
I am still balancing raising my two kids alone
without support or a tribe. That is not always easy to say out loud, but it is
my reality. I am the planner. The provider. The driver. The homework motivator to
make sure it gets seen and done. The grocery buyer. The bedtime reminder, and
the person trying to make sure nobody leaves the house with their shirt turned
inside out and a missing folder.
On top of that, I am in my senior year at LSU
working toward my degree in sociology. So yes, I am teaching. I am
raising children, finishing college, and trying to build a life at the same
time. If multitasking were an Olympic sport, I would at least qualify for a
heat, baby!
Do I want to become certified?
Yes. Getting certified is one of my next big steps to
accomplish. I am proud of the work I am doing now. However, I also know I want
to keep growing professionally. I want to become more prepared. I also want to
be more knowledgeable, and more equipped to serve students well. My sociology
degree helps me understand people as well as systems, families, communities,
and social experiences in a deeper way. I believe that connects directly to the
classroom.
Becoming certified is not just about adding
credentials. It is about becoming stronger in this calling and opening more
doors for my future.
What will I focus on more this year in the
classroom?
This year, I will be working with small groups a lot
more. I am looking forward to that because small group instruction gives
students a chance to get more focused help. It lets me slow down. It also gives
me a chance to even listen closely, review skills, ask better questions in
order to see what each student needs.
Small groups also help build relationships. Sometimes
a student will not say much in front of the whole class. However, in a smaller
group, they open up. They try. They take risks. They ask questions. They
realize they are not the only one who need help, and that matters.
Now, will every small group be calm, quiet, and sitting
still? Probably not. Somebody may be tapping a pencil like they are auditioning
for percussion. Somebody may suddenly remember a story from last year. But we
are going to learn, laugh, redirect, and keep things moving along.
Am I going to crash out this school year?
No. I have already decided that I will not be crashing
out this year. I may pause a few times. I may pray throughout my day. I may sit
in my car for two quiet minutes during my lunch break before walking inside. I
may rewrite the plan, take a deep breath, and even eat on a snack like it is a
coping approach. But crash out? Not this year.
This year I am choosing progress over panic. I am
choosing preparation without perfection. I am choosing to laugh when I can. I
will ask for help when I need it. I will also remember that one hard day does
not mean I am failing.
What would I tell another teacher starting
a new school year?
You do not have to have it all together to be a good
educator. Your classroom does not have to be a place you cannot stand. Your
journey does not have to move at the same speed as someone else’s. If you are
showing up, learning, being willing, and trying again tomorrow, that all
matters.
To the new teacher, the second-year teacher, the
teacher mom, the para, the education major, the future certified teacher, and
the educator quietly wondering if they are doing enough, I want to tell you
that you are not alone. Some of us are building our careers while raising kids.
There are many of us finishing degrees while healing. Some of us are budgeting,
planning lessons, and trying to remember where we put our badge.
Final Thoughts: Starting the School Year
Without Having It All Together
Overall, I do not have everything figured out. I am
entering this school year as a teacher’s assistant supporting 3rd grade ELA and
Social Studies. I am a second-year education professional. I am a single mom of
two. I am a senior at LSU studying sociology, and a woman still becoming who
she is called to be.
I am excited. I am nervous. I am grateful. I am
learning. Plus, most importantly, I am showing up.
This year is not about being cookie cutter perfect. It
is about growing. It is about supporting students well. I will be helping
towards building routines. I will be using small groups intentionally. I will be
finishing strong at LSU and taking the next step toward certification.
If you are starting something new too, hear me out,
you do not have to have it all together to move forward. Sometimes showing up
is courageous of you!
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