The group pencil boxes are looking a bit lead-caked, the markers rather grimy and dried up. Some of the seemingly indestructible green plastic homework folders are starting to rip. The formerly brand-new chapter books are showing their age with bent covers and worn corners. Our electric pencil sharpener still puts on a brave face and tries its darndest but has begun the slow march towards death. Even the novelty of our new students has worn off. Plus, we reached the end of our paper towel supply--a supply that, in August, seemed would never end and would also never fit in our classroom. However, after months of snack, lunch, spills, sticky, unidentified blobs, and children who like to err on the side of dozens of handfuls, we finally ran out of paper towels.
True, not a whole lot was really all that new in our classroom to begin with. Since this is our second year of a loop together, the supposedly new school year started off with the old teacher, the old kids, and the old room. Add that to the wear and tear on any items that actually were new, and the sparkle had definitely worn off.
AND THEN.
The day arrived last week to break out the NEW math journals. Yes, my friends, volume 2 is in the house. It was an exciting day for all. They are crisp and shiny and have never been written in. What holds more promise than a completely untouched math journal?Alexis kept asking when we were going to do more work in the new journals and was almost physically pained by me ripping out a page from the workbooks for homework. "You RIPPED OUT a page?!?" she asked in disbelief, shaking her head at such a violation of the pristine journals.
What's getting a bit worn in your classroom? How about anything that's new and shiny?
5 comments:
we will be breaking out our new math journals next week, and I for one am excited!!! glad I'm not the only one who gets pretty jazzed about brand new journals that aren't completely tattered and torn!
My pencil sharpener is also broken... and a couple of my kids have pencil cases and book baskets that are definitely half way to the end (if not more so) haha. The second half of the year always seems to go quicker to me so here we go :)
I think we become teachers just so we can break out the new journals, right???? Sadly, not much is new for me in my classroom from year to year. I teach French in middle school, and we dont' buy the workbooks, so nothing goes home. Kids bring in their own journals and folders. I don't even supply pencils.
I do recall the days when teachers brought out the new things and I was always so excited. Even those stupid achievement tests we had to take. I loved the package of new things, that weren't written in yet....
The pencil sharpener... Sigh. Why can't they make one to withstand all the use it gets in a classroom? At least our reading textbooks are new this year :)
OK--you got me. The power of breaking out the new journals was one of the biggest contributing factors in the decision to go into teaching ;)
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