Tomorrow is a big day around here. For the first time in five years, I’m going back to school.
Not my husband going back to school.
Me. 😂
I haven’t been in an elementary classroom since August 2019 (August 2020 I was virtual), and there’s something both wonderfully familiar and completely new about stepping back into this role. I’ve spent the last five years being home with our son, who is now a rising kindergartener. Which means that tomorrow we both start something new.
I’m feeling surprisingly calm. No major Sunday Scaries. Just that funny combination of excitement and nervousness that comes when you know something is going to be good…but you have absolutely no idea what it’s going to look like yet.
I know the first week will be a lot of:
“Here’s how we enter the room.”
“Here’s where you sit.”
“Here’s how we hold this instrument.”
“Here’s how we transition.”
“No, that’s not how we transition.” 😂
Elementary kids need all the steps. And I’m reminding myself that I need to remember all the steps, too.
But I know myself. Once I’m in the room, once the music starts, once I’m learning names and personalities and figuring out the rhythm of each class…I think it’s going to come back.
Like riding a bike.
And I’m really excited to see what this next chapter brings.
I get to meet a whole new group of kids.
I get to join a new school community.
I get to work with an incredible staff.
I get to grow a music program.
And I get to finally put all those Orff-Schulwerk levels I worked so hard for into practice.
That last part might be the thing I’m most excited about. I’m ready to take some risks, experiment with improvisation and student choice, and continue growing as a teacher.
And then there’s my cat, Roman. 😂
He has had me home almost constantly for the last six years—about half his life. So he, too, will be experiencing a little back-to-school adjustment. I’m thinking tonight about all the pets who have gotten used to having their humans home and are about to wonder where everyone went.
May the force be with us all. 😂
Here’s to new beginnings.
To being a little nervous.
To being really excited.
To trusting that we’ll figure it out as we go.
You don’t have to know exactly what the next chapter looks like. You just have to be willing to turn the page.
Teachers, parents, kids, pets—we’ve got this. ❤️
And as always…