Starting to Get Ready for Back to School
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| Does anyone else have one of these? I'm not sure where I got it. |
I've started my materials piles. I got some huge containers of the wipes that I can use in my environment rather than the ones that we have at work which have scents that trigger asthma and the aloe that triggers tons of itchy red bumps on contact. I have a beach ball that I will use for some groups (but not all since I also have several clients who like to destroy such balls). I have my growing pile of cut out laminated materials. I also have some glue sticks (which I did NOT buy during this school supply time) that need to go to work, some flashcards, a new reflexive journal for my new interns, and some music books to keep in my office. I purchased some conveniently packaged lunch things for making my lunches, and I have finished all of my uniform laundry so I have clothing to wear when I get back on Thursday.
Once I get to work, I have four hours of training and then meetings to attend. I'm not sure what we are going to do on Friday (I've got my fingers crossed for a work day because I really don't want to have to do more meetings on Friday!). I have plenty of things to cut out and put into binders, and I've got lots of things I can make and laminate for use in my music therapy room, so I can find plenty of things to keep me busy for eight hours at work. I have such dreams, but I need a reality check to remind myself of what my role is at the facility.
I've been watching lots of classroom organization videos lately. I know better, but I am always so very excited about seeing how various teachers organize and decorate their learning spaces. I've seen some music classroom reveal videos, and I am envious of how they can use their walls for instrument storage and visual aids and all that! I can't do that at my facility because my room is used for other things and people just aren't that nice about things that do not belong to them. So, my instruments get stuck into the cabinets out of sight.
Visual aids also have to be placed in locations which cannot be easily accessed by students or by staff members. I have found that my students are less likely to rip things off the walls if those things are velcroed to the wall rather than taped there. There is something a bit less satisfying (I am assuming) in ripping off something that is designed to be ripped off than ripping off something that will require work to reattach. Usually, my clients only rip things off the wall once before they realize that it is just not as much fun as picking off tape. Sometimes, it's the little tricks that are the most satisfying (for the therapist, anyway!).
I have already established my professional goals for this school year. I'll write more about them on Thursday when I actually get back into the school year. As for personal goals, I am starting to work on my morning and evening routines - trying to shift things a bit towards what I want my life to resemble. I am doing very well (right now, with napping) on staying up until a later time, but I still want to be a bit more productive during these blocks of time. I have some ideas about things I want to do, and I am trying really hard to be proactive about getting these ideas into reality. This will be my priority for my home hours - making my ideas into something concrete.
Leaving break and getting back into my school routine is something that I have to do in a deliberate manner. I have to spend time getting myself ready to go, and I also have to spend time thinking about what I still want to accomplish. I tend to be overwhelmed by this time in my longer breaks, and today is no exception. There is so much that I should do, and I'm overwhelmed by all the stuff.
So, today I will try not to feel overwhelmed by the stuff. I will do what I can do during these hours that I have left of my break, and I will work really hard on enjoying this time.
After all, school is going to start whether I am ready to go back or not.
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