Today my new teammate and I met at school. We clicked instantly and I was reaffirmed that I made the right decision in leaving. When I got there, however, she was in the room of the teacher who is retiring (her old teammate) looking for a few files. She asked me if I had moved my stuff in and I told her I had. I also said I saw the things that were left in the room for me. 
There were some unit books and some monthly tubs. A lot of the teachers are moving this year to allow teams to be together, so there was also a lot of third grade things in the room too. Anyway, she tells me "Well you know those five bookshelves of stuff, these two filing cabinets, all of these books (20 baskets worth) and these other racks (I couldn't tell what they looked like b/c they were covered with paper) will all be moved into your room before the end of summer right?" 
I was shocked. I didn't know I was inheriting so much. I have been teaching for 5 years so I already have quite a bit of stuff. I think I will be spending most of August in my room. I have sooooo much to sort through now. I think I may also be having a garage sale this fall! There is a second grade teacher who is new to teaching this year, so I think I might give him some of the books.
My teammate did ask if I wanted to sit down with her in August and go through the books and try to put some lit sets together. We also spent 2 hours going over reading, writing, math and sci/ss stuff. I am so excited. I haven't worked one day there yet and my teammate and I get along so much better than I did with my other teammates. She was so funny b/c she couldn't find a file she needed and kept trying to find it in her stuff which was also moved a few weeks ago. But she asked me if I wanted to plan together b/c she really felt I was open to that at the interview. I was so happy she wanted to. My old team spent so many hours arguing about what to teach only to end up with everyone teaching their own things anyway. We are getting together again in a few weeks to talk about the first two weeks of school. This year is going to be great!
There were some unit books and some monthly tubs. A lot of the teachers are moving this year to allow teams to be together, so there was also a lot of third grade things in the room too. Anyway, she tells me "Well you know those five bookshelves of stuff, these two filing cabinets, all of these books (20 baskets worth) and these other racks (I couldn't tell what they looked like b/c they were covered with paper) will all be moved into your room before the end of summer right?" I was shocked. I didn't know I was inheriting so much. I have been teaching for 5 years so I already have quite a bit of stuff. I think I will be spending most of August in my room. I have sooooo much to sort through now. I think I may also be having a garage sale this fall! There is a second grade teacher who is new to teaching this year, so I think I might give him some of the books.
My teammate did ask if I wanted to sit down with her in August and go through the books and try to put some lit sets together. We also spent 2 hours going over reading, writing, math and sci/ss stuff. I am so excited. I haven't worked one day there yet and my teammate and I get along so much better than I did with my other teammates. She was so funny b/c she couldn't find a file she needed and kept trying to find it in her stuff which was also moved a few weeks ago. But she asked me if I wanted to plan together b/c she really felt I was open to that at the interview. I was so happy she wanted to. My old team spent so many hours arguing about what to teach only to end up with everyone teaching their own things anyway. We are getting together again in a few weeks to talk about the first two weeks of school. This year is going to be great!
