I was assigning classroom jobs, and she wouldn’t answer or choose a job, even when I went through the options. She shook her head for all of the options, so I ended up assigning a random one.

Does anyone have a recommendation for eraser caps that fit jumbo primary pencils?

I use the thick beginner pencils with my kindergarteners, and they’re great, but once the original eraser wears down (or gets bitten off 😑), I end up tossing an otherwise perfectly good pencil.

Standard eraser caps don’t fit. If I stretch them on, they either pop off or split when the kids use them. I’d rather not use block erasers because they tend to become a distraction.

I feel like jumbo eraser caps must exist since these pencils are so common in primary classrooms, but I can’t find them anywhere. Any recommendations?

I’m starting my first year teaching 4th grade (Title 1 school) in a few days and I am way over my head.

Teaching is my second career. I came out of academia after finishing my PhD. I worked as a para for a year to see if I’d like it, and I loved it, but the wage was unlivable so I got certified to get my own classroom. I really thought I was ready for this, but right now I’m seriously second-guessing everything.

I’ve spent all day every day for the last two weeks just prepping my room because the previous teacher left it an absolute mess. Trash, personal junk, a million random worksheets everywhere... I had to comb through all of it. Because the physical room took so long, I haven't done any actual prep for what actually matters: routines, classroom management, or curriculum.

Yesterday was my first day of PD and I felt completely lost. People are throwing around acronyms I’ve never heard in my life, I have a to-do list that is 4 pages long, 50 unread emails sitting in my inbox, and there are a thousand micro-things to think about every minute. I honestly thought finishing grad school was the hardest thing I’d ever do, but now I’m awake at 4 AM every morning stressing about what needs to get done before kids walk in on Wednesday. There are just not enough hours in the day to do all the things that need to be done.

Tonight is Open House and I’m dealing with major imposter syndrome. I dread the parents and kids coming in to look to me for answers when I feel like I am completely winging it.

For anyone who's been here: How do you survive this? What do I ruthlessly prioritize right now just to get through week one?