Back-to-School Week: PD, a New Classroom, and My Creekside Runa Progress
Summer's Officially Over, Y'all
Well, it's here. Teachers report back tomorrow, and I'm not ready; emotionally, professionally, or classroom-wise. There's a very specific kind of grief that hits every year around this time, and if you're a teacher reading this, you already know exactly what I mean. One day you're eating breakfast at 10 am in your pajamas, and the next you're setting an alarm again like a responsible adult. I'm not built for it, but here we are.
PD Week and an Unfinished Classroom
This week is going to be a blur of professional development sessions, and if I'm honest, my classroom is nowhere near ready. I've got boxes still taped shut, walls half-bare, and a to-do list that keeps growing instead of shrinking. Every August I tell myself I'll be one of those teachers with a Pinterest-perfect room by the first bell, and every August I remind myself that a classroom that's still a little bit chaotic on day one has never actually hurt a single student. Progress over perfection, I say to my AP Seminar kids, so I should probably believe it too.
Creekside Runa: Attempt Number Three
In between PD sessions and classroom chaos, I've still been sneaking in stitches on the Creekside Runa; this is officially my third attempt at this pattern, and I'm happy to report the first panel is finished. I'm about to start on panel two, though I'll be honest: with back-to-school life taking over this week, progress is going to be slower than I'd like. Still, having a project waiting for me at the end of these long PD days is exactly the kind of grounding I need right now.
Holding Onto This
I don't have a big, tidy conclusion for you this week; just a hook, some yarn, and a classroom that isn't done yet. But I keep coming back to this verse as the new year starts:
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." — Lamentations 3:22-23
New mercies, new school year, new panel of a ruana I've started three times. I'll take it.
How's your back-to-school week looking, teacher friends? Tell me I'm not alone in the classroom chaos.
Ariana 🧶
