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I'm in my 31st year of teaching (maybe more). Am I nervous? I stopped being nervous a long time ago, when I realized that every child in that classroom (and their parents) were more nervous than I was!

You are the calming influence for the new kid. Guess what? They're all new kids! Have your day planned well, but be flexible enough to go with the energy level of the students.

Be firm, fair, consistant, but caring.

Show them the person you see in the mirror who loves kids and wants to make a difference in their lives.

Are you a good teacher? Chances are you're better than you know you are. Every student in there is afraid they won't measure up. Let them know you won't be there to push them, but would rather pull them along.

Here's my "4 L's" for schoolteachers, and "lecture" and "lesson plans" aren't among them.

Look at them for guidance and understanding.

Listen to them, so they'll listen to you.

Learn from the students, as we are ALL students every day.

Love what your class will become as you all bond and grow.

Please write me and let me know how you did. I promise, I won't read your lesson plans. :)

We've noticed in our school that the best teachers usually question themselves the most. If you're worried, it's a sign that you're trying your best and you'll do fine. The most important thing to accept is that NO ONE has things go perfectly for the first week or more of school. As long as you can have back-up ideas and be flexible, you'll get through it. The best thing you can do is ask an experienced teacher who you feel comfortable with to come down and take a look at your room and your plans and give thier opinion. They can give you much more specific feedback on how prepared you are. If they are familiar with your grade level, so much the better. If this teacher says you're ready, then go and do something you enjoy to help you relax- hang out with friends, read a book, play sports- whatever will keep you from obsessing over the coming school year. Once you're ready, don't freak yourself out. It will be a weird feeling to walk out of your room for the last time before the kids come, but just take a deep breath and trust your education and experience to help you through. Best advice: find one or two teachers you can go to with all your questions- they'll be a life saver!!!

The anxiety you feel is natural, besides many of the kids you would be teaching would be more anxious than you. anyway here are some tips to beat the anxiety:

1. Chill out a little

you have have been planning all summer and deserve a small time out.

2. Pray

Releive your fears and your hope for your future in prayer. it helps in taking away any 'bad feeling' you may have

3. Have a laugh

Things go well whenever you can take a step back and have a good hearty laugh

Once you have a good work-to-plan regime e.g bulletin board erection 10th August,2007 and you make it available for erection on the specified date. every thing would be alright. things look good from my point of view

I'm in my 13th year teaching and always get first day jitters. Sounds like you are prepared. The more prepared you are the better you will feel about it all. Spend time on your lessons for that first week and have more material than you need. You had confidence in May because you had been working with kids that you knew and now it is a new bunch. Again, sounds like the room is ready, just focus on the lessons. Be prepared that the first year is hell and very hard. Each year it gets better.

Usually, having the "physical" part done feels better, but there is more to do. The real guts of teaching is the curriculum and "what" you're going to teach, not how your classroom looks so I would say now that you're physically ready, start digging into the curriculum, making lesson plans and practicing lessons...(after a while you won't have to practice them anymore since you'll be doing that daily, but knowing what you're going to do all day--curriculum wise--will calm your nerves. Plan for PLENTY. Sometimes they go through it fast.

It's perfectly normal to be anxious when starting out in a new profession! You say you were confident in May but what were you like when you first started student teaching? Sounds like your worried enough without worrying about worrying! Just try and enjoy it and I'm sure you will settle in and feel confident again in no time!

Good luck!

Read Harry Wong's "First Days of School" immediately... It is a lifesaver. It's pretty short, but has GREAT advice for first year teachers as well as veterans.