I wipe the last table off, position the pencil cup, shut off the lights and close the door. Supposedly my room is ready for the 26 brand new students that will bounce in Tuesday morning. Supposedly I am ready to meet their needs once discovered. Supposedly I don’t have to go in these next few days, I will keep my door closed, and my room ready.
But I am not ready yet. A hole exists. A need that has not been met so my room feels unfinished. As I drive home it finally dawns on me what it is: my students. My room will always be unfinished without them. My room will never feel ready without them.
I can set up, prepare, write plans, make copies, create welcome back bulletin boards, but in the end, my room will never be quite done. My room will never look ready. My room will always seem empty until they come. And what a wonderful feeling that is. My students are what make us a classroom. Not the tables, the books, the bulletin boards or all of the supplies. The kids. They are the ones that matter. I cannot wait to finish my room.
Pernille Ripp 
You are so right about that! Happy New Year 🙂
Great thoughts to reflect on this weekend!
My students have been back in school for two weeks…and you’re right…they are the most important part of completing the classroom. Your writing brought tears to my eyes. Wish you the very best “classroom.”
Great looking reading center, just left my room tonight and I echo your sentiments here. But what a wonderful world we have created for them. Best of luck!
I had the exact same feeling as I was getting my room ready. I felt like something wasn’t quite right, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I realized that it was the fact that I didn’t have my kids their yet. It has been a great first week back. We have made some changes to the room to make it feel like home and I look forward to settling in a bit more in the coming weeks. Thanks for your honesty and inspiring comments. Have a great year!