Batteries.  A lightbulb.  A black tablecloth.  Some ink pens.  And a small trashcan.

That’s my first list of this school year.  Those are the supplies I need to get things off to the start I want.  I’m impressed that the list is so short.  I’m also impressed that I’ve managed to work in my classroom several days before I made the list.  That means I remembered to bring most of the stuff I needed to my classroom before making the list.   There’s a science to getting a classroom ready to open school.  And lists are definitely a part of it.  So, having such a short one has to mean something.  I just wonder what that is.  Let me give it a guess, in list form, of course!

1. I’ve improved my memory.  I no longer need lists because I remember most of what I need to know.
2. I’m so rested and relaxed from my summer break that I can accomplish 10 times as much in a day as I could back in May.
3. I’ve prepared a classroom for the start of school 21 times.  That special brand of experience finally pays off.
4. I’ve collected so much junk over the years that I couldn’t possibly need anything else.
5. It’s a sign.  This year will be the very best school year of my career.