I've noticed there are quite a few teachers on our board.
"To announce or not to announce, that is the question" --
What are your plans for telling/not telling your class about your pregnancy? My district is still on summer break, so I haven't had a chance to give my bosses a heads-up yet, but when I see them in person again I will definitely get their input about what/when I inform my classes/their parents.
Aside from that, what are your thoughts? Just be quiet and trust that a rude high schooler is eventually going to notice my bump and spread rumors? Haha. Or bite the bullet and say "Hi everyone, yes I am your teacher, so nice to meet you, I'm ditching you guys in March to care for my precious spawn..." Or maybe hide it in the syllabus to figure out who actually reads it.
*TW* - BFP & MC in March 2016.
BFP in June 2016; EDD March 2017.
Samuel born February 2017!
Re: Question for Teachers
*TW* - BFP & MC in March 2016.
BFP in June 2016; EDD March 2017.
Samuel born February 2017!
Edited to add: I teach 3rd and my parents were so supportive! But again that time it was the winter when I announced.
I teach 3rd grade, and I haven't decided how or when I'll tell them. I know some parents will freak out because 3rd grade is a huge year for state testing. In our state, kids who fail the reading test can be held back. Last year and the previous year, my kids rocked it. I'm hoping that in spite of me leaving before the test, they can do amazing.
Baby Boy: coming March 2017
my sub needed up being a flop and my team fell apart. But I had many parents reach out to me and tell me not to worry about it and enjoy my little bug
@Saracp78 I lost a baby in December that would have been born in June as well. I never announced to any of my kids or coworkers (save one - the other SPED teacher), though I had planned on it after a successful 12-week appointment. Well, it wasn't, and I needed to have a D&C. I took a couple days off and then went back to work, because I do better with a routine. My kids did wonder why I was gone, but I informed them my husband had had gallbladder removal surgery (this was true; he had it the day after my D&C) and needed to take care of him. Two months later, the fifth grade teacher I worked with and the elem. P.E. teacher lost their baby midway through her pregnancy. It ended up being a rough winter. Although fortunately, by then, a wider circle of teachers knew I'd had a loss as well, so no one expected me to talk to students about it. They'd even purposely pull the kids from my room if they overheard the kids talking about it - so that they had a trustworthy adult that they could air out their questions and thoughts out to - but not in my earshot.
As for when I'll tell my students, I'm probably going to just let them figure it out as we go (with the exception of the ones who need a head's up). I'm petite and am often mistaken for looking like one of the kids in the lunch line, lol, so it'll be interesting to see how quickly I start looking pregnant.
When March came and I had met my long term sub, I sent home my usual newsletter and announced that after this one, it would be from the highly qualified sub, etc. etc. Parents were really good with it and I was dealing with their "babies" in kindergarten who were struggling students.
... I don't know what state everyone is in.. but seriously, March babies are the best! Maternity leave rolls right into summer vacation and you get lots of time with your sweet baby!
1 Samuel 1:27
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BFP #2 7/13/2011 ~ EDD 3/16/2012 ~Aubree Olivia (9lbs 1oz, 21 inches) 3/15/2012 VBAC (39w6d)
BFP #3 5/15/2014 ~ EDD 1/16/2015~Addison Isabelle (9lbs, 0oz, 21 inches) 1/25/2015 2VBAC (41w2d)
BFP #4 7/20/2016 ~ EDD 3/25/2017 ~ Malachi Mathew (10lbs 0oz, 22 inches) 4/4/2017 emergency csection (41w3d)
PLUS, the worst part of all of this is that I'm not married or engaged so it may be an awkward pregnancy to reveal. My students will love it (as they think its weird that I'm 25 with no kids) but I don't think it's going to get a good reaction from the staff. My bf and I live together, we just hadn't gotten engaged yet even though we planned on it. Right now I'm more concerned of getting a house though so I told him not to worry about the ring. Yet, there's a part of me that's gonna feel so weird having to tell people I'm pregnant without one. As a teacher, I feel like I'm supposed to be a role model so I'm kinda embarrassed by my "accidental" pregnancy.
One thing that I did to prep for my sub was that I recorded audio over all of my powerpoint lectures for AP, so the kiddos were still learning from me even while I wasn't there. They really appreciated the videos because they could go back to something that they didn't understand to focus on it and clarify anything that they needed. It didn't take me much time at all to do, in fact I had them all done before I went on maternity leave, so it was nice to know that my advanced students were covered if my sub turned out to be a dud (and oh, was she a dud).
*TW* - BFP & MC in March 2016.
BFP in June 2016; EDD March 2017.
Samuel born February 2017!