This is my Friday Night

Well it looks like I survived my first week of teaching (okay just three days). Not only that, though, I LOVED it. I know that I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my kids and that their eager to please teacher attitude won't last, but I really do think they are just a fantastic group of ten-year-olds. Really quite splendid. And even though I'm bone tired, I've just been loving every second of teaching.

Some highlights:

-One of my identical twins told me that he and his brother like to play tricks and change places, but I'll know when it's happening cause they can't stop giggling (I made a mental note here of things to include in sub plans).

-Quite possibly the tiniest girl in my class declared in her "Student Interest Sheet" that she is an avid hunter. Later when we wrote personal narratives about birthdays, she talked about how she wanted her mom to let her make a pinata out of a deer carcass and fill it with red candy. Yep. (Her mom didn't let her and she had to settle for a pony pinata with antlers attached that everyone shot with arrows before they beat it with a bat. Yep.)

-My parents sent me these lovely flowers as a surprise on my first day.

When the secretary brought them in, one girl said, "Oh, they're from me. I wanted to be teacher's pet."

-I taught my kids that when I say, "Give me five!" when they are standing in line, they are to assemble themselves into a perfectly straight, perfectly silent line. When I went to pick them up from recess yesterday, they watched for me at the door and then got into a five line without me asking, just as a surprise. Bless them.

-During the open house on the night before school started, a parent overheard one of my girls saying to another, "You'll like her. She's pretty." (Yes, I am vain like that).

-We've had some rather deep discussions on what our rights and responsibilities are in this country and then connecting those to what our rights and responsibilities are in our class. This is certainly a bright bunch of students.

-We had an impromptu discussion on acronyms. I let them guess what FBI stands for (several students yelled out, "Police!") and when I told them the B was a French word, they started guessing things like baguette and bonjour.

A lot more happened, but I don't want to bore you to death with things that I've found to be adorable. So pretty much just know... it was an awesome, awesome week. Three days.

When we came home last night, Lewis and I were both beyond exhaustion. Lewis fell asleep for an hour and then made macaroni and cheese for dinner (healthy, no?). At ten o'clock we were both pretty much just sitting there staring off in to space. But in the spirit of Friday night is date night, we tottered off to Macey's to get some Ben and Jerry's. Then we watched an episode of a TV show on Netflix, read a chapter of Harry Potter, and were dead in bed by 11:30, lamenting the fact that we stayed up so late. Yep, we're the vision of youth and vitality. Mid-twenties, you know.

Bring it on.

It's okay. I'm better now. I met all but ten of my students tonight at my school's open house and they did not eat me. In fact they were quite delightful, as were their parents. Downright adorable (the kids, not the parents). I'm sure my preparation and confidence will wane within the next few hours, but for now I feel like I can do it. I can teach.

Psych!

I changed my mind. I don't want to teach. I want sit at home all day, eat bonbons, watch soap operas, and get fat. This teaching thing? Not for me. I'll be bad at it.

Look Out Students... Class Just Got Cooler

There I was, minding my own business, when my principal rolls a cart into my classroom bearing this:

A bona-fide Epson computer projector. Quality, people. Quality.

As he described it, our school was finally given the go-ahead to join the 21st century. Each classroom now has one. Basically it means my class will be tons cooler. I don't know how yet because I didn't think there was a prayer in the world that I would get a computer projector (heck, I just recently commandeered an overhead projector!) so I haven't been planning on having one, but never fear students... This technological beaut will be used frequently.

Now if only I could get my hands on a Promethean Board...

Grizz was in the Navy

So the other day I was in my classroom working on stuff for the upcoming school year (seeing as school starts in a week - gasp, gulp, gasp - I've been doing that a lot). As I was sitting there writing names on popsicle sticks or something, I hear a pint size voice from my doorway say, "Hi Miss Young." (I have a nameplate above my door.). I turn to find a little boy, maybe a first or second grader, just hanging out at my door as if it's the most natural thing in he world.

I greet him and ask his name (Jared). I start to ask him how his summer is going, but he talks over me to tell me that the hat he is wearing is fifty years old. And that it's from the Navy (which, funnily enough, I had deduced from the fact that it said "NAVY"). He obviously was very excited to be wearing such an accessory and was bursting to expess the awesomeness of it to anyone he met. That doesn't exactly explain what he was doing roaming the halls of Foothill Elementary two weeks before school starts, but never fear, he did not go unclaimed. An older sister appeared to collect him shortly after our conversation began, but not after I validated how fantastic his hat was.

My point is... I'm excited to be spending so much time in a place with such uninhibited beings, who get excited fit to burst about the little things in life like that Navy hat which I'm sure Jared begged his dad for weeks to let him wear just this once. Because, well... I get excited about those kinds of things and want to share them with whoever I see too, okay? So eat it.

Two True

In honor of our second anniversary, here are the top two reasons why my marriage is awesome, cause srsly. Have you met Lewis? He's pretty much as awesome as a husband can get and that's no lie. I like him lots and so I'm glad we wed two years ago.

(In no particular order):
1. Lewis gets as excited about I do about the little things in life, especially when it comes to teaching.. Mmm curriculum mapping... Ooh yeah management plans.
2. For my birthday last year, Lewis bought me a KitchenAid. This morning I made a white chocolate cheesecake with it. Nuff said.

Happy anniversary Lewie! You plus me equals us.

I'mma Be a Professional

Dear beloved blog readers,

First, an apology: I have left you without for over a month. I am truly sorry that you have had to go so long without the blessed opportunity to read my words.

Second, a justification: Dude. In less than two weeks, I will have 25-30 young souls in my care for 6.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. So eat it. I've been a little busy.

Third, another apology: That was rude. I'm sorry.

Fourth, a request: I am taking a break from developing my first-week-of-school class schedule to write this post to ask for your help. If you were a brand new fifth grader, what would you like to do during your first week of school? What did you do during the first week of school back in the day when you were a small child? If you teach/have ever taught, what did you do with your students during the first week of school?

Thanks readers. You are all gentlemen and scholars, lacking merely education and couth.

Sorry. That was rude too.