Week 1...We Made It!

Oh my goodness!  Why is it that I can't remember that the first week is so exhausting?!?  Our first day was this past Monday and it rained all day.  All.  Day.  And not the sprinkling kind of rain that I can sneak the kids out for a quick bit of fresh air.  Buckets of rain.  Which we all know meant indoor recess.  Indoor recess on the first day of school with new kiddos.  I know, I know.  I'm grateful for the rain...I mean, we have brown grass in our area so I get it.  We needed it.  Then...while driving home super late after school I couldn't help but notice the very full moon.  Now what kind of God would give us down pouring rain on our first day of school, hot and humid weather, and a full moon during the first week of school??!!?  Oh...yeah...the same God who blessed me with another great group of kiddos to spend my year with!  Thank you!!!

I have one who tells me, "I'm going to make you proud today, Miss Long."
Another one who says, "I love you."
One who misses his mom and sometimes cries but will then reassure me by saying, "I'll be okay, Miss Long.  I just need a minute."
One who has a lot of anxiety and needs reassurance throughout the whole day.
One who is already reading 105 words per minute...fluently....and comprehends what he reads.
And the others are pretty great too!  A few are testing the waters and are in search of the boundaries but they'll get there!

I quick whipped up one of those "First Day of First Grade" frames to use on our first day and everyone on my team used it to take their kiddo's pictures.

Looks like we might have a first grade tradition!  As I'm typing this I just remembered that I forgot to take a whole group shot...duh!  Better make a note for Tuesday!

We started switching classes (we're trying out departmentalizing this year) on the first day of school on a shortened schedule.  I saw each class for 30 minutes and the time flew!  It's so different from being self-contained.  I think I'm going to need a few weeks before I decide if I love it or not.  I just felt so rushed this week and as much as I want to keep each class doing the exact same thing, I think I need to accept that that may not be the case.  I really don't want to write 3 different lesson plans but I also don't want to be a cookie cutter teacher where everything is the same.  I still believe it's going to be great for the kids and that's the most important thing for me.  If I was pressed to share how I feel about it, I'd have to be honest and say that I'm not digging it....yet.  I know it will get better each week especially once the kiddos get the routines down.  This week we're going to be on our normal schedule, so I'll get each group for 80 minutes...it will be better.  :)

We started The Daily 5 this week by learning the 3 ways to read a book (which surprisingly enough, the kids knew on their own) and choosing our good fit books.  We are also busy building stamina by practicing Read to Self.  We're going to continue building stamina and also learn Read to Someone this next week.  I'm also attempting to use CAFE....attempting.

My niece, Addison started kindergarten at the same school I teach at this week.

She loves it.  I have to admit...part of me wished she would need me for something and I would need to save the day.  But it didn't happen...she loved every moment and I'm truly grateful that she's having a blast.  She has a great teacher who genuinely loves her so all is well in the world.

As I was catching up on my blog stalking this morning, another blogger shared this post by Kylene Beers, "Why I Hated Meredith's First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America's Teachers"  It was very touching and totally worth the read.

I'm hoping to use this 3 day weekend to catch up and rest up for the upcoming 4 day week!
Hope your year is off to a great start!