first day of school recap ~ otherwise known as the post in which i can finally breathe calmly for the first time in weeks

Do you want to hear about my day or the kids' day first? Well, my blog ~ my day first.

I know many of you are anxious to hear whether or not I was finally consumed by those small people who outnumber me. You might be sitting around in your bunny slippers wondering if I finally hurled after another unsettling lunch. Maybe you are concerned about my mid-afternoon migraines.

I am here to tell you that I have survived yet another first day. Boxes were not stacked on students' desks. I remembered to pick up the children in the morning and did not lose even one. I did thank them after lunch for deciding to stay with us instead of running away to join the circus. I went to school fully clothed in appropriate attire. I did not disappoint my principal or get reprimanded in any way. A good day.

Not only did I survive, but I have complete and full control of those little people who call me teacher. I was actually hungry this morning - a rare occurrence for a first day. I did not feel sick after lunch. I did not walk away with a migraine.

The new things I'm working on for my classroom have gone over well so far. I'm still feeling a little fuzzy around the edges with the new stuff, but so far so good. If you are a teacher and you are wondering what the hoopla is all about, check out the two books I read last week - The Daily 5 and The Cafe Book. Both books present a new way to structure the literacy program. It is empowering to the child, yet mildly horrifying to the teacher who did not learn to teach this way. If you are not a teacher, then what I just said probably closely resembled Charlie Brown's teacher.

I do have one little chatty girl who had to move her frog to the blue lily pad today after eleventy billion warnings. Hey, I was nice the first day. Finally I could stand her disrespect not a second longer and made her move her frog on the first day. She tried to butter me up later, but I would have none of it. I gave her the "we are not talking to each other look." Tomorrow we will start over.

I have another autistic boy in my room this year. Apparently they do not think I messed the last one up too much so they are trusting me with another. This boy, so far, is very different from Squeaky Clean. I have a feeling it will take us longer to get to know each other. Luckily I have the fantastic support of the autistic teacher and the aide. The aide spent a large amount of time in my class today helping him become accustomed to a new teacher.

Ok, enough of me. Let's move on to why you are really reading this post in the first place.


Oh, are they so dang cute! I love their little school-girl outfits. I showed these to them in the store and said I thought they'd make great first-day outfits. They agreed. Yay!


They were spoiled this morning with strawberry smoothies, scrambled eggs, and toast for breakfast. I think they are expecting this again tomorrow. Crap!


Check out Stephanie's new sassy cut. She got quite a bit chopped off and more layers. Heather got layers for the first time and a moderate amount cut off the length. Stephanie's hair is looking so grown up that I get a lump in my throat.


Greg was unable to get the day off to take them to school for their first day, so it was just us. I was making them walk up and down the driveway runway-style.








Suzanne is Heather's teacher this year, but she's out on maternity leave. We had to settle for a picture at Open House last week.


Mrs. M is Heather's substitute for a little while. She's sweet and lovely. As a mom I couldn't ask for a better substitute. As a teacher, I couldn't ask for a better temporary colleague.


Another Mrs. M is Stephanie's teacher. As you can see, Mrs. M tries to make the most out of life and has a flair for the dramatic. I am excited for Stephanie to be in her class this year.



Stephanie and Heather both reported having a great day today. I feel fortunate that I already know they will continue to have a great year because they love school so much and I know their teachers so well. I have faith in these gals that they will guide my children in just the right way.

Either that or we'll have to scrap on the playground after school.