One week down!

Well, I survived. The first week went much more smoothly than I could have imagined. And thanks to an early Labor Day, I have a three-day weekend to recover! The hardest part has been being on my feet for about eleven hours each day. My cutesy sandals aren't doing the job.

I am happy to report that, during the first week, I didn't have any children try to escape, had very few tears (none on my part!), and only one transportation booboo! I had lots of hugs and one kiddo even told me I was his "favorite, cool teacher." I'll take it. I do think I have caught some cooties during the first week - a sore throat, earache, etc have kicked in over the past 24 hours. Hopefully it will be short-lived. As I'm realizing, it's much better to suck it up than to be out and write sub plans. Speaking of sub plans, I have a total of SIX absences from now until December due to various training sessions. Yikes. The thought of being out of the classroom that many days is terrifying, but we'll make do.

To recap our first week, we practiced and practiced (and then practiced some more) our daily routines. It's very different in kindergarten, as our kiddos have to learn everything involved with a school day, i.e. unpacking, holding doors, walking in a line, etc. We're getting there! We even received our first compliment (and brownie point) during a fire drill on Friday for doing such a good job!

Other highlights from the week included our school tour. We read "The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School" by Laura Murray and went looking for clues so the kiddos could see various parts of the school and meet some of the faculty/staff. They loved it and could barely hold their excitement when they saw a clue posted. We also read Audrey Penn's "The Kissing Hand," "A Pocket Full of Kisses," and "A Kiss Goodbye" throughout the week. At lunch on Friday, I had one little guy sitting with his head drooped. I went over to check on him and he told me how much he was missing his mom. He formed a "kissing hand" of his own and told me he was sending it to his mom. I may have gotten little teary on that one! Later in the week, we all made kissing hands of our own by tracing our hands and I recorded what each of the kids most wanted to learn this year in school. Some of my favorite responses were "SpongeBob Square Pants," "kitties," and "how to cut paper." I think I can handle that. I'll post a picture next week of their display. It's pretty cute.

The best learning came during our math time this week. Today, students learn about and see numbers differently than when I was in school. I introduced ten-frames and at only five years old, these kids are seeing groups of ten in many different ways. It was INCREDIBLE. Before addition and subtraction have formally been introduced, they are able to see patterns and groups and make statements like: "I know that's eight dots because I see five on the top and three more" or "I know that's nine dots because if there were one more that would make ten." I'm so excited to see them explore these relationships more as the year progresses.

I know it's only been one week, but I am so happy. I have a great group of kids and I am right where I belong. We're beginning writing next week. I think I might need my rest.