I Survived!

I'm really tired, so this'll be short (I think). But I just wanted to report that the first day of school went very well! Amazing how different I felt today than I did on my first day two years ago. Now I sort of feel like I know what I'm doing and how to manage a classroom full of kids. It doesn't take long to see which ones are going to be challenging. The poor little kindergarteners looked so lost most of the time! Everything is so frightfully new for them. The first and second graders are a little better, but tend to get that lost, panicked look when presented with an assignment that they can't understand. Ah, how I remember that first-day-of-school feel -- a mixture of nervous excitement and complete vulnerability. Okay, I only went to school for three years, but those years did make an impression! I remember my first day of second grade when I escaped to the bathroom until recess because I freaked out over an English question.

The third to sixth graders did great! They all have choir together and really surprised me with how quickly they learned a song and how well they sang it. They were also able to laugh and have fun during the class, which is always one of my top goals. It's pretty hard NOT to have fun with that age group!

My heart goes out to a sixth-grade girl who's nearly as tall as I am. She slouches to try to hide her height, but she's still a head taller than her classmates. I never saw her smile and she looks painfully self-conscious. I'm hoping to have the opportunity to draw her out and encourage her. I remember being tall at that age and feeling so different from my peers.

Okay, so much for my short blog! I was gone all day and the whole week promises to be very busy, so I'm going to scoot off this here contraption.