First Week Update

It's Friday night, and the first week of school is officially over. (Can you hear the hallelujah chorus?) I'm pretty exhausted, what with leaving the house at 7 every morning and not getting home till 6 or 6:30 most nights this week, but it's cool. I had a really great first week of school. (Hey, that rhymed!)

Every year I get so nervous before school starts. As frequent readers of my blog know, I have panic attacks, nightmares, etc. in the weeks leading up to the first day. It seems, however, that every year I teach it gets a little better. Isn't that great? I'm so excited about the new challenges and opportunities that this year will bring.

Some of my fave moments from this week:

- being asked about fifty million times, "How old are you, Mrs. James?" This would definitely win the prize for hottest topic of the week in my class. One of my girls asked me this yesterday, and I said, "24." She said, "Really? My cousin at the high school told me you was 19!" This morning another student said, "I'm sorry Mrs. James, but you just look like a teenager!" Oh well, I guess worse things could be said about me. :)

- seeing how timid and unsure of themselves my kids are at the beginning of school. The 6th graders are the youngest ones in the middle school, so the first week they're very shy and a little scared, I'm sure. It's so cute!

- witnessing the initial excitement our classroom library brings about. I probably have at least a hundred books in my class to check out, and the kids are always so excited to see them all! Today we did what's called a book pass, where in a short time span the kids get to look at about 25 books. They look at one book for a minute or so, and then they pass it on. They were so eager to get the next book, and then to check out a book at the end. Some of their excitement for reading won't last very long, but it was great to see!

- being reminded that what I do actually matters. It's easy to forget sometimes how much of an impact I can have in the lives of these children. I mean, I see them 5 days out of the week for 9 months out of the year. That's a lot of time! It's humbling, and a little scary, to think that all of my actions, everything I say to them, will affect them in some way. My constant prayer is that the Lord will give me a compassionate heart for every child. That He'll remind me that these are people's babies, not just numbers and test scores. It's pretty exciting to know that every day I go to work, I have the opportunity to make a difference. Kinda sappy, I know, but it's true. Being a teacher definitely comes with its challenges and struggles, but I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing with my life.


All in all, it was a great week. Thank goodness it's over! Now I've got most of the nervousness behind me, and we can get down to this learning business. Bring it on! ;)

Sleeping Beauty...That's Me!

I saw this on Lou's blog...and I'm so glad I'm Aurora! She was always my fave. ;) And the description is so true of me.


You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

School Daze

The first day is over! I couldn't get to sleep last night for anything, and this morning I woke up an hour early. I get so nervous before the first day! It went wonderfully, although I felt a little frazzled the whole day. First days are always kind of hectic, so tomorrow will probably be better.

When I got home from school today, I CRASHED. I didn't realize how tired I was until I actually had time to sit down and rest! After about 15 minutes, the whole lower half of my body was aching...I guess I'm not used to walking around ALL DAY. ;)

Tonight Taylor and I are having a relaxing evening watching The Legend of Zorro. I like the music. :)

Hope everyone else had a great first day of school!

School Daze

The first day is over! I couldn't get to sleep last night for anything, and this morning I woke up an hour early. I get so nervous before the first day! It went wonderfully, although I felt a little frazzled thw whole day. First days are always kind of hectic, so tomorrow will probably be better.

When I got home from school today, I CRASHED. I didn't realize how tired I was until I actually had time to sit down and rest! After about 15 minutes, the whole lower half of my body was aching...I guess I'm not used to walking around ALL DAY. ;)

Tonight Taylor and I are having a relaxing evening watching The Legend of Zorro. I like the music. :)

Hope everyone else had a great first day of school!

First School Dream

For the past two years, I've always had dreams/nightmares/panic attacks right before school starts. The first year was the worst, last year was a little better, and this year has been great! I've only just now had my first dream about school, and it wasn't even that bad! Maybe I can actually do this teaching thing...;) Here's the dream:

I'm in my classroom on the first day of school, and it is right before lunch. We've had a great time this morning, playing getting-to-know-you games and doing just that - getting to know each other. Suddenly, I realize that lunch is in about five minutes, and I've forgotten to tell my class about all the cafeteria rules. So I rush to do that, and by the time I'm finished all the other classes have left for lunch. I tell my kids that they can go, but I forget to tell them not to run, and they all run like crazy people to the cafeteria. I rush to catch up to them, and two of the boys get in a fight. One of them picks up this really long stick that just happens to be sitting there and uses it like a sword. They eventually calm down, and then I woke up. Pretty strange, but not bad, considering the dreams I've had in the past!

School starts Monday, and I'm ready! I've got my room ready, my lesson plans are written and turned in to the principal, I've made all my copies...I'm ready! It feels so go to be prepared. I've never been a person who just enjoys winging it, especially on the first day. I'm looking forward to Monday, and I'm confident that this year is going to be my best year yet! Please remember to keep teachers and kids in your prayers this first week.

Did You Know 2.0

We watched this video in a workshop at my school last week. Makes you think, huh? Especially as a teacher...the world I'm preparing my students to be a part of is totally different from the one I was prepared for when I was in school. Pretty crazy.

New Links Alert!

I finally updated my links! Since I last did this, tons of my friends have started blogging. So tonight I spent about an hour linking all of the ones I could think of or find. The new ones belong to KT, Shelley, TJ, Carolyn, Ryan, Monticello Live, Misty, Jenny, Journey Church, and me (myspace). Check them out! Oh, and if you'd like me to link your site and I didn't, just let me know!