Friday, November 4, 2011

Lots of sleep and chicken soup, or how I survived first quarter.

First quarter is always kind of a bear.

I mean, there's so much that happens in first quarter.  You have to get a sense of where your students are starting from.  You have to establish baselines in all the different areas of academics--reading, writing, math skills.  You have to lay down the rules and figure out what the atmosphere of the classroom is going to be.  You  (hopefully) get to know the parents in your room and form some good relationships.  You have to figure out all of the new personalities you have in your room, and how to arrange those personalities in the most harmonious way possible.

Oh, and somewhere in there, you have to teach.

This first quarter has been a good one, really.  We've worked hard.  I have arranged (and rearranged, and rearranged) my desks, and will continue to do so.  I have gotten to know some fantastic parents, who I know I can count on as allies this year.  I've been able to assess students, with help from the awesome staff we have at our school.

And hey--I've even gotten to do a bit of that teaching, too.

Second quarter officially started this past Monday, and we're off and running, again.  I'm looking forward to continuing to figure out who my kids are, and how I can connect with them.

I'm busy, and tired, and pretty constantly feeling drained.

But I'm so happy to be doing what I love.

So, that's the haps for now.  If any of you have wandered my way because of my lovely friend Shannon at shannon*bear, welcome!  Blogging is a hobby of mine, and I try to post on a semi-regular basis.  Feel free to stick around and let me know if you like what you see!

Alrighty, kids.  I'll talk to you again soon.

Until next time,
♥ Marlee

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