Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Back in the Swing of Things


LOVE LOVE LOVE this kid!
 I had an AMAZINGLY AWESOME holiday filled with connections to my friends. I looked at my Google calendar just now and realize there wasn't one day of break that I didn't connect with someone in person. It felt good to talk in person. Yes... that old school in person connecting thing! Thank You! ~ JP, MD, JM, MBG, AM, JL, SF, JE, RP, JW, KH, LBR, KP, CP, RP, KS, AS ~ You helped relight my spirit! 
Jumped back into the swing of things with kiddos returning yesterday. I feel renewed, rejuvenated and ready for the second half of the year. My day started with one of my 1st grade spirit lifters. His eyes lit up when he saw me walk out in the morning to pick up my group. He stopped me and spilled excitement about the bike and helmet he received from his grandparents. He shared a story about trying to learn to ride it. I LOVED starting my day with that. 
A smile also fills my heart when on recess duty two lovely little gals ran up and hugged the begeebers outta me. They are the same ones before break I remember in class throwing compliments at me left and right. They talked yesterday about missing me and how I was their favorite and one wondered how I got my hair like that because her mom liked it. The little ones are certainly my favorites. They still like their teachers and aren't afraid to say so! 
The day continued and I had a successful lesson with my 35 first graders thanks to the para being present. This is the same lesson I tried to teach before break when my principal popped into observe. The site  glitched so I had to quickly punt to a back up plan (always good to have a back up plan in the noggin). Still waiting to hear her thoughts on that day.
My day continued to be great when I felt my approach to a couple kiddos (one first grade, one kindie) shift from previously. They are two that when it's time to line up to leave get a bit wound up. I had an a-ha moment (perhaps it was because our schedule changed a bit and I am now able to have 5 minutes of breathing time between classes and it helped ground me during the day) and decided to enlist them as special helpers. Boy was that a saver! 
My day ended well when I asked for help with the 7/8th math group. While it's only five students, they are a challenge. I get it. They are in their last 30 minutes of an 8 hour school day. But I struggled to get them to work. Thanks to my fabulous AP for being supportive enough to come down and help. In the few minutes he was there working with a couple of the kiddos, I saw a way to approach the lesson with kids better. Support from your AP is pretty important!



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