Three days down...

... and all is well! So far I LOVE 4th/5th grade!! Half way through the 1st day I realized that while last year I had to learn to slow down, I had better speed up or I was going to lose a few kids to the zzzzzzzz's. One of my angels came up and whispered in my ear "Is this game going to be over soon? It's getting really dull." We had barely just started! I realized at that moment that the activities I had planned for three days worth was going to last maybe one and a half days. MAYBE. Holy jaysus, the difference a year or two makes! Good thing I learned last year to over plan and how to wing it. Winging it has consisted of having the kids "learn how to use the manipulatives" (otherwise known as playing games); and doing "team building activities" (otherwise known as playing modified drinking games.) YES! Finally all those years of playing games designed to get me wasted are coming in handy! FINALLY! These modified games did more in 10 minutes for getting the kids to laugh, have fun, get to know each other, and build positive relationships than anything "official" I ever did in a team building meeting capacity. (NO! We did NOT play quarters! NO! I didn't tell them they were drinking games!)

In addition, I have tentatively assessed math levels, figured out who my speedy gonzaleses are, who my tortoises are, which are my extroverts and which are the introverts, who will be in which Spanish group, who are the talkers, the goofballs, the overachievers, the sourpusses... Tomorrow is a Spanish day, and I'll find out a lot about who will and who won't make an effort on these extra hard days.

I have a new IA this year, and she is WONDERFUL. As an intern, I got to know her several years ago, and I think she and I will be a great team. All in all, I start the new school year happy, enthusiastic, optimistic, and generally quite thrilled and very "glass half full."