I Survived!

Well, I survived my first day of school! It was a half day, but nonetheless, it was still the first day :) I actually had a great day and really enjoy the kiddos in my class. There were 3 students absent, and 2 came late, so it seemed like a pretty small class. I only have 1 kid that I think is really going to rub me the wrong way. He is pretty loud and I feel like he craves a lot of attention. I think that if I stay on top of him all year, it will cut down the outbursts. So far, nothing as bad as what I dealt with last year... and all the parents I met today seemed great :) That is definitely an upgrade from last year.

I was so much more relaxed and confident compared to last year. I didn't feel like the parents were judging me as much, and I just felt more comfortable in my own classroom and with the students who were there. Last year I didn't know much about 7 and 8 year olds, so I didn't know how to act and respond to them, but now I feel so much more at ease.

I really think this will be a good year, expecially compared to last year. I am so much more prepared and ready for this year and have so many ideas that I am actually a little overwhelmed with trying to implement them. The biggest change will be that I am going to have centers this year instead of as much whole group instruction. I think this will be better for the students and will also be easier on me. I just have so much hope for this year and I want it to go so well. I hope that the positive thinking/hoping will rub off on things and it will actually happen.

I want to stay awake so badly to watch the Gymnastics All-Arounds, but I am fading so quickly and want to go to bed. I may leave it on and then just fade off to sleep. Maybe I will see enough to get an idea of how we will do. I do have to say that I am very much upset about the age thing and the Chinese gymnasts. There is no way some of those women are 16 and it seems quite convenient that the one who is in the middle of the controversy was born on January 1, 1992. Barely made the cut.

Ok, I am off to bed. It's my boyfriend's birthday, so Happy Birthday, Baby!!

Have a good night and enjoy your Friday!

Oh Wednesday, Oh Wednesday

I know that I actually have about 23 minutes until Wednesday, but that's close enough for me. It's my last day without students! I am super excited to meet them and have a great year! Today was meetings 8:30-4:00 and it was not fun. I would have rather been in my room working, but that just wasn't an option.

Yesterday was our next-to-last day of doggie school. Bandit was super ADD/ADHD. I am not a vet or doctor, but as a teacher/dog owner, I think he has this problem. He was so unfocused yesterday. We would tell him to sit and before we could tell him to stay, he was looking around and standing up. It was so frustrating! After spending some time thinking about it, we decided to invest in a Gentle Leader Headcollar. This is a collar that goes around Bandit's nose and mouth and around his neck. It does not choke him, keep his mouth shut, or hurt him. The leash attaches to the front and when he pulls on the leash, it naturally pulls his head to the side. Here is a picture of him with it on. You can tell from his expression that he is not enjoying it at all...

He can still open his mouth, pant, yawn, drink water, etc. with this thing on, but we have already seen a HUGE change in walking him on a leash. Even in the store with the trainer, within 5 minutes, he was like a different dog. He bucked like a horse and wiggled and rubbed at it when it first was put on, but once he started walking and getting used to it, it wasn't that bad. We took him on a walk when we got him (he still had the leader on) and he did really well. As soon as he would feel tension, he would immediately slow down and get next to us. We did pass two dogs on our short walk. Passing the first dog, we must have been quite a sight to see. Bandit was struggling so hard against the head collar because he wanted to focus on the dog and be aggressive, but the collar makes him look away. He was in the air and wiggling and actually caused himself to run into a sign post. My boyfriend had the leash and said it felt like reeling in a big fish because he was jumping and wiggling and trying to get away. The second dog was a lot better. He started pulling, but once he felt that tension and his head turn, he stopped. He did this a few times, but there was no growling or barking or anything that bad.

Today, I took him out to go potty with the leader on and he saw a dog a ways away and he took notice and was attentive, but when he went in that direction and felt the pull, he stopped. It has been amazing! As the trainers said, this is like a punch to his ego and as bad as that sounds, I think it is what this little guy needs. He needs to realize that he is not the lead dog at all times (or really ever) and needs to know that we have more control over him. Since getting him in May, there have been some great improvements.

We are starting to teach him to jump through a hoop and he is doing great! Today, I raised it more than we had worked with yesterday and he thought he could just duck under it to get the treat. He's sneaky, but I made him jump and he did great. We are about 6" off the ground with the hoop and he will jump. I think I will start backing up and making him run a bit and then jump :) Maybe I can snap a picture of him jumping through the hoop.

Ok, I am fading fast and need to get some sleep. The women's gymnastics kept me awake, but luckily there are no kids tomorrow and I can take a nap at school if need be (shhh...) :)

Almost Done!

I got so much done, but only thanks to my roomie who came up to school and helped me a TON! Here are some shots of the room :) I stood in the middle of the room and went around and took pictures of the room.

Here is a picture of my (finally) clean table and the back right corner of my room.


This is the the left of my table. It is called the word wall and whenever we have sight words, they go on this wall.


This is the computer table and the hooks where the kiddos hang their backpacks and coats.

Here is the sink/water fountain and cabinets, which I painted blue.

Here is the front corner that would be immediately to your right when you walk in the doorway. The table has the students mailboxes on it and this is where the students turn in their binders in the morning.

Here is the front of my room, You can see the whiteboard and my new projector and ELMO on my cart. I am super excited about my projector!!

This is the front left corner of my room and where the library shelf got moved. The other shelf under the window has all the recess games and toys.

Here is my calendar area and couch. You have already seen this picture before, but a few things have changed. If you were in the room looking at this, to the left of the picture would be my teacher table (where we began these pictures).

Here is my special helper for the day! Thank so much, roomie for the help! I couldn't have gotten so much done without you today!

Meetings start tomorrow, so I don't know how much I will have to blog, but I will try to keep up with this thing during the school year. I meet my kids on Thursday and am super excited about it!!