Day 3

I know my titles haven't been the most creative ones ever thought of... I have a good excuse though; all my creative energy is being poured into my classroom!

Today a new friend joined our classroom: a koi fish we (almost unanimously) named Neptune.

Students volunteered to feed him over the weekend. I've never had a fish before, so it's a learning experience for me too! He was 15 cents and was part of the 'behind the scenes' fish meant to be food for other animals (like turtles). So to be ultra-dramatic... WE RESCUED HIM FROM DEATH. He seems to be fairly content in his tank. It seems kind of empty; maybe we should add more stuff. Eh, we'll see how it goes.

This afternoon we did water games outside. Each teacher came up with a game. I got mine from an old water-themed VBS manual. Actually, I let a few of my students pick it out. It ended up being kind of 'meh' compared to the others: Penguin Waddle. It's a relay race where each person carries a water balloon on their feet, shuffling to the other side to pass it on to a teammate who brings it back. The balloons kept breaking and the racers kept moving the balloon higher and higher until it was between thighs instead of between knees or on feet. It looked a little awkward. Lots of balloons popped, which sometimes made it look like the kids had wet their pants. Esh. Should've thought about that before doing this one. Oh well. They had a decent time. And we ended with popsicles, which are always a hit.

Now it's time to pack up and hit the road! No school until Tuesday next week.

Day 2

Another great day in the 5th and 6th grade room. They were a little more talkative, but read-to-self was the quietest it's ever been! We did our spelling placement tests for the 5-8th graders. Now I have to figure out how to place them at their level of book...

I got to school earlier than usual this morning since I left early-ish yesterday and since there's no busing, kids are getting dropped off at all times. I had a list on the board like I usually do, but this time I added things that have been on my to-do list for a while, things I wouldn't normally have students do, but things they're capable of doing. So I had 5th grade boys figure out how to get our fish tank working (one got it done in less than five minutes), hot glue a poster to the wall, rehang banana name tags that fell off our welcome bulletin board... They did great! I should let them do things more often!

Now that our fish tank is working, I need to buy a fish. I got a sustaining pet grant from Pets in the Classroom which lets me spend $50 on supplies for our class pet. I bought heat lamp bulbs for Joe and still have $5 to spare. Guess we'll use that to buy some fish! I've never had fish before... I hope they'll survive. Either way it's a learning experience!

Tonight I have to leave school early again. The fall Barnes and Noble book talk is tonight at 4:30. Then I'm hosting bible study tonight at 6:30. There should be just enough time to get everything done, as long as I stay on track. I'm hoping to leave school early to get my errands done before the book talk is over to give me extra time before study. So far that seems like it could happen!

First Day

First day: check. This summer flew by faster than ever. Of course, that could've been all the traveling I did... after school got out, a college friend and I drove around Scotland for 10 days. My youngest sister got married in early July, then a different college friend and I went to Croatia (during the World Cup) with a side trip up to Vienna for a weekend to celebrate another friend's wedding (then back down to Croatia). It was a blast! But two 10 day trips really take a big chunk out of the summer.

My classroom got put back together without too much trouble. Decorations were put up by my mom who came up to help one day. My library got a quick polish and one new spinney rack, so there's room for expansion again. Everything else is pretty much the same, though my theme this year is "jungle" instead of "ocean".

The first day flew by... greeting students, opening chapel, read-aloud, Writers Workshop, Daily 5, and before I knew it, lunchtime! After lunch also passed quickly. My voice is a little hoarse from talking so much, but the students seemed to absorb everything without getting overwhelmed. Two days left this week!

I was supposed to have volleyball tonight, but it's rainy and cold (and the games were just for fun), and the games got cancelled. That was our last match before the official tournament. I'm kind of bummed, but it will be nice to stay dry and warm!