This is the start of my 9th year and it is starting out to be so different than the previous 8. The biggest difference so far, is that I haven't been stressing, and that is a HUGE deal for me. I still haven't finished unpacking from my classroom change and even though the school was open on the weekend I didn't go anywhere near campus. Usually the weekend before school starts is full on anxiety and moping (can anyone say 'pity party'!). But not this year! It was a weekend like any other.
Then this morning came around, I walked into my room and was not greeted by a nice, cool, air-conditioned room. My AC wasn't working! So my new fifth graders and I endured in there for an hour until they headed to specials. We were drenched, but we persevered, and I continued with my theme of not stressing. An hour later the air was fixed and the rest of the day was much more comfortable. Despite the AC fiasco, this was the smoothest first day of school in my career.I have a lot to share in the coming days/weeks as I get my classroom completed as the kids start diving in. Probably the highlight of the day was Classbook. Each kid (I have one too!) has a status box on the news feed and the kiddos wrote their first day "status" at the end of the day. For now they have the generic Facebook profile pic, but I will be adding their photos soon. I am also going to be introducing a like button and a comment box as well. For now I will be using the Classbook as a place for reflection and for students to write what they have learned. It seems to be a hit so far!
My favorite status of the day: "I had one of the best days of all my school years."
Stay tuned for more Classbook updates!
