Back in the Swing of Things

How fun... These are pictures of my classroom this year. I have provided different angles of the room for all those that care. I wanted to show off the fun little library in the back of the room as well as the activboard that I got to keep this year. Guess where the open door goes? It's to Brandi's room. We love keeping it open and chatting during our planning time. 

This week has been crazy (busy). We started pre-planning on Monday. I feel like I haven't stopped. We have had meeting after meeting. There was little time in our classroom, but every spare moment I tried to use wisely in order to fix things up. Tuesday was my birthday. I had to present (with a group) to the faculty about learning focused schools. All day I had some of my teacher friends ask, "Is it your birthday? Did you know it's Laura's birthday today?!" It made me laugh and also made me want to hide under a table! I enjoyed being free to eat lunch out too. That night Jeremy, his mom, and my mom went to PF Changs for a yummy dinner and to Marble Slab for dessert. Wednesday was Jeremy's aunt's birthday and we went to Moe's and Bruster's. Tonight was open house. Phew... What a week it's been already.

It's funny that I already have stories to tell and this was my first time meeting these kids (and their parents). Yesterday when I got my class roster, I was a bit overwhelmed. I keep forgetting I will have to memorize all 112 students names pretty quickly. I enjoyed trying to figure out how to say the names. Tonight was fun hearing if I was right or not. It also makes me realize how much I love the sixth grade. Some kids were scared to death while others were excited and didn't even want to have summer vacation. Some talked my ear off and made a line build up while others were shy and their parents had to force them to talk. I enjoyed trying to make them feel comfortable though. Many times I asked them if they were excited or nervous. Then I would ask them what they were nervous about. If they couldn't think of things I would ask, "Are you afraid of changing classes? Are you afraid of the lockers? Are you afraid I will bite your head off?" Usually I'd get an answer or a laugh out of them. I told them I wouldn't bite their head or their finger off so they didn't need to be afraid. Parents also asked if we give homework. HA HA! Oh yes... Their parents now know that their kid cannot come home and say "We don't have any homework!" Woops, that might get the kid in trouble. I often even come up with ideas in my head of what these students will be like. One of the things I am often afraid about is if they like math. Surprisingly many of these students like math (favorite subject of many that I surveyed) and they said they were good at it. I hope this is a true statement. As of now, I think we have an incredible team and I am really excited. I have blue team spirit, so the other teams just better watch out! I mean really.... when a parent asks if he can come read to the class and bring doughnuts, what teacher could say no?! However, some of my students have already dealt with major life issues that break my heart (brain tumor, hearing loss, migraines, major nosebleeds) and I continue to see that kids now deal with so much more than they used to. One of the best moments of the evening was something I wondered about. I wondered if any of my previous students would come to visit. They did! It made my day. One of my girls sat in her old desk and said that was her desk from now on. They have gotten taller (well they looked taller beside my little 6th graders). Others changed their hair color or got glasses. One came and was so excited about Academic Bowl and that just makes me ready to get going! They have some good teachers in 7th grade so I am not worried about them though. I will miss some of them lots this year, I mean who can forget their first class of students? Let's pray that this year will be a good 2nd year. 

Tomorrow's the big "First Day of School" and these sixth graders will be filled to the brim with all kinds of information. I am sure I will fly by the seat of my pants. I felt more prepared for the first day of school last year, maybe because schedules haven't really been given to us yet. I know that it will all be fine though and whatever I say tomorrow will be great!