Week in Review

I wish I had some really funny stories to post, but I don't. I can however sum up my first week.
First Grade:
I am still absolutely LOVING teaching the first grade. I know it is still only the first week, and I am sure there will be ups and downs, but we are off to a great start. I have discovered how funny my kids are this year. It is like all 19 became little comedians over the summer. I spent a majority of my week just laughing with my kiddos. Here is a funny comment I heard this week:
We were walking down the hall and my new sandals were sticking to my feet and making a really funny sound. When we stopped at our destination my precious line leader whispered to me with a very serious face, "Miss Shipley, I think you have a flat tire, you are making a funny sound." of course I was trying sooooo hard not to laugh as I tried to explain.
There were some other REALLY funny things said, but I of course didn't write them down and have now forgotten them. I will have to do a better job of keeping up with the funny stories!

Grad. School
My first class was ok. I met some great new friends, and am sure we will become very close before all of this is said and done. The class will keep me busy, but there isn't anything that is too complicated, or unmanageable. I finished my first paper this weekend, and have already started on the second. The main thing will to just learn how to balance my time for work, school, and personal.
Long Weekend:
On Friday, my Grandmomma and I traveled to Abilene to visit my mom. We had a great trip down. my mom welcomed us with a yummy salmon dinner. After dinner we watched a movie and I fell sound asleep before 10:00. On Saturday, we ran some errands and I was able to make my monthly Sam's stop to stock up on everything I would need for the month. WE stopped by Dillard's and I purchased some clearance back to school clothes for 75% off!!!!! ( My favorite purchase was a pair of pants I have been eyeing for a very long time. I got them for under $10!)
On Sunday, it was a perfect day for swimming!!!!! This is my all-time favorite activity! It had been 3 long weeks since I had been outside for a considerable amount of time. 10 minute recess, and 15 minute dismissal doesn't count! We came back home on Sunday afternoon.
Today I have spent just catching up. Laundry, errands, and working on some examples for next week, and papers for grad. school.

Next post I will try to have some pictures and other good stuff.

My First Day in the First Grade!

My first day in the first day was fantastic! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my kiddos, and LOOOOOOVE the first grade in general. Yes, I am still sad about leaving my team in Kinder. (they are/were the VERY best team you could ever imagine) However, I am adjusting to my new team, and am very happy with both of my new teammates. They have both welcomed me to the first grade with open arms, and always have an encouraging hug for me and great advice! I think this is going to be a fantastic year getting to know a new grade and 2 new friends.

I started my day actually waking up on time (first day jitters) and making it out the door by 6:50 am. I get half way to school and realize I have left my school keys in the office at my house. Since I live half way to nowhere, it is not an option to turn around. My next realization is that flashy flash drive with the way cool PowerPoint I was going to show that morning was attached to the keys that are at home. :(. What a way to start the first day!!!!
But no worries, I found someone to let me into my classroom and made do without my cool PowerPoint. My kiddos arrived at 7:50 and although it was a little crazy the first 15 minutes, it was no where near as crazy as the first day of Kindergarten. The kids sat down in their desk and were being GREAT!
I can't tell you what a difference one year makes! I am sure it helps that 12 of the little guys were mine from last year, and they know me, my expectations, and our routines. My kids were almost perfect today. We read books, laughed, practiced routines and even implemented our discipline program as if we were 6 weeks into the school year. I started out going over the program (called Make Your Day) as if none of them knew anything about it. When 12 of the kids were looking at me like I was the one who had forgotten everything over the summer I decided to just pull the new ones in a small group to fully explain, and then do whole group review. The kids from last year liked that much better!
I know this is going to be a FANTASTIC year! I have a group of kiddos who are really excited about learning. At the end of the day I let the kids explore some math manipulitives and 5 of the kids asked if they could read books instead. When I agreed, I watched as ALL 5 actually sat down and "read" independently without disturbing their neighbor, or getting up and down to play in the library center. They are going to do really, really well when we introduce the Daily 5 tomorrow.
I will keep you posted on how First grade is going, I know we will have our challenging days, but I can just tell that we are going to have a great year!

After school I was able to take a kiddo from my first Kindergarten class 3 years ago out to Sonic to celebrate his first day as a big 3rd grader. I am so proud of him! It is very encouraging to see the little guys grow up into big kids, and to know that I played a very small part of shaping him into this really incredible kid.