Let me put on my starched vest...

as George Lopez would say since I'm the team leader :)

Why am I the team leader? I don't know. I just found out yesterday. I'm new to the school and the other first grade teacher was the team lead last year, so why me? I wanted to say no. Since I'm new I would feel more comfortable if the other teacher was it, BUT I fought the urge. I didn't want to seem like a punk to the principal when he asked. I want him to know I'm motivated and accept challenges like I lied...I mean...stated in my interview ;p This is the only extra thing I'm signed up for right now, so I'll make sure and not get suckered into 20 extra committees and stuff.

Ready or not here they came!

To say this past week was hectic would be an understatement! The first week came and went and I still feel like I haven't even started. I had 25 kids this week! That is a lot of 6 year olds! 16 of the 18 on my roster showed up BUT 8 EXTRA kids showed up the first day! It started to balance out today. It turns out 2 of them were misplaced in my class and they were supposed to be in 2nd and 4th grade. And, no, I had no idea I had a nine year old in my class. He was not much taller than the other ones and the same academically. They just came from another country and their mom misunderstood something on the enrollment card. On Monday I'm tranferring two more to the other bilingual class and I'll have 21.

What's up with the paperwork!!! Parent info, updated enrollment cards, code of conduct, lunch forms,etc. Plus all the new teacher info crap and signing up for email and to access the online curriculum. Plus, my district is one of those who still does paper attendance! I'm surprised for it being such a huge, urban district that they still handle that on paper. In my limited experience (all of 2 other districts) you submitted attendance through a comp. system. Ok, enough with the complaints because everyone goes through that so y'all know what I'm talking about...Ok, one more...the copier is always broken. :) Ok, now I'm done.

My class is a pretty good mix - academically, culturally and personality-wise. I have some TAG (talented and gifted) kids who are writing full paragraphs and some who are still working on putting syllables together. They're from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, here, etc. I have some sweethearts who are no trouble at all, the shy ones, the clowns and of course "THE bad one." And by that I mean THE ONE that everyone knows from last year and got in trouble everywhere. Why do I always get the "oh, you have him?" kid? I smell conspiracy :) Anyways. I like the fact that there's tons of manipulatives and dry-erase boards, paper, pencils, crayons, etc. At least I don't have to spend my own money on that. Plus all the kids brought their materials. Of course I had to clean up the mess to find it all, but it's not so bad.

Something cute that happened: I had my TAG kids on the carpet b/c they had missed something while they were gone, and suddenly one of them starts fanning his butt and slowly scooted away from the others. Then I caught the "scent." I didn't say anything, but I just wanted to laugh b/c HE moved away from the smell and left us there :) He's going to be a handful, but he's very bright.

Something scary that happened: My kindergarten cousin (diff. school district) left his school and walked home on the first day. He's 5 and walked down a major street to get to his huge apartment complex. He left when they were on the playground at 10 am and showed up at his doorstep at noon. He didn't go to pre-k so this is his first time in a school and his parents told him that they would pick him up. He told him he left b/c they hadn't shown up yet. His teacher had already called to police to find him. His mom went to raise hell at the school. I feel bad for both sides. I can't imagine as a parent thinking of what could've happened. And I feel for the teacher b/c I know how easy it is to NOT miss a kid when you have 20+ and they wear uniforms. They all blend in.

Anyways...gotta go.

I hope I don't get a "teacher voice"

We had staff development today.....boring, boring, boring!!! We just spent two weeks in new teacher academy going over the same stuff :( It's OK...just one more day and I can hit my room full-speed.

¡Qué desconsuelo! :( My room is sooooo dirty. There is tons of crap in there that the previous teacher didn't clean out. Bulletin boards were still up and things just stacked on top of other things all summer long so it's super dusty. So the only thing I did today was pull things down and move furniture around and check to see that the computers worked. Mi amiga, la maestra, ya me inspiró! Tomorrow will be cleaning day so that I can get started :)

Does anyone else have crushes on their coworkers?

No? Just me, the weird girl? Ok, then :)

It's not really I-want-to-hook-up-type crushes. It's admiration more than anything. I guess it's natural to feel drawn to ppl who share the same interests. I've been working with the same group of ppl all week long during the new teacher academy and I got to see the enthusiasm and experience they bring. I guess it's because I haven't really worked with young, male teachers who come from the same philosophy of teaching I do. It sucks that they'll be at different schools. I hope there are young teachers at my school, so that I don't feel so much like the new kid.

The best advice I got all week long: DON'T give your profession 100%. Do the best you can, but remember to take care of yourself.

It's so true b/c I gave 100% to my job last semester and it was taking a toll on me physically (headaches all the time) and was affecting my relationships b/c I was at school every NIGHT. It doesn't mean "don't be dedicated" but just remember to be a little bit selfish :)

I got my key! I got my key! I got my key, hey, hey, hey, hey!

I was thinking about the song the Little Rascals sing in the movie :)

I got my key to my room! I saw it, BUT there is some crap in there. There's stuff still up on the walls. I had to leave my room totally clear at my last district. I hope some of that stuff gets cleared out before I get there next Monday. Many teachers are already working on their rooms this week, BUT b/c I'm new to this district, I have to go through the new teacher academy. Today was a good day at training b/c the presenters actually had us practicing strategies and stuff, rather than just sitting there freezing our asses off.

I'll finally get to put my room together next week.

I feel better now :)

I know I was pretty negative in my last posts...I'm feeling better now :) I've met many people the last couple of days who are very enthusiastic about being in the classroom. It's awesome to hear people talk about how they want to expose the kids to new experiences inside and outside the classroom. I think it's so important to let our kids know that there is a huge, exciting world outside of their neighborhoods and ANY of them have the chance to explore it. It's easy to be bogged down after meeting a couple of people with some questionable motives, BUT I need to open up my eyes to all the awesome teachers who are doing and are going to do a kick ass job :) Hats off to you!