Annnnnd We're back!

We had our back-to-school night Thursday and our first half-day of school yesterday. I don't feel ready to be back at work, but here I am, making desk assignments and trying to figure out what happened to summer.

I've noticed I have a surfeit of blond boys and small, dark-haired girls. They all look alike so far. Also, even with some low-ability special ed students, this looks like it will be a higher-ability class than I've had the past few years. They actually looked longingly at my bookshelves. I do have four exceptionally zippy boys, but that's nothing compared to the nine I had 2 years ago. That school year proved that I can live through anything.

My schedule is not for the faint-of-heart. I teach nonstop from 8:45 until 12:10. During this time I'll teach reading, writing, math, and language. Students will complete spelling assignments as morning work, leaving only science or social studies to be taught in the afternoon. I'll have to teach them during the last half-hour of the day. Lunch, recess, learning lab/Title 1/math centers, specials, and PE all come before I'll have instructional time again.

So, here's to a year good teaching, good students, and parents who won't go so far as to purchase/purloin tests for their students. I'm excited about the possibilities.