And so it Begins!

I know, I totally fail. School has started, and I even had a back-to-school post. I just didn't post it. I will try to do better ;) Without further ado, here is the aforementioned post:

Our First Day of School was this past Thursday (the 12th). Every year, I am amazed at how little my new students are, and how dependent they are for everything! But I know that in just a few weeks time, they will have our procedures and policies down, and will be growing by leaps and bounds.

The first day back also made me realize how much I took for granted last year. I started in October, so someone else had done the hard work of laying the foundation of procedures, I only had to tweak them a tad when I started. This year, I am starting from scratch. It's hard. But I love it!

I have 20 kids this year, an almost even split between boys and girls. And as is my m.o., nicknames have already been assigned to a few. Meet a couple of my kids:

The Whiner- This little boy was my only crier the first day, and was down right inconsolable. It took three teachers to get him to my classroom, and one to keep him from bolting out the door. My principal removed him for a while, and then brought him back to join us; sitting with him during morning work. While he did not cry the rest of the day, and only once the next day, he has a maddening habit of whining when he doesn't get his way. Which is pretty often because I am the teacher and he's not in charge. But on Friday, I did catch a glimpse of the sweet nature I knew was somewhere behind the fear and whining. I don't think this nickname will stick for long.

Dennis- This kid is Dennis the Menace without the charming little overalls and cowlick. He seems to get himself in trouble without the slightest idea of how. He does, however, have this amazing smile that seems to charm the socks right off of most people. It's gonna be a fun year with this one!

As of now, those are the only nicknames. I'm sure as I get to know their personalities, I'll have more. For now, Happy Back-to-School!!