why are there first days?
First days of school ought to run like opening night. Yet they never do. They are always far more like dress rehearsals--same slightly insane chaos, same feeling at loose ends, same wondering why everything seems just a little off-kilter. Oh well. I suppose that's what it's always like. I just always get home and wonder if I managed to grab the kids from the start, or if they'll holding out to see what I'm like tomorrow. This time felt more at loose ends than in previous years, less prepared. I hope I don't end up paying for it later with management problems. Oi.
At any rate, we all survived. Math was awkward. Tomorrow it should go better, though, because they will have literature assignments (I hope) to read while I cover the Math lesson for the other half of the class. Yes, that's right: I'm teaching 5th grade Math and 6th grad Math in the same class at the same time. It's not the first combined class I've taught, but it is the first combined Math class--and combined Math is a different animal. So I guess I just have to show it who's the the Alpha around here. :) I think it will be a good year. I certainly hope so. The kids are great. (Though I do have a rowdy couple of boys--you know, the class clown type.) With grace, we'll all be better people at the end of the year than we are now. And that we will all learn together to glorify and enjoy God through our classroom activities.