"In second grade i would like to learn....how to drive'

the aforementioned quote was definitely my "high" for the day. (The Casanova clan plays HI/LO at dinner where you mention the best and worst parts of your day.)

HILARIOUS quote from one of my "all about me" sheets from this afternoon. HA!
Has my class got personality? you BET!

So much to share! I SURVIVED! There were a few bumps and bruises (mostly me tripping on my way out my apartment this morning - grrrrreat) we didn't get to everything, but we did a great job! I was sprinting all week to get to this point and I'm still running. There's not a whole lot of time to stop and type up an entry so I'll try to hit the milestones!

The little ants are SO SWEET. I had a kindergarten teacher come in this morning and who told me I had a great group.

1- crazy science genius, already has the messiest desk and is VERY artistic, she is the tattle tale and call-out queen.

2 - miss priss, diabetic, and as tall as an 8th grader. She loves lipgloss (my lipgloss be poppin' - no joke) and all the boys chase her on the playground.

3 - very spirited, but really sweet. He got in trouble on the first day so the class lost their "marble" for the marble jar and he totally got serious at circle time and said "i'mreally sorry guys that i blew it". He is on medication and I can tell when he takes it and when his mom forgets.

4 - LOOKS LIKE THE LITTLE BOY IN STUART LITTLE FOR SERIOUS. Glasses, side part, and spike hair with his shorts and belt SO HIGH UP on his waist. went to another private school last year - and may never recover. doesn't want ot make new firends and is almost always sounding like he's on the verge of tears. He loves to call me out - loves to get out of his seat and roam the classroom and was caught trimming his arm hair when i gave out their new scissors. GAH!

5 - guatemalan adoptee - she's a tomboy extraordinaire! She blurts out the funniest things, and is such a chitchatter.

6 - so fussy. She loves to sigh and say things like "I don't like to have to write so much" when they copy from the board, gets upset when her paper is wrinkled or there's a stray pencil mark (YOU CAN ERASE IT) on anything. always compliments my outfits, loves to draw hearts, rainbows and flowers. she's crazy.

7 - super cool chick. she was absent last week - so still trying to figure her out. she packs crazy ethnic lunches (she's from syria and she's muslim) and talked about fasting in ramadan today at lunch (she's not fasting, thank god. i didn't think a seven year old could survive a school day without a lunch, and luckily she doesn't have to yet!) and she loves to talk about how she can read and write arabic.

8 - super shy and sweet. she gets really close to my face when she has a question and whe whispers everything. very smart. very well behaved. she had a sty the first day - i thought it was pink eye, freaked out, sent her to the office and then found out it wasn't contagious. great.

9 - gave me a gift the first day (DELICIOUS TRAIL MIX I'm EATING RIGHT NOW) and is total mini-mom to other students. pushes their chairs in, fixes their hair, helps them with homework, and when we played a math fact game today she whispered all the answers to kids who kept getting stuck. HA!

10 - one word- ALLERGIES. can't even eat the cupcakes his mom brought him to class - he can't eat peanuts, gluten, eggs, dairy, and he breaks out in HIVES after being outside religiously and has to wash his whole face and arms with special soap.

11 - sweeeet kid. He calls everyone his best friend. Has a THICK southern accent, and is new to the school. He is a really hard worker!

The other two second grade teachers are AWESOME. They are my mom's too and have saved my life several times. I'm the only new teacher in the school, and thee only one whose single and not engaged. These women are super cute, jcrew-tastic ladies. And my classroom is looking PRETTY PERFECT! I will post pictures soon. It's hard to stay up past 8:30 these days....

About the teaching part - it's hard to tell. I mean they say over and over that your first year is the hardest, and i definitely know that to be true only after like 5 days. It's hard not just because you don't know what to teach them sometimes, but because it's SO much to take on - staying organized, communicating, coming up with good ideas for the school day, and most importantly keeping your kids organized and well behaved. My school is lots of book work and i'm not used to so much of it - I find myself struggling to find where I put stuff and I know my students are overwhelmed by the number of books in their desks, and spiral notebooks to kepe their fingers on. But i'm trucking. As my mentor (she's next door - I want to write her a love letter daily) said - "I don't want to say it's all a crap shooot....but...." HAHA.

Other than that I"ve been....
really bad at keeping in touch with people!
really tired at 8:15 p.m.
and horrible about keeping my apartment clean and any other part of my life organized. like paying bills? Oh yeah, and my credit card is due? and how do people find time to work out or grocery shop? SICK.

But I love it.
And I love all of you.



QUOTES:
"Ms. Casanova, you said there would be an ant farm in here,but where is it?" - Y

"Hancock, noble Alarm Master" - N reading the words to the ALMA MATER

"In second grade, I would like to learn..." - worksheet
"....how to drive." - A