Ready for Monday

Kids start school on Monday! Today was the last day of nervous and excited preparation, you could really feel the energy building in the school. The day ended with an open house for students to visit their new classes and a barbeque (which sadly got rained out rather quickly, but that is LV). About half of my new second graders have now visited the class and I'm feeling quite good. They were also for the most part extremely smiley and excited. Several parents metioned that their children have said in the last week that they are really ready for vacation to end and school to begin. We are all pretty excited for a new beginning.

(Note: one of my favorite events each year in my childhood was shopping for new school supplies and getting the backpack ready for the first day. Seriously, right up there with Christmas. Maybe that's why I became a teacher, because I get that feeling times thirteen as I'm getting ready for thirteen kids!)

But hands down the best part of today was seeing a few of my kids from last year. The way they ran to me when they saw me and threw themselves on me and hugged so tight and just smiled and smiled while we talked.....it's still hard to let go of the last class. Every year. A few weeks will pass and I'll be in it deep with the new guys already, but these guys were my life last year and it was great to see them again. I'm already planning a visit to my old class as soon as my new class goes to specials on Monday. At least it's nice to finally be working in the same school instead of moving around each year as I have been, so I can still check in with them and follow up on them, even after they're not "mine" anymore. I still have moments when I sit back and think about all the kids I've taught, way back to the very first Head Start kids (who are now fifth graders!), and wonder how they are doing now.

So here's to starting a whole new year and getting to love a whole new group of kids...I think it's gonna be a good one!

Side story: The second graders LOVE Bubbles. I thought they might not care so much but they are really excited about him, and dragging parents and friends over to show him off. I did the sneak attack of bringing Bubbles in, just packaged him up and took him with. He was totally fine when I settled him in and while I was paying attention to him. But when I got with work he started belly-uping. A few colleages came in and said, "oh, he doesn't look so good" and I said no, he faking and you have to talk to him nice and he'll be fine. So everyone told him how beautiful he is and how great he'll be in grade two, etc. Then when Bubbles and I were alone, I went to the tank, he belly-up swam over to my finger and I gently tapped and told him to turn over, which he did. I told him that's enough faking, he'll be fine in grade two and he'll love it and the kids will love him just like they did in preschool. Then he we down to the bottom and slept for a while (not belly up, just normal as he does) and before I left the classroom that day, he woke up and screamed at me to feed him again. Today he was already screaming at me as I walked in the door of the classroom and he was totally fine all day long, loving the attention from the kids. You may think I'm full of it, but I tell you, he's a fish with personality.