Is it Bedtime Yet? Reflections from the First Week

It's Friday night of the first week of school.  I've had a diet coke and iced tea this afternoon to try and stay awake until my real bedtime.  But I'm dragging big time.  I've been sitting and reflecting on this last week.  Here are the highlights: 

1.  I LOVE my class.  I have 31 kids in the room, very respectful, yet I'm already seeing their personalities.  It's going to be a good year. 

2. So far most of the kids are able to track with me through the different activities.

3.  Fun Friday still works like a charm. Better get that work done to do those awesome STEM activities.  

4.  The kids aren't being bugged with wearing masks or my reminders to sanitize indoors.  

5.  I've been wearing my voice amplifier in the afternoons because my voice hurts by that time of day. I keep forgetting to drink enough water.... 

6.  We have 4 vacancies at school, but other teachers are also currently out.  We do not have enough subs, so I have been able to teach middle school during my prep as class coverage.... Turns out that it's my pandemic group from 2 years ago when the world shut down, so a lot of catching up with the kids.  :)  

7.  I sent out messages to all my parents over on Class Dojo this week, just little things to show them that I've noticed their child. :)  As a parent I like those type of messages, so it's one of my goals for the first week of school to get to everyone.  

8. We had Back to School night last night - virtual sessions again.  I had almost forgotten how to share my screen for my powerpoint... totally had a mental block.

9. Teaching 31 kids again in person for the first time in 17 months is exhausting, but very rewarding.  I hope we stay healthy.

10.  We had a lot of fun this week between Growth Mindset STEM challenges, Book Tasting, I Like My Neighbor Who, and This or That.

Now onto the beautiful weekend and then to hopefully have a calmer week next week.  :)  

Hope you had a good one too!