6 Months???

Our LID ticker says that we have been LID for 5 months and 4 weeks today. Isn't that 6 months? I guess if you go month to month we still have 3 days... but hey! who's counting!! ME!! Even being 3 days closer is comforting!! And did anyone notice that our turtle has been decapitated??? First our ladybug disappears and now this!

Seriously, every now and then I stop and think. Really think. The days are going by and we ARE getting closer. The last 3 weeks since school began have totally flown by. Maybe that's why I felt so determined to take this job even though I honestly spent the first 9 days of teaching in the computer lab absolutely hating it. Last week I was so depressed that I couldn't even stand myself. Thank goodness Geoff always seems to "step up to the plate" when I get this way and thank goodness it doesn't happen often! The good news is that I can see that I DO love teaching in the computer lab and that I don't hate teaching Kindergarten and first grade afterall (last week was another story!). I've began to loosen up with them and have fun. Today I was telling a Kindergarten class about the parts of a computer. When we got to the CPU, I compared it to their brain. Then I asked them where their brain was and asked them to point to where the CPU would be if they were a computer. They of course pointed to their head. And then I told them that they would be a "block head" if they were a computer. It was all in fun of course, but they loved it and laughed like crazy.


And today at the beginning of my last class of the day, I was struck by the wonder of children when a first grader came in and as she walked up to get her name tag looked at me and said, "you're beautiful!". Ahhh... the sweet and innocence of children! I know my best beauty days are behind me but this was so sweet! I replied to her that she was beautiful too.

I've really enjoyed this entire week of teaching and am falling into my new position with a new attitude. I think next year when I greet my students for the first day, I'll be a lot more prepared and in the long run it WILL be easier than having a homeroom because at that point I won't be so "green" and will have alot of material ready on my school website. (take a look if you want at www.liberty.k12.ga.us/wsmith, I'm adding to it all the time) I can't wait to see what I can accomplish with these students this year. In my heart, I know that we will be at the end of the school year before we go get Lexi and as much as I hate it, it will be a good time. Over the past year, I've learned to be patient with the waiting. Now if only I could be patient with double clicking... like I've tried to teach my students. We've agreed to work on this "problem" together.