First Week--I Survived!

I am officially a teacher! I've taught one week and one day of lessons, and I'm happy to say that it's exactly what I hoped it'd be like.
The kids are polite and--even though they're a handful--I've already started to adore them. I teach two regular English classes and three Pre-AP. The difference between the two classes is vast, but I think that's due to the high level of second language learners in my regular classes.
I've had some frustrating moments & some funny moments. Here are some things that have made me laugh:

Young male student, lounging casually on my desk after class- "Miss. . .I wanted to tell you. . .I broke up with my girlfriend yesterday."

***
Student-"Miss! You're actually not wearing heels today!"

***

"I'm Mrs. Minich."
"Mrs. what?"
"Mrs. Minich."
"......Can we just call you Mrs. M-fresh?"

***

"Tell me two true statements about yourself and one lie. We'll try to guess which one is the lie."
Student- "I have two brothers. I like to read. I have a hot girlfriend."
"Which one is the lie, class?"
Entire class- "He has a hot girlfriend!"
Student, in all seriousness-"Yeah. She's not really hot. She's kind of medium."

***

There have been even more moments that made me giggle, but I'm exhausted and probably won't remember them until later. All in all, I've really, really enjoyed myself. I'm completely and totally overwhelmed with the administrative side of teaching, but I've stopped treading water and am finally starting to swim. Before I felt like I was drowning.

Tomorrow we are going to the library to take our ID pictures. I took mine a week ago and it looks TERRIBLE. Maybe I can convince her to get me another? ;)

I'm off to finish the sweet and sour pork chops I'm baking for my hubby and his brother Tim! Bye!

Nikki = Hermit

That's about as good as my math gets.

I will be a teacher in one week and one day. I will have students. I will have a classroom. I will be responsible for an entire year of their learning, growth, and progress. I will be held accountable for their TAKS scores. Oh. my. gosh. I am 60% excited. . .40% terrified.

I have been working diligently to finish all of my certifications and tests before the school year begins. I finally finished everything about twenty minutes ago! I still have some preparations to complete for the school year, of course--planning lessons, collecting supplies, etc--but the (expensive!) tests are over. I am so relieved; I'll finally be able to leave my house! I've honestly felt like a hermit, cooped up here studying, quizzing, and testing. It's been incredibly stressful, but it's a labor of love. I am SO excited to begin my new career.
Next week is in-service week. I've become friends with my high school's tennis coach/business instructor, and it's so nice to have someone to go through the chaos with. We'll be experiencing the confusion and stress together. . .preferably over a pitcher of margaritas!

On another note, my mother spent ALL day last Saturday helping me clean, organize, and decorate my classroom. She is such a Godsend! We scrubbed, pinned, cut, glued, arranged, rearranged, posted, tacked, scrubbed, and sanitized all day long. Here are some pictures!


I've added pictures of my family to my desk & more books to the bookshelves since these pictures were taken. It's a great big room with a row of windows along the back. I put pretty butterfly decals all over the windows. :) I want my kids to feel comfortable when they walk in the room. I remember walking into rooms that resembled dungeons when I was in high school; I definitely don't want my room to feel that way.

I'll keep you updated. I'm only one week away from meeting my kids! I can't wait to tell you about them.

God Bless!