Almost ready!

This is one thing I ended up dealing with today:

The youngest fell down the concrete steps this afternoon and this was the result. Lots of crying, some antiseptic and a big bandage later and everything is okay.

I also was able to get a lot of work done for my classroom from home, not just today but also yesterday. I bought some Avery self-laminating sheets (which are my new favorite thing -- SO easy to use, much cheaper and doesn't generate as much waste) and spent some time today finishing up my book basket labels and some other signage for my classroom. The Oldest and the Youngest both helped me to tear out bulletin board letters for some classroom displays and The Oldest tolerated sharpening 6 boxes of pencils (144 total) for me today. I'm amazed she lasted that long before she started to complain how boring it was!

Probably the most exciting thing is that I have sketched out some tentative plans for my first week of school. I'm sure they'll change multiple times between now and the first day but I have them written down, I have a plan and I feel good. Mrs. Cooperating Teacher and I agreed on Monday to wait until the 13th to start our Houghton Mifflin reading series because of the MAP testing we're doing that first week. By the 13th, most of our initial assessing should be done with the exception of a district baseline writing test. This means we should have a relatively normal schedule in place that second week so it'll be much easier to get going on that curriculum and work on our test prep too.

I've interspersed some community building activities (including read alouds and discussions of some of my favorite books that are also great for lessons and the children love them) in with starting our math program right away and some reading test prep plus getting our writing workshop off to a good start. I have not placed any time in there for my specials so I KNOW things are going to get moved/shifted around but I am very happy and pleased with the time I've been able to allot at this point to procedures/routines/expectations and community building while also getting them right back into the saddle with learning.

After my quick trip to New School on Tuesday to show the kiddos around, I was sure I wouldn't go back before Monday. But I am so inspired by everything I have been able to accomplish over the last two days from home that I think The Youngest and I are going to head in for a few hours tomorrow. I am only taking one with me because The Oldest and The Youngest tend to fight if I'm not around and The Middle Child will be a saint for her big sister while I am at work. That way I can work without paying anyone and know that the house will still be in tact when I get home!

I may take some updated pictures tomorrow in my classroom once I get some of my displays up. I can barely contain my excitement for this year!