Little Moments and a Positive Attitude

     This week was LONG; there's just no two ways around that.  The beginning of the year always is, and no matter how many hours I work in a day, there is more to do, and the more to do is ALL imperative, necessary, need to do ASAP why is that not done already? kind of stuff.  Which, frankly, combined with the fact that I'm still putting classroom routines into place, can leave you a little tiny bit cranky, exhausted, and overwhelmed.  But my biggest, most important goal for this year is to have a positive attitude because last year I DID NOT.  And last year stunk.  And I truly believe that if I stay upbeat and focus on the positive, I can make this the best and most successful year of teaching I've ever had.  So here are my little moments of bliss in a very long week:

• "I don't want to go to P.E., Ms. Haines.  I have to finish writing."
• I used my Italian voice teaching math this week and the kids absolutely loved it.
• The principal came in and got down on the floor and chit-chatted with my kids about what they were doing, which they loved.  (We were working in partners on completing a graphic organizer.)
• One little boy took his writing notebook all around school and then wrote a "seed story stretched out" about everything he did.
• These kids LOVE to be read aloud to.  They are begging me to read Sideways Stories from Wayside School in the afternoon, and they are so into anything I'm reading. (Last year's kids so did not appreciate my read aloud skills.)
• We built up to 12 minutes of Read to Self time.