been in a 1st grade classroom lately?

if not . . . here is what one awesomely, spectacular one "might' look like . . .

I always read The Rainbow Fish on the first day . . . we talk about friendship and sharing and make our own rainbow fish to add to the bulletin board.

Welcome to Mrs. DeHoog's 1st grade class . . .
My desk . . . what can I say? I am extremely anal about everything in my classroom, except my desk. It looks like this just about every day of the school year . . . there are so many PAPERS to handle and sort and put away . . . and there is never any time to actually sit at my desk and sort it all out . . . it makes me crazy, so it usually ends up just being one giant mess. I'm hoping to go in early tomorrow morning and get it cleaned off so I can start the day (and year) with a clean desk. We'll see . . . Oh yes . . . there's more . . . this is behind my desk. It's quite shocking to look at . . . I think I hear gasps coming from the audience . . . I definitely need to get AT LEAST this part cleaned up tomorrow.

Need a Kleenex? Or 50?

WE ARE READY TO LEARN!

I've been into quotes lately . . .

“I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.”

Haim Ginott

We always go out for Mexican on the first day of school . . . mostly Tom just sits there nodding as I have diarrhea of the mouth about every little detail about the "first day."

That's all . . . I'm POOPED. Good night.