Saturday, July 12, 2008

End of the Summer

I have only nine days of summer left. NINE DAYS, people! In nine days I will have to be back in my classroom (like I haven't spent any time in there already...I'm cool like that) and getting ready to teach a new group of kinders. Scary, isn't it? I mean, this is no ordinary task.

First, we start with a little parent training, especially the first timers. It really is okay to drop your five-year-old off at the playground and drive/walk away. Nothing terrible will happen I promise. I also promise that mom/dad sticking around guarantees a longer cry time (for both children and adults) than if they would send their little one on his/her way.

Next, there is the training of the kinders. It's the little things that no other grade has to deal with, such as: how to sit in a desk, how to hold a pencil, how to walk in a line, how it is not okay to say whatever you want whenever you want, where to put their finished work, when to go to the bathroom, how to NOT pick their nose, how to use sneeze/cough and cover it, how to use sanitizer when they don't, how to use a glue stick, etc. THEN, we can do the fun stuff: how to write neatly, read, spell, count by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's, and 100's, add, recognize coins, count money, be a good student, etc.

So now I'm starting to hyperventilate, the panic attacks are coming, not to mention the nightmares I've begun to have nightly about that first day/week... To try to avoid the overwhelming start of school I've given my self a goal of reading 13 books by then... Now that I've actually counted them it sounds a little impossible. Wish me luck.

3 comments:

audrey said...

I can't read this post...gives me anxiety....

Paula said...

Katie,

I wish you could be Samantha's Kindergarten teacher this year. Just knowing your personality, any child would be lucky to have you

Kat said...

Yikes!
When you put it that way, there is soooo much to do! Lots to teach these kiddos. I laughed about the bit about parents leaving their kids. I've heard it can be prettty traumatic!