TGIS!

I missed out on my first "TGIF" opportunity last night. (Why did I miss it? Oh, probably because I was asleep by 8:26 last night... a late night for me as I've been out by 8 every other night this week!) The first week of school is over! I can barely believe I made it.
It's funny how I forget each year what exactly the students will be like in August. When I sent away my 1st graders at the end of last year, they were "all grown up"... they could all tie their shoes, they could all sit for long periods of time, they could all READ, they all knew how to raise their hands and wait to be called on, how to put a paper into a folder, how to choose a new pencil if theirs was broken, how to tell time instead of asking me "what time is lunch? what time is it now?"... those were not the same students who had shown up last August, and the students who showed up on Monday can't do any of the above either. They are kindergarten babies! One girl even sucks her thumb!!
I asked a colleague of mine--she taught multi-age with me at the end of last year and took the second grade spot after I decided to go with first grade--how hard she thought our principal would laugh if I went in his office and told him I changed my mind... I want 2nd grade after all!
Oh well... it's just 'til January. By January, the students will finally be first graders instead of kindergarteners. They'll know that they need a spoon to eat applesauce at lunch time and how to turn on the bathroom light. And after that... it's just 'til June!