Finally Back!

Well Friday's weather finally let us get back to school... though it was a two hour late start. Regardless, it was fun to get back to see my students since I hadn't seen them since December 11th on craft day!

It was really nice to ease back into the school schedule with the two hour late start. I didn't realize how fast my mornings generally go because I am usually rushing around tying up loose ends before the students get to school. With the two hour late I had plenty of time to figure out my assignments for my university classes, as well as catch up and get the classroom back into working order for the day.

That day what somewhat of a whirlwind though. The two hour late start, for starters, makes the day completely fly by. On top of that, I had 4 students absent and one student leave at lunch time because she vomited just before I went outside to gather the students in from lunch. After that point in the day I was so aware of the germs in the room, every sneeze and every cough, that I washed my hands almost to a compulsive degree, whenever I had a spare moment. The stomach flu is definitely something I do not want!

I also realize how much of a difference one day really matters in our planning. Before going back I kept thinking, "Yeah, we missed a day. But it's only one day... that won't really matter!" Boy was I wrong! Missing one day makes a huge difference in our schedule. All of the math lessons got pushed back, assemblies had to be rescheduled, reading testing schedules had to be moved, and many more little things that one doesn't really think about until they have to be rearranged.

So now we are back on our standard schedule (fingers crossed!) and getting started in the new year with new classroom activities (I developed some literacy centers for the students to engage with) and more time with me up in the front of the room since I will be teaching full days Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! Exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time! :)