"They Call Me Ms. Homer"

The real world has finally begun for me.
It was weird not registering for classes, trying to figure out my schedule, and forking out hundreds of dollars for those beloved text books amidst the thousands of other BYU students on campus this fall. This has been the typical pattern for the past several years.
I don't feel old enough to have a real-life career. Granted, I'm still a student (graduating in APRIL!!) but I have now entered a professional work field with benefits, a salary, a desk.....and 21 six-year-olds to teach and look after everyday.
I spent hours and hours setting up my classroom this summer. My theme is sailboats/ocean/beach because it reminds me of NZ (always a happy thought!)
These pics don't do it justice, but you can get a glimpse:













Back to School Night: Tuesday, August 24th. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be. I prepared a little scavenger hunt for the kids to do, just finding things around the classroom to help them become more familiar with it. Big success!
The parents were all so supportive and receptive to what I was telling them. I was nervous they would confront me about being a student still, but they thought it was cool it was my first year.
The kids were adorable, of course, and were so excited to meet me. Some of the parents told me their kids had been waiting for this night all week, wondered what I looked like, were excited to get my letter in the mail the previous week, etc. It went so smoothly, I was so relieved. I was even more excited for the 1st day of school.


First Day of School: Thursday, August 26th. I just remember sitting in my desk early that morning, looking at my classroom, then at the clock with only minutes until the bell rang. The only thing going through my mind was "Well, ready or not - here they come...."
The first day of school was great. Not a whole lot of fun for the kids, but we survived. It was a rules and procedures-filled day. We played a few games, had some free-time, and read a book in-between. I had the whole day planned by the minute. Of course, nothing went according to schedule so I ended up pretty much winging it. I also had a boy with a bloody nose, a kid who wasn't feeling good so we had to call his mom to come and get him, a boy who didn't happen to eat his lunch, and another boy who got lost at recess and was bawling. Some teacher I am.....

I've decided that 6-year-olds are the biggest self-esteem boosters out there:
I did an "intro bag" to let the kids get to know me a little better by pulling things out of a bag that represented me. One of the items was my running shoe, and I explained how I liked to go running in the mornings. One little boy blurts out, "Is that why your so skinny?" I could have kissed him. During recess that afternoon, the girls wouldn't leave my side. One little girl just threw her arms around me exclaiming, "I love you Ms. Homer!" She told me I was the prettiest teacher she's ever had. (I had to chuckle at this one because I'm the 2nd teacher she's ever had - the 1st one just retired last year). These little rugrats just say the cutest things and already I could see their individual personalities coming out. A few of the kids brought me gifts for the first couple of days. This consisted of picked flowers, a paper barbie doll cut out, scraps of paper stapled together, a cut-out snowflake, and a colored picture of me that says "I love Ms. Homer." No worries, I hung them all up on the wall by my desk. :) I've never felt so loved.

I love that it's Heber City and also that it's Utah. I have a "spelling box" on the board, so the kids can ask me how to spell a word and I'll write it in the box. They were filling out an "All About Me" book I made and one of the questions was about their favorite book. A little boy comes up, taps me, and asks how to spell "Book of Mormon." haha. Only in Utah....
Another time, we were doing a writing lesson and I had the kids brainstorm responses to the sentence "I can go to ______." Amidst the answers of "the store," "school," "Lagoon," and "China," one boy raises his hand and answers, "the temple." So I wrote it up there. So adorable.... :) Their primary teachers would be so proud.

Also, reading to them is one of our favorite things. I've never been a good actress, but I can read a story with drama and expression, let me tell ya. The kids just eat it up. I was reading a book to them and I paused for a second to scan over all of them. The looks on their faces were priceless! You really just had to be there to see it for yourself. I couldn't help it - I just burst out laughing and couldn't stop. The tears even came. My poor kiddies had no idea what was wrong with me. They thought I was laughing because I mispronounced a word. A few of them started giggling too. And, of course I laughed even harder because now they had looks of pure confusion. I finally gained control and just told them all that they make me happy, and finished the book.

I've been working 15/16 hour day at times and have never been so exhausted in my whole life. I feel like I'm working two jobs - teaching all day, then coming home and planning things all night. It's crazy, but I'm LOVING it. These kids are so much fun. Things are started to click and I'm getting the hang of it all. Each day gets better and better. :)