Whew!

Well...I did it.  I survived my first week in the first grade.  And besides a few little glitches, it was wonderful!  I absolutely love my little firsties.  They are UH-DORABLE!  Seriously.  I can't stay mad at them for too long because they are so stinking cute.  And boy do I have a smart group!  A little too smart, maybe. :o)  Of course, everything is review for the first couple of weeks, but it's definitely encouraging that they have retained so much of the information they learned from kindergarten!  Several of them even remembered how to use tally marks!  That made me smile!  During calendar time one day, I told them that  I had a secret for them...I told them that I thought I liked first grade *WAY* more than third grade, but not to tell anyone.  Well, those of you who know first graders know to never say "don't tell anyone".  Right after calendar time, they had music class...and Mrs. Locke (the music teacher) was the first person they told.  And I'm sure she's not the last!  Too cute!  Now, I have no delusions that first grade will always be a barrel of laughs and fun; but I really do think I'm going to enjoy it!  First week--success!

Now, Hallie has been having a little trouble adjusting to Mommy being back in school.  She so desperately wants to be at school with me.  But I'm not going to pay *more* money for her to be in a room full of 4 year olds (by room full, I mean 22) for 1/2 a day with a teacher and then 1/2 a day with an aid than I pay for her to be in a room of 16 with a full day teacher.  No thanks.  Next year we're seriously thinking about her coming to my school.  I think she'd love it...and I know the teachers are fabulous!  For now, she's very sad for much of the day...and that breaks my heart.  I'm sure she'll adjust...and she does love school.  It's just hard for her right now.  But I know that her second year of Pre-K and my first year in first will be over before we know it!  Goodness...let me savor every single day of her being little...even if it makes my hairs gray!  LOL!

Hallie got a "Nonna-Pop Treat" for completing her first week of Pre-K!  Don't you love her get-up?!  HA!  Too bad she's not standing so you could get the full effect. :o)  She's such a mess!

Hallie's first homework project--create a paper Hallie!  We had so much fun doing this!  Her teacher traced all the students' bodies and then they took them home to decorate them.  I wish I'd have taken a picture of all the little paper littles hanging outside their classroom door!

Hard at work.  Mommy and Daddy helped very little creatively--we did the hot-gluing and some of the cutting.  The rest of it was Hallie's idea.  I suggested the fabric shirt.  But she said she needed yarn for her hair. :o)

Ack!  I can't tell which one is the real Hallie!

Can you see the face she drew?  The brown eyes with eyelashes?  And a tiny smile with rosy cheeks.  lol.

And every afternoon Hallie gets to come to Mommy's school.  She always finds something to get into.  And I'm going to be honest.  I spend probably an hour (out of the 2 or so I stay after school) chasing her down.  Thankfully our school is fenced in, so I know she can't go too far...but goodness...she's not old enough to want to roam around all by her lonesome!

And a goody basket for Mommy! (Picture taken by Hallie with my iPhone!)  Oh, I have *the* sweetest momma in the whole-wide-world!  Seriously.  She did the curtains in my classroom, she helped stock up my first grade room, and she has given me countless pieces of first grade wisdom.  And now a basket filled with goodies.  And I mean goodies--Kit Kats, Butterfingers, chips, Fiji water (since J does PR for the city water department, I never get bottled water anymore--lol), gum, fruit!  Delish!  My sweet momma has sent me a goody basket the first day of school since I started teaching. :o)

This weekend has been wonderfully relaxing!  But momentarily I'm going to have to shift gears and get ready for Week 2 with my firsties! :o)