One down....

.... one hundred and seventy-nine to go!

Today was the first day of my second year of teaching. Last year on this day, my colleagues swarmed into my room and gave me congratulatory hugs and a gift signed by all of them to commemorate my first day of my career. Nothing like that happened when the last bell rang today, but I still felt a sense of triumph over a successful first day :).

It started way too early--my alarm rang at six, but I was so anxious about today that I tossed and turned from about 4:30 on. The kids came at around 8:30... so cute in their "first day" outfits and hair all neatly done. No one was really shy on account that they were all in the same class last year, but I do have a new student whose mom confided in me that he was very nervous. Fortunately, he fit right in with the rest of the class. All the activities that I had planned went quite well. My favorite part of the day was during calendar time when I taught them a short song about the days of the week. They were all so adorable as they sang out unabashedly (with no regard as to whether they sounded "cool" or not--something last year's class would have been self-conscious about!). I've got to find a way to sing more songs in my curriculum :).

By the end of the day, I was quite exhausted from all the excitement--I'm sure I'll sleep much better tonight! I also forgot how hard it is to get motivated to go on a walk after a full day of work... Back to the routine!