4 DAYS LEFT!!!!

Well, we've almost made it. The students and teachers at HMS have only 4 days left of school Dave and Hannah have only 4 days left until I'm off for the SUMMER! Only 4 days until my first year of teaching is behind me. It's been an amazing year. I've learned a lot and busted my booty to help my kids learn a lot, too. I'm expecting that next year, I'll be better at behavior management and at being the adult in my room. I also hope to improve on my time management so that Dave doesn't have to be a "teacher widow" again next year. At first, I was so caught up in my paranoia of upsetting a student that I let them get by with WAY too much! I don't know why I thought that way. Of course, I never want to disrespect students, but in the process, I let them disrespect me (and their classmates). I have students who back talk me SO much, and I didn't end it the first time, so it is a daily thing with certain kids. I think I tried to reason with them, and that was as silly as reasoning with Hannah! Actually, Hannah is a little easier to reason with than 13- and 14-year-olds!! For instance, if I ask her to hold my hand, and she lets go. I am able to say "Either hold my hand or momma's going to carry you." She is getting SO BIG!! She communicates so well with me. Tonight, we went to dinner and there was a huge shark hanging from the ceiling. I hadn't noticed, but she kept wiggling her hand in the air. I finally realized that she was signing "fish" to us. She also says animal sounds when we walk by various animals. She is so observant. I love watching her grow and learn!