Back to School, Back to School

So today didn't go quite as I expected it to...

When I woke up this morning I was very tired but really excited to get to school and see all of my little guys. We had been told that the kids would be so excited to see us -- so I was expecting all of my kids to come running to me screaming "Miss King" and just give me huge hugs. HA! That wasn't even close to how the morning went.

Once all of the volunteers got off the bus we realized very quickly that most of the kids seemed less than thrilled to be back at school.

I think this picture of Heidi in second grade pretty much sums it up...

My kids weren't very excited either...

These prepa students were pumped though! Maybe it was because they still had an hour before their day started?

They are SO cute!!

Even though the students weren't super enthralled, I was stocked to be back at school and see all of their cute little faces. I'm sure they thought I was absolutely nuts as I just smiled and laughed at them, but I missed them all so much!!

I wasn't sure whether to plan for a regular day or do some fun activities to get them settled back into school. I ended up going with a regular day and I'm glad I did. I think any less structure and they would have been climbing the walls or running through the hallways with their arms flailing, screaming at the top of their lungs. They had WAY more energy than I was expecting. Sure they looked tired and quiet out in the campo (field), but once they got into my classroom it was a different story.

While I was home my friend Amanda's mom Theresa and her husband Russ donated some money for my classroom, as well as my sister Theresa and my Aunt Sis. Because they were so generous I was able to purchase some unifix cubes for my students. For those of you who don't know what unifix cubes are...

They are one of my absolute favorite manipulatives to use for teaching adding and subtracting in Math. It worked out perfectly that we started our adding unit today. Each of my students received two sticks (with 10 cubes) and then I orally told them an addition sentence and they had to show me with their cubes.

First of all I wish I could have captured on video how excited my students were to see the unifix cubes. I asked if any of them had ever seen/used them before and almost all of them said no. They were just gasping and beaming when I pulled that first stick out of the box. As I passed them out each one of my kids said the most sincere "Thank you Miss King!" I've heard all year. They were SO pumped to learn how to add and that just made my day!

Here are a few videos I took of some of my students at work:

This first video is of Melanie...

This second video is of Kimberly in my class who struggles a lot, but I was so proud of her today!



A HUGE thank you to Theresa and Russ, my Aunt Sis, and my little sister! The unifix cubes are a wonderful addition to my classroom and something that we'll use for the rest of the school year.

I also want to give a big thanks to:

- Barb - who donated some awesome speakers to my classroom. My students are crazy about music and it's a great way for me to make learning more fun. You are so appreciated :)!

- Little Deb - who donated a Target gift card. I got some awesome puzzles for my kids and they were flipping out when they saw them. I think I had someone ask me every hour if they could work on puzzles today. I'll be sure to take some pictures of the kids enjoying them!

-LouAnn - who gave me some peanut butter and M&M's. Every time I open up my freezer and see those M&M's I smile! Thank you!

- My Aunt Karen - who has donated a TON already, but when I was home for Christmas gave me some more stickers, pencils, construction paper, loose leaf paper, etc. You are absolutely amazing!

- My friend RaeAnn - who passed my wish list on the teachers at her school. They donated all kinds of wonderful things and I am VERY grateful!

Lastly my Mom and Robbie who have just given me so much. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Ready for day two!

"This morning I searched my wallet.
It was empty.
Then, I checked my pockets
I found a few coins
Next I searched my heart and found you.
Then, I realized how rich I really am..."