Fifth Grade Adventures: Welcome to Fifth Grade!

I can not believe I have gotten through my first week as a teacher! This week was exciting, exhausting, and fun!

First, let me state that I think I have a great group so far! The school has a school wide behavior plan and at specials, lunch, and random times in the hallway a class can earn Spots for our class Salamander. (The school mascot is a Salamander, FYI.) In our first week my wonderful fifth graders earned 11 spots! I am pretty proud of them! I actually gave them 5 minutes extra recess for earning 4 spots on Friday and the 11 total that week. I think we have a shot of making it to the 400 (the highest you can earn as a class) by the end of the year!!!

Some surprises this week:
1. I didn't realize just how tiring it is for a teacher to set up the rules and procedures. I always knew it was boring as a student, but it was actually mentally draining that first day to set it all up. But after day 1, I was able to get most of my expectations set with a few minor tweaks here and there. By Friday, I felt like I had basically set up the routines and procedures needed to make my classroom work.

2. It's actually quite difficult to fit in all the pretests and beginning of the year testing. I want to jump right into to the actual teaching, but I'm being set back by all these tests. Bleh! : ] The only good news here is that by Wednesday this week, I should be done for a while!

3. I discovered that my students have no clue how old I am. I got anywhere between 21-26. I told them I going to keep them guessing! :D It's more fun for me!

4. These fifth graders are doing really well with my sarcasm. It makes teaching more fun for me, and hopefully it makes learning a little more fun for them.

And now, here are some pictures of my classroom until July 26th at least.