Reyes Family Time: My first 3 days of school

My 7th year of teaching started this past week. School started on Wednesday (although we had Back to School night on Tuesday) and I had my first 3 days of school. I have the same experience every year....I feel like I talk too much, plan too much, and generally don't get as much as I want done. However, I know my kids haven't been in school all summer and they haven't built up their endurance for whole days of learning yet, so we try to squish a lot in short amounts of time, with breaks and transitions to break up the monotony. I always feel bad about the beginning of the year, because I feel like there is a LOT of talking...discussing the rules, discussing the expectations, explaining new subjects/schedules, etc. It is important to me to set up clear expectations and rules at the beginning of the year though, so that the rest of the year can be dedicated to learning fun! (We did have some fun the first couple days, including a "get to know you" activity where they answered "super silly" questions, which they loved, and got them giggling and talking a lot.)

I'm teaching 2nd grade again this year (my 4th year in 2nd grade) and I'm thankful for my grade level team. I can always depend on them to make me laugh or make me feel better or even sympathize if I'm having a rough day.

Miriam, Mario and I are all getting back into the swing of our school year schedule. We are all getting used to getting up earlier than normal, going to bed early and enjoying our family time in the evenings and on the weekends. Miriam has been loving being a "helper" around the house and insists on taking little crumbs that she finds on the floor and throwing them in the garbage. She also has been helping us "water" the grass outside and she loves to find our shoes and bring them to us, to let us know it is time for us to take her outside. This past week, Mario showed her how to "drink" water from the hose, and she loved it! She got soaking wet in the process, but spent 20 minutes running around the yard, then going and drinking more water, and then around the yard again. We also played hide and seek this year, where we "hid" and Miriam came to find us. After she found us, we'd chase her back into the living room, and usually she'd be giggling hysterically. Then she'd sign "peek-a-boo, more!" to us. For some strange reason, she definitely loves hiding/chasing games, especially when she's in her silly mood, right before bed.

This afternoon, we went to the zoo and she repeatedly asked to go into the animal cages so she could pet the animals. (She is always asking at home to pet our cat and the neighbor's cat, and she was doing the same thing at the zoo today.) Obviously, we didn't let her, but it was pretty cute that she was asking. ;)

Her 18 month stats will come later this week, but in the meantime, here are some new pictures from the past week: