First Day of First Grade

So Friday was my very first day teaching first grade. At first, I bemoaned the fact about starting on a Friday, but after coming home exhausted and barely able to keep my eyes open, I'm very thankful that I have a weekend to gain some of the energy back from the day.


I will have 14 little ones this year, 7 girls and 7 boys, but only 10 came on Friday. I guess some parents wanted to extend the summer a couple more days.  The students arrived, a little shy, but eager to see their classmates forgotten over the summer. I was very surprised how many of the students and parents spoke English flawlessly.  I hope my students will learn from me this year, but I believe that I will learn more from them this year. I will share a couple of things that I learned my first day of school.

1. 6-year-olds have a very short attention span-  I mean I guess I already knew this, but calling on a student as I'm in the middle of explaining directions and having them say "I'm hungry, or I'm thirsty." is not always the response you expect.

2. Directions aren't always as clear as you think- I was trying to explain to a little boy how to sit properly and I patted my legs and I said sit like this. He got up and sat on my lap...well that wasn't exactly what I was going for.

3. Unprepared for moments are much more common- The scariest moment of the first day was when a girl who was eating chips suddenly stood up w and started to hold her hands in the choking position and her face was getting redder and redder. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I was actually behind her, getting ready to attempt the Heimlich when she started speaking and crying. Hearing her speak was a relief since I knew she was getting air, so I let her know she wasn't choking and got her water, but still a scary moment.

4. Eating a super early lunch makes the day seem longer- our lunch is at 9:40! Can I repeat that again 9:40! So by the time 12 rolls around, it feels like the middle of the afternoon. I ended up buying snacks for my students the last period. You may think it's because I'm nice, but honestly it was just for self-protection against 14 little hangry 6 year olds.

5.  My assistant is amazing- I honestly don't know what I would do without her and it is only the first couple of days. She came up with many of the ideas for the classroom and did all of the artistic displays and stepped in many times to help out when I was feeling a little overwhelmed. She officially gets her teaching certificate in the spring and I know she will make one fantastic teacher!