Megan's Alaskan Adventure: First Week of School

I have officially survived the first week of school! I spend all day and all evening Thursday-Sunday getting my room ready and planning for the first week. All the preparation in the world can't prepare you for the first day of school though. High tide was at midnight Monday so ATVs were flying past my window from 1:45-3:00 in the morning. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep and my kids who were up river didn't get much sleep either. The first day of school was...rough. I teach kindergarten through third grade but I'm mostly with the first graders. Because we use scripted reading and math programs (Reading Mastery and Saxon Math) the kids are split into groups by their level and the paraprofessionals do the scripted programs. You would think only have a maximum of five kids at a time would be a breeze...until you do it. Don't get me wrong, they are great kids! There are just some behaviors that make things tough and it was the first day! On the second day of school two kids tried to go to school at 4am. This made Maggie bark which lead to Meghan's dogs barking and Piper barking so we were all up at 4am. They then tried to come back at 7:30 and finally came back at the right time, 8:45. The second day of school was better and the third even better. I was exhausted by the end of the week but as they got more into the routine and I got to know the kids better things went more smoothly.

Here's how my day goes:
8:00-9:00 prep
9:00-9:15 pledge and DOL
9:15-10:45 reading
10:45-11:00 recess
11:00-11:15 spelling
11:15-12:00 language
12:00-12:35 lunch
12:35-1:45 math
1:45-2:15 calendar/read aloud
2:15-2:45 science/social studies
2:45-3:15 my kids go to Yup'ik and then are dismissed but I have preschool 2:45-3:45

My church sent me an AMAZING package of school supplies (posters, Tootsie Rolls, calendar items, etc). I just got them this week so I didn't get to hang them up yet but I can't wait to! Everything they sent is just perfect and exactly what I would have picked out! I can't thank them enough for that! The kids love the Tootsie Rolls. A lot of kids don't have the support or supplies at home to do homework so it doesn't get done. I've been giving them a Tootsie Rolls for doing there homework and so far I've gotten most of it back!

My biggest stressor right now is my special education duties. I have four IEPs due in October and I need to hold two meetings within the next couple of weeks. It's a lot but I know I can do it.

Piper and I have been going for walks every night around the village. We usually have an entourage of kids with us but we walked late last night and were alone so I was able to take some pictures on our walk.

Here are some pictures of my room so far and on our walk! (they get bigger when you click on them)