Happy First Day of School!

Well I survived the first day! There were a couple times when I thought it was going to be close but everything worked out in the end. Our morning routine is definitely going to have to be tweaked a bit and my Littles are going to have to learn to speed up their breakfast eating; but we got out the door within 5 minutes of my desired departure time.
When we got to the school at 7:30 there were already about 40 parents in the parking lot waiting to drop their children off. I don't think in all my 17 years of "first day's of school" have I been a half hour early to drop off, but hey- I could have been missing something! Ouch- doing the math there- this was literally my 17th year of having a child to take to their first day of school. 
The day seemed to go very slowly, but establishing routines and good habits is important so we have to go over everything very slowly. RM (my coordinating teacher) is very patient with the kids and was a pro at making sure everyone understood everything. She included me in as many things as possible, which was nice. Mostly though, for today: I observed, put stickers on folders, walked around checking to make sure that students were putting the correct things on the papers as they were asked, and put an insane amount of Clorox wipes away to be used during the school year. I left the school totally exhausted but happy. My first day went well and I didn't fall or make any major mistakes; I am going to consider this one a success!
On a side note- I took the kids to the Bake Shoppe after school for our annual "first day of school" treat. I have known the gal at the bakery for several years as we used to store our camper there before we became seasonals at TBC. She was asking the kids about their first day of school and how it went. It seems her daughter goes to the public school elementary located right by our house. She told me that she is really upset because her daughter is in a class of 39 students- and NO Parapro to help the teacher!! I can't imagine. Those students can't possibly get the education that they should because those teachers will not be able to do their jobs with so many students! Hearing this made me grateful to be blessed with having my own children at a school that doesn't have such high numbers- and grateful to be student teaching in an environment where this isn't an issue as well. I will be praying for those teachers- I can't imagine the stress their job will bring with such a work load!

KL