Ta-Daa!

We're ready for Bunnies! This has been a very busy and exciting week. I've met each new little Bunny and I love them already! It's going to be a great year!

One Week To Go!

I can't believe school starts in one week. How can that be - there's still so much to do! Tuesday, September 2 is our "launch date" for the 2008-2009 year. The children will come for an abbreviated school day. The early shift is 9:00 to 10:15 and the later shift is 10:45 to 12:00. During this one hour and 15 minutes, we will give the children the opportunity to test and try our toys, get a feel for our routine, and begin to get to know each other. It's great for the kids to get used to their new surroundings with only half of the class present at a time. When we return the following week, on September 8, we'll hit the ground running with our regular schedule.

Home Visits

Oh, boy, am I in for an adventure! It's time for Home Visits!! At our school we place great emphasis on building relationships with each family before school ever starts. Teachers learn so much by visiting the homes of students and kiddos seem to like having their teachers come over - even if they don't utter a word. At the home visit we share our parent handbook/calendar, details about Parent Orientation and other information to make the first few days of school run as smoothly as possible. We also photograph each child, create a photo roster for the class and incorporate those pictures in activities throughout the year. Big fun!!

Class Lists

Today is a big day for parents and teachers. Class lists will be posted at school. As a parent I remember this as such a fun event. I would go to the doors of the school and pour over each list looking for my daughter's name and her friends' names. It was so fun to see where the kiddos would be! I always felt it was a turning point - a true signal that summer was coming to a close.

Now as a teacher, I find it just as exciting! I love finding out where my former students landed, and I love learning the names of my new Bunnies. It always seems that from now on we'll be moving at warp speed toward the first day of school - only 18 days away.

Funny Book

Earlier this week I came across this completely hilarious book. It's about a rabbit who finds fancy red underwear and decides it would be a delightful hat! I found it at the library and giggled so much as I read it that other library patrons were giving me the raised eyebrows. My new preschoolers will adore this book. After all, what 3 year old doesn't think underwear is funny?! The next time I'm at the bookstore, this book is coming home with me!

Love

"God doesn't look at how much we do, but with how much love we do it." -Mother Teresa

I came across these great words just recently and I knew it perfectly addressed my thoughts about starting school. There is always so much to do to prepare for a new class, but it is an absolute pleasure to do it!

The Countdown is On

It's hard to believe, but school will start in one month - Sept 2 to be exact. The teachers will report back to school on August 26 to start preparing for our classes, but truthfully, we will be working even before that! We always seem to find reasons to get in our rooms early and start getting things ready. I will have a new teaching partner this year, and I'm looking forward to meeting her. This past week I got a sneak peek at my class roster. This is the first year I will have a sibling of a former student - how fun is that!