Back to School
The kids have been back for two days and already summer feels like something that happened ages ago.
I can already tell that this year is going to be very different from last year. My kids are so much younger! Enrollment was low and so the school allowed a bunch of kids who are technically a year too young to be attending, into my class on the condition that they stay in my class for two years. I'm not thrilled about this since I don't think a two year old is capable of comprehending many of things we're expected to be teaching them. They are extremely adorable though. I think we're just going to have to tone things way down and do a lot more play-based activites than "academic" stuff.
We've alreday gone through a couple of boxes of tissues wiping up all the big alligator tears of kids who are too young to understand that their mommies will be back in time to pick them up for lunch and two of my shirts are covered in the snot of the little guys I've been carrying around trying to console.
Today was better than yesterday though, so I expect that they'll settle in soon enough.
I've still got the split shift gig, which sucks. Fortunately this year I don't have to change locations for the second half of the day. I'm sure that means I'll end up working through my breaks most days, but it'll still be nice not to have to go back and forth. Especially come November when then streets turn to slush.
I know this may sound a little strange, but I'm glad to be back. I'm happy to have met the people I'll be spending the next ten months with. I'm looking forward to the beginning of fall and to another year teaching.
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And for anyone who's interested, we're still working away on the immigration stuff. The hope is to have our application submitted by November 1st which gives us an ETA of somewhere between May and July '07.
I also found what I think is the perfect Christmas gift for my beautiful girl. Yay!