Back to School is exciting! (and overwhelming!!)

I just got home from Meet the Teacher and I rewarded myself with an Icee on the way home!  (Hello, my name is Katie and I love Icees!)

I don't know about you, but Meet the Teacher leaves me with mixed emotions sometimes.  On the one hand, it's so exciting to start a new year and meet all the truly adorable kiddos who are coming through my door.  (And I love to get visits from my sweeties from the previous year, too!)  On the other hand, when the parents start listing their issues and concerns about their children, my head starts to spin a little!  Of course we all love the parents who come in, hand over the school supplies and say "I'm here for you, let me know what you need, call me if little Junior does anything he shouldn't!"  Truly makes my life easier.  I know there is no other profession like teaching and no one else can understand the emotions we run through in first meeting all the families.  What other job requires you to create plans for 30 individual responsibilities that all come with their own baggage and specific needs?  What other profession requires you to be "on" all day long, doing your best to meet those 30 sets of needs at all times?  Whew, it wears me out just thinking about it.

I shared a graphic like this on my facebook page yesterday, when I was at the height of my "running around like a crazy person, trying to get ready" stage.

But enough with the stress talk, it was not my intention to write a negative post!  I got my classroom clean and presentable for Meet the Teacher, but only managed to get 2 pictures taken!  I snapped a few during a break between kiddos and meant to take more after, but once it hit 6:00, my brain was ready for me to head straight to the door!

Those are not the best pictures and my desks look so plain, but that's all I've got for now!  The first picture shows the mountain of school supplies on my reading table that will be waiting for me to tackle on Monday.  And if everyone shows up, then I will need to have 4 students sitting at said reading table, so that should be interesting!!  Cheers to 30 students on my class roster!  :)

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a low-stress first week of school!!

Keep Teaching and Planning,

Katie :)