Wow! I made it!

I have to say, I cannot complain because I knew teaching would be a lot of work, especially my first year. However, the 12 hours days everyday is not exactly what I expected ha. But I don't have anything pressing to get home for, so I feel like I don't have to time manage AS WELL. I need to get out of that mindset! The first week went really well. We did some great team building activities the first two days. We had the students get into groups of 10 and we gave them a bag of various materials. Some bags had a whole roll of masking tape, some cups, and 5 sheets of paper. Some bags had only a strip of paper, 20 sheets of paper, popsicle sticks, and 8 cups. Some bags had NO tape. The students had to work together to build the tallest tower. Some of the towers were very impressive. When I have some pictures on my computer, I will post some. We also had a challenge where they had a metal washer with six strings tied around it. The only directions were to balance the golf ball in the middle of the washer and they couldn't touch the metal part. The groups worked together to figure out the best way to balance the golf ball. It took some groups longer than others, and every group did it a different way. But eventually, a couple of groups figured out that they could hold the string close to the washer without touching the metal. Their group work was very impressive. During our group meetings, we emphasized our high expectations for the students as well as for each other. We also talked about positive talk and then had the students do an activity called "Good Graffiti." The words had to be positive but the artistry could be theirs! They really got into them and I am putting that display up this week so pictures will come soon. Our final "team" activity was to trace their arms/hands and write their academic and personal goals. Their academic could be anything from to get on the honor roll to exceeding the CRCT to reading a certain number of books. Most of them really took their time on their goals and I have a picture of what our display looks like. This second week has already started out a little smoother than the first. I even got a run in after school! Looking forward to some great Science activities this week.