Payday, Friday, Crushing Blow, and Tea Time!

Yesterday was our first department chair meeting. For some reason, I was asked to fill that position for Kindergarten. It's kind of funny to me because I'm not the most experienced or the most motherly or the best organized or the most inspiring or the best yes-man, but my principal assures me that she chose me purposefully. I kind of think she got me confused with someone else. However, my point was about the meeting. I found out that our team should be meeting pretty regularly, maybe everyday, at least until things settle into a bit more of a routine. So, we met today. It was a good meeting and we covered much ground. Yesterday was also payday. Everyone was pretty excited about that. It felt really good to have worked so hard and made it through the first week of school and see that nice amount go into the bank. Someone said, "That check looked good!" That about covers it.

I was so excited about today being a great day. Not just because it was Friday, but because it was the first Friday, and because I had a kind of laid-back day planned with a few special events included. It started with a wonderful breakfast courtesy of the admin. team. (At my school, a different team provides breakfast on the Friday following payday each month.) Then class started with a new plan because there were several different instances of crying in my room yesterday. I was frustrated, the kids were not having enough controlled fun, and I did not enjoy the climate in my classroom. I was determined to end the week well so that the students would be able to spend the long weekend decompressing on a positive note. I thought I was pretty successful. I had several more "I love you"s and hugs and even a few "I love Kindergarten!"s, so I was pretty excited. That is, until I asked for my T.A.'s opinion of the day. She felt that it was not a good day, and that it was far too chaotic. Now I can't decide if she is correct, or overly tired, or just lacking in vision for the big picture. After all, it is only the first week of school. It made me wish I hadn't asked. I don't know if I will ask again. I do need to implement a few more things in the classroom. For example, I haven't opened any play centers, and I think we need to have those to look forward to at the end of the day. We will start Writer's Workshop next week as well. I have the long weekend to make plans, so enough of that for now.

The day ended pretty well. Our staff celebrates the Friday after pay day together with tea time (read happy hour). I don't go to bars and rarely even drink, but it sounded like fun so I went. It was. I learned a few interesting, personal-type stories about my principal which is good because she seems more human now and maybe I will be less nervous. Then, I spent a half-hour discussing Fort Worth food and restaurants. This sounds pretty boring, but I'm old and not that exciting, so it was a good time. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but I've barely seen my family this week. Yea for Labor Day!