Only the beginning!

Well, Day 2 is over and I am exhausted! I haven't quite got used to going to bed early and waking up early for a day full of very active children. Monday morning we arrived early at school to prepare for the madness of greeting parents and collecting children to out class. After meeting all the children and parents, we showed the kids where to sit and put their belongings. I won't go into all the details of everything that we did, but it was a great 1/2 day and I definitely got to the know the students really well. One student transfered so we currently have 17, and boy does it feel like a lot. Our classline is so long and going to the bathroom takes forever. Today was our first full day of school which means we went to lunch and recess along with reading in the morning and math in the afternoon. We are still constantly going over the procedures and rules and I feel like we have to tell the students to do things 2 or 3 times. They definitely need to work on their listening skills. I do find myself smiling a lot because of things that the kids say or do. I read them a story today and was left to watch them before dismissal. I like that I already feel like a really active part of this classroom and that the students see me as their teacher also. When I give them an angry face or tell them to do or not do something they respect me, for the most part, which makes my doubts about respect fade. My mentor teacher does an excellent job of establishing the rules and setting high expectations. I know that I've already learned so much from her and the year is just begun! It is an exciting time, but still exhausting.