Five for Friday: Gratitude

TGIF!!!

This Friday is especially sweet because we are wrapping up our first full week of students!

I've literally fallen asleep while there's still daylight every day this week. It's been a week of laughs, sighs, and tears (both the good and the not-so-good kind).

I'm linking up with Kacey to share more:

5. Our students came back this week!!!

That is a very GOOD thing. I've been knee-deep in PD since July 22nd and was missing the energy our 800 students bring. This year's firsties are the sweetest! It's going to be a fantastic year :)

4. It's like Christmas around here! I have two funded Donor Choose projects currently in route. I. CAN'T. WAIT! These shipments include supplies for my students focusing on sight words and sensory tools for the caseload of students I'm working with now. I also just posted a new project AND there's an "INSPIRE" match-me campaign underway for the next week. Here's my project page link.  Donor Choose has literally changed my life (& more importantly, my students). 

I'm SO thankful for them and all the generous donors.

3. Teacher Survival Kits! I laugh at these pictures now:

I'm laughing because I made these gift bags last weekend and now that seems like an eternity ago! This weekend's workload looks completely different now that the students have arrived.  Please click here to pick up a freebie to make these adorable (& easy!!) bags for your teammates! This freebie is linked up with:

2. Today is the day! I've had this date highlighted in my new Erin Condren planner :) I'm participating again in Get Your Pretty On's style challenge. Today the shopping list is released which means I can go get some retail therapy! I participated in both spring and summer...so fun and really helped me put together outfits. Many of the outfits came straight from my closets, while others were helped along by Ann Taylor ;)

Get Your Pretty On

PS: Alison Lumbatis is not only uber-talented when helping us out with our style needs, she also took the time to personally write me the sweetest note of support for my teaching. A class act indeed!

1. Sooooo...I can't reveal too much about my new students because a) I want to respect their privacy and b) I have so much more to learn about them!

But I can say this has been a week full of:

Laughs (both students & I)

Tears (ditto)

Writing

Pencils Breaking (while writing)

Tipping Chairs

More Tears

Tantrums

Eloping (running away - them, not me!)

Exploring Body Parts (belly buttons, among others...yikes!)

Behavior Charts

Planned Ignoring

High Fives

Hugs

And I'm exhausted! I've had the kind of week where I've felt completely unqualified to be doing what I'm doing :(. Through asking questions, reflecting, and GOOGLE, I've learned more about special education this week than in the previous 20 years. I'm not kidding. And I've always knows that we learn better through struggles than when it comes easy.
I should be learning A LOT this year :)

I have to thank the previous general educator and special educator who worked with these awesome friends last year. They have been a ROCK and have both personally reached out to support me through this week. It's hard not to feel insecure and/or judged when your small caseload of students is disrupting everyone's learning. It's hard when people are staring. I imagine someone may even be thinking that these students may not belong in our school. 

They do.

And they are awesome. And they will be successful.

Here's a glimpse of their awesomeness:

More to come!

Have a fantastic Friday!