10 Days In…

Archive from The Teacher Triathlete, August 30, 2016

We’ve now been in school for 10 days! Coming back to the classroom this school year has brought me such an immense feeling of joy that I did not quite expect. I knew I would be very happy to be in the classroom, but honestly, there is no better word to describe how I feel than just joyful. However, to be completely honest (as you know I always am), the joy is also accompanied by extreme exhaustion- it’s going to take a while to get my teaching stamina back up to where it used to be! Just like training for a cycling, running, or swimming event- the first few sessions are always the toughest, but always some of the most fulfilling. Then, all of the efforts, time spent, and everything gained culminates on race day- or during 5th grade promotion in June in this case.

Yes- another incredible journey has begun! Needless to say, all of my brain power is being used up between the hours of 7 and 4- this doesn’t leave much left for thoughtfully writing a blog post about the beginning of the school year. So, as I’ve done before, and as I usually do when I’m just too wiped out to thoughtfully string together multiple inspiring paragraphs of educational insight, here are the first 10 days of school by the numbers and in pictures…

10 Days in By the Numbers

Time students spent independently reading in class: 400 minutes

Time spent reading aloud our first novel of the year, Wonder: 200 minutes

Time students spent working together on the Marshmallow Challenge: 120 minutes

Time spent thinking about how numbers in base 10 work in relation to place value: 240 minutes

Time spent applying this mathematical thinking to the real world: 40 minutes- this number will greatly increase this week!

Time spent in PE or similar activities in class: 120 minutes

Time students spent at recess or lunch: 600 minutes

Number of classroom birthdays celebrated with Krispy Kreme Donuts: 1

Number of donuts I consumed: 0 (for the win!)

Average hours I spend at school: 6:50AM-4:00PM

Time I will be at school today: 6:50am-8:10PM… Back to School Night