A New Year

Well school and started and the kids are back :)  I started out with 5 students who were coming back from previous year/years and then found I had two more and then one more.  8 students are all I can have, 8 students and 2 full time para professionals.  This is because the needs of my students are usually greater than those of students in a more typical early childhood special education class.  And believe me sometimes 3 adults are definitely not enough!  Just to get the kids into and back out of the classroom takes more than 3 pair of hands.  I have to go outside the classroom to get enough help.  Thanks goodness our speech pathologist has some free time to help us.

It's been a difficult start of the year.  Although I stayed in the same school, I was moved to a new classroom and have a new room mate.  I ha vethe only classroom for students with multiple disabilities which shares a classroom with another ECSE class.  We have a lot of equipment besides the wheelchairs we need for out children.  All the kinks are being worked out, though.

It is easy to forget how much new students change the atmosphere of your classroom.  It takes one or two years for many of my students to learn the routines and expectations.  Now these have to be taught all over again to the new students and of course they come with specific learning needs of their own.

And of course it didn't help that I was sick all week :(.  I went to an amazing outdoor concert given by Jason Mraz with my 26 year old daughter, Holly and evidently the high levels of pollen had their way with me.  I have been coughing and wheezing ever since.  I was coughing so hard that I had to go to the doctor to check on my sternum that I broke last year.  I presently have an order for an xray to use if it continues to hurt or gets worse.  I also have instructions from my doctor to not lift anything heavy!  Ha, like that's going to happen :)

All in all, it's been a tiring week and I am truly glad to have a 3 day weekend. I know it's going to be an amazing year.  My experienced students have grown and my new students seem to be a lot of fun.  I am very lucky to be able to love the work I do.