Well, here goes nothing.

"Back to school! Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool! I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight! Ohhhh, back to school! Back to school! Back to school!

Well, here goes nothing!"

-Billy Madison

Exactly. "Here goes nothing" or "Ready or not, here they come" are my usual thoughts right before the first child enters my classroom on the first day of school. I like to say that the first day in the magical world of Kindergarten is much like putting kittens in a basket. You get one kitten (kid) settled all nice and cozy and safe in the basket. While you were busy tending to the one little kitten kid, you turn around and there goes the rest of the litter running out. It's very much like that. For the first day. Second day. First week. Second week. It's like that for awhile.

It's currently Fall Break. I like making it to Fall Break. I like Fall Break hard. It's a much needed, much deserved week off, but it's also a sign of accomplishment. We made it through two whole months of school. All the "beginning" stuff is behind us. We're rollin' with the homies by the time October rolls around. Rest in Peace Brittney Murphy.

I like my kids this year. I like them a lot. They're fun. I'm fun. We're all a big crazy ball of fun together. When I like my kids extra hard it makes me want to go (in the words of Buzz Lightyear) 'to infinity and beyond' for them. That special phrase also makes me think about space. I like space, you know. Outer space and personal space. They're both really big winners.

I like Kindergarten. Kids are funny. Especially little kids. Kindergarten and my little kindergarten kids naturally lend themselves to giving me blogs. They provide some good little "kids say the darndest" type stories. Plus, what other profession allows and pretty much expects me to be child-like myself. I'm allowed to sing and dance and play games and talk about Disney World and trampolines and Justin Bieber songs.

I do love my job. I do. I chose it for a reason. I like to think it chose me too. That was extra sappy, but extra special all at the same time.

To be a good teacher, I feel like it is necessary to put time in. The more time I spend planning and preparing, the better the school day goes. The kids feed off my mood. If I'm prepared and on top of it, I'm in a good mood, which means the kids are in a good mood. If I'm scattered and pulling things out of my hind end, then things can get a little crazy up in our classroom. They sure enough will.

Sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I can't ever get caught up. I stay at school late. I take a school bag home every night. I go to school to work on some weekends. I'm not complaining by any means. I enjoy what I do. I thank Jesus everyday that I have a job. A job that I love and look forward to each day. For me to go home at the end of the day and feel good about my work, putting in the extra time is necessary.

I spend some of my free time thinking of ways to make changes, googling new center ideas, cutting out laminated items. It's endless. Before you start going all "but you have summers off" on me, my response to that is, "Suck it, Sucka". We need summers to mentally recharge. Teaching is exhausting. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Even during the summer, what am I spending a great deal of my time thinking about? Yes. School. Ways to improve. What my new students will be like. Will there be enough laminating film to laminate my folders? Again, it's endless.

I don't even know if this blog necessarily has a point. I'm just throwin' this all out here for your reading enjoyment.

In summary:

1. I like my kids.

2. I like my job.

3. I like the much-needed time off, and if you're a hater-- Suck it, Sucka!

4. I like outer space and personal space.

5. I like me.

6. Everybody wins.

Because you were so good and actually read this blog, now as a treat, you get to feast your eyes on a few pictures of where I live during the school day. Below are some pictures of my little part of the world. It's a magical, little, happy, rainbow-colored place that is my second home. Hmm. That description makes it sound a lot like Care-a-lot. If you don't know what Care-a-lot is then we can't be friends anymore.