Yay!

At 4:30 this morning, my eyes snapped open. I was clearly done sleeping for the night, despite not drifting off last night till after 11 and having tossed and turned with troubled dreams the previous night. I've been....nervous about this schedule change, to say the least. Today we implemented.

Y'all, I now love blocks. Love, love, LOVE blocks. 91 minutes in a row with one group of kids, time for everything that matters, everything that I value, the opportunity to get to know students so much more deeply....it's magical. Yes, it's only been one day, and yes, I can see where some challenges will come into play (hi, block 2! Boy, most of you sure do not much care for Language Arts, eh? We'll work on that), but overall, it's freakin' great.

I am still a little heartbroken about some of the kids I lost. I saw one of my favorites in the hallway during my plan and I told him he better start getting to his new class on time (he was habitually tardy for me, though he'd improved a lot as time passed) or I'd have to start harassing him again. He laughed and I told him that I was really sad I hadn't gotten him back in class. He said, "I know! I don't have you, or Mr. Social Studies, or Ms. Math....all new!" I pointed out that he still had a couple of teachers he knows, and he said, "Yeah, but I wanted you....you're like the funnest teacher in the whole school!" At that, I laughed and said that I was sure that a lot of students wouldn't agree with that, but, aw, heartwarming, right? (I decided to skip the conversation about grammatically correct superlatives - seemed rude to correct a compliment.)

And one of my girls, when she came to get her binder, stopped as she was leaving and said, "I just need a hug before I go." They're so cute. I will miss them all terribly - I hope they come to visit.

But overall, feeling much more positive. Thank you all for your support and sympathy as I've struggled through this. Onward to June!

(Image credit to dotbenjamin.)