Siku ya Kwanza ya Shule... aka The First Day of School :)

It's not QUITE that time yet, but it's getting close.  Just one day, the weekend, and it's here.  While I wasn't overly excited about the prospect of school starting next week a few days ago (it's been a crazy-busy - while spectacularly fun - summer, and I was ready for a bit of a rest!), I'm starting to get ready.  The bulletin boards are going up, the beginning-of-year letter to parents is printed, and the schedule is almost in place.  Somehow after so much travel this summer, all this routine is turning out to be comforting in some strange way.

It's also funny to think about this being my fourth year of teaching.  My first year, and well into my second, I needed people to keep reminding me that "it's only your first year - it's ok to not have it all figured out."  Well, that's good to know... since I still don't have it yet!  But at the same time, it's nice to have SOME experience and understanding of what is coming.  It's also nice to know that I've done this before and will most likely survive the upcoming school year... and the fact that I'll be teaching a familiar curriculum this year instead of learning about Medieval Times and Ancient Greece just ahead of my students is pretty great as well!

Lastly, this is a big thank you to the unknown friend of a friend who pointed me to www.arcamax.com, where I can finally get my daily supply of comics even this far from home.  Thank You!!!  Somehow, Zits always hit home for me and it makes me smile to realize it's fairly applicable the world around.  Turns out that kids are kids... and adults are adults... and people are people... we might have some strange ways of doing things, but in the end, our expectations and feelings end up being a lot the same no matter where we live, what we eat, or how we get to school or work each day!