AH! Start of the School Year!

I'm sorry I haven't been updating much but that is largely due to the fact that I am running around madly working as well as adjusting to having Ben living with me and finding a new flat for the two of us so I just haven't had much time.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind as the school year starts again and I get my head around my new students, new classes, new routines and living with someone when I've been living alone for the last 9 months in a sad little bedroom with some older ladies.

I am implementing lots of routines and things with my students this year because this is my first start of a school year with classes all my own so I'm testing things out to see if they work. This process is good but also exhausting because it creates a lot of work in the process of trying to ultimately cut down on the work that I have to do chasing kids around.

It's also exhausting because you are getting to meet all of your students, all 200 or so of them, little people who you don't know yet but you will spend lots and lots of time with, all with names that are hard to pronounce and special things about them that you want to get to know and learn so that you can be a better teacher to them. It's exciting, and interesting, and often funny because of the questions they ask, but also exhausting.

Add to that adjusting to sharing my life with Ben who is living here now and sorting out our own routines and ways of sharing space (we are both only children...so it's not always the easiest thing) and you have a zombie in the shape of a teacher. Despite all of that, one of my students wrote that today he learned that Ms. Jolley is hyper. Awesome :)

I've got this new thing I hand out where my kids write what they are wondering about, what they learned and what they are struggling with for every class. Some of my favorite things so far are:

I am wondering if the universe is infinite? (The next class) I am still wondering if it is infinite?
I am wondering when I am going to die :) (smiley face not mine....:S)
I am wondering if all of the grown ups have facebook?
I am struggling with Chinese. It is hard to learn.
I am wondering is Ms. Jolley likes Justin Bieber.
I am wondering why she came from Canada?
I am wondering how much water Ms. Jolley is going to drink today. (I had a flu and a cough so I was drinking a lot of water that day)

Also, I have given a few classes the chance to ask me whatever questions that they want, these are some highlights:

Why is your hair that weird colour?
Are you married?
How old are you?
Is it cold in Canada?
Why did you come here?
What books do you like?

My kids are adorable. My sec 1 students are 12, so they are precocious and hyper and fun to teach.

Also, Ben and I found a new flat that has a room that is much bigger, we move in a week or two. I am really looking forward to that!

My brain has stalled, so I am going to sign off for now. I just thought you'd all like to know I'm not dead, just super super busy.