How is it already the end of September???

Wow. The month flew by. Unbelievable. And I haven't even run out of things to do with my students yet!

We're having a great time. Some days are better than others, but we're having a good time and we're all learning, myself included. I am getting to know my students and starting to figure some of them out, if that's possible with middle schoolers. Some of the kids who have tough exteriors are about to crumble on the inside, and some are working so hard to change their reputations. It's a volatile time in their lives, and most days I'm glad to be a part of it.

While I'm glad they share their lives with me, I wish they'd quit sharing their germs. I'm fighting off something nearly everyday. Right now it's a cold. I should buy stock in Airborne and Zicam. However, as much as the kids would like me to get sick, I haven't had to take a sick day yet.

We did have our first sub today. There is money set aside within the district for new teachers to be able to take off during the school day to go observe their mentors, so I took half a day today to do that. It was interesting to watch how they interact with their students and the things they do to make it work. It really hammered home something that I sort of knew anyway - you must be true to your personality or it won't work. If you're faking it or trying to be something you're not, the kids will see right through you and you'll fall hard. More so at the middle school level than high school I think. So what worked for K probably wouldn't work for me because I am so very different from him. M is much more like me, though, and I will definitely be stealing some of his ideas.

Anyway, it's going well and we're having a good time. I'm learning about myself, about this age group, and about how to stay on top of it all (hint: You can't).