I'm a TEACHER

Today was the first day of school and it was great. We started at 9 am with 14 3rd graders all ready for summer school. We taught the first hour as a team of four and went over the rules, procedures, and consequences. Then my other collaborative members left and I was alone (with our observer in the corner) to administer the reading comprehension diagnostic. I gave them 30 minutes to take the test and then had some fun with them for my last 15 minutes (wiggles, introductions, etc.). It felt great to be up there and actually teaching a group of little kids. Our students are wonderful (there are the troublemakers, of course) and I can already tell that I'm going to fall in love with them. They are so special because they will always be my very first class.
They had a lot of trouble with the assessment I gave them, but now we have the next four weeks to make sure they learn, or at least improve on all that stuff. Tomorrow I will actually be teaching a lesson, Word Work and Read Aloud, so that will be a new experience too.
I would like to report that my group members are fabulous. I think we've finally figured out that group dynamic thing. This evening we had dinner together to debrief, plan ahead, and give each other feedback (what our CMA Anthony calls "two hugs and a push"). Comparatively with other groups, my totally rocks. I even appreciate their pushes about being a bit too controlling and pushy. They mean well and they're all excited about teaching this summer.
Now it's time to write more lesson plans and get to bed as soon as possible! What an exciting day.