Fourth Grade Difference

I thought I would give a quick update on how things are going in fourth grade. First of all, this school starts a half hour before my previous school (8:15 vs. 8:45). It may not seem like much, but with a toddler in tow - 30 minutes feels like a REALLY long time. Plus, when I get home at night - I am SO tired.

The teacher I am in for has some serious health concerns. She will most likely not be returning for the rest of the year and will probably be retiring at the end of the year. I have somewhat come to terms with the fact that I will be teaching until June 20th...although I will probably still wake up in cold sweats at some point.

Finally, the kids I'm teaching are AWESOME. Sure they push their limits and they talk...a lot. But they are fun! They get my jokes and sometimes they even tell me good jokes (like ones that legitimately make me laugh).

Today I was having them make a folder for a Lumberjack Unit we are about to start (lumberjacks played a large role in Michigan history - I'm also learning, as I go). Anyway, they were making a "folder" out of construction paper and I said, "You just have to fold it in half, like this. Make sure the edges are together. It's a 'hamburger' fold." I stopped talking and looked up in time to catch 24 ten year olds rolling their eyes at me. "We know, Mrs. Becker - we aren't first graders." Ohhhhh, right. I love the fourth grade independence!