first week of school in the books

summer vacation is officially over - woe is me, right? : )

for those of you who do not know, i started a new position - math specialist - at a new school - richard green central park school - in a new district - minneapolis public schools - with new grades - fourth and fifth - that i have not worked with since i was a student teacher. can you say overwhelming???

but even with all of that newness, i am truly enjoying my decision to start working with younger students. i LOVE fourth and fifth grade. LOVE. granted, it has only been five days but i really, truly loved every minute that i was with them - even the naughty ones! (and why is it that the naughty ones always turn out to be my favorites?!?!)

minneapolis decided before the start of the 2011-2012 school year that they should work on improving math scores in the upper elementary grades - imagine that! most of their elementary schools have hired on math specialists to specifically work with fifth grade and in some cases, due to enrollment, fourth grade as well. i was (and still am) not sure how this whole "co-teaching" will work but i am excited about the opportunity. i have so far actually enjoyed being a "traveling" teacher in which i have an office but not a classroom. being able to focus so closely on one subject area was part of the appeal of taking this position. the only aspect of this school that worries me is the high percentage of spanish-speaking families and my lack of spanish skills. i managed to make it through spanish 5 in high school, but all of my fellow neenah graduates would probably agree that you did not necessarily need to know that much spanish to be able to pass that class.

this week's photos highlight my "back-to-school" outfit and a fabulous new size that i can wear!

yes, those are SIZE 8 SKINNY JEANS. never thought i would see the day!

with it being the first week of school and the return of freakin' crazy hot weather, running did not happen this week. we ate out a lot BUT i tracked really closely so i am crossing my fingers that tomorrow's weigh-in will at least get rid of the three pounds that i gained.

last but not least, my favorite pair of pictures from the state fair this past week. eat your heart out, ladies!