Meet The Teacher

When I was growing up,  there was no "Meet The Teacher" Day, per se.  I'd beg my mom and dad starting in the middle of July, to make a drive by school to see if the class rosters were taped to the front doors.

The preceding weeks would find my best friends and me discussing possible teacher/student combinations and what the ramifications would be if *gasp* we were not all in the same class.  They wouldn't actually separate us, would they?  


Now it is my turn to listen with my oh-so-impatient ears about the possibilities for the upcoming school year.  I honestly don't know which is true...if I was as big a pain about teacher assignments as my kids are OR if I kept more stuff quiet and discussed it with my friends.  Because if I was like my kids, I don't know how I didn't drive my mother to drink in the weeks leading up to a new school year.

First Day of School 2009

Today was my kids' day to meet their teachers for the 2011-2012 school year.  (Doesn't that look odd?  I mean, I remember writing 2000 and now we're all the way to 2011.  Where does the time go?)

Luckily our school has gone to almost everything online, so the majority of necessary forms were already filled out (in triplicate, of course, by yours truly) and the {send} button was pushed.  I grabbed my two youngest kiddos and headed over to school.

The church building our school meets in is undergoing renovations and because of the siding being put on the building, it looked like it was snowing when we arrived.  Seriously.  The little Styrofoam flakes (or whatever they were) were falling from the sky, collecting near the door in little drifts.  This has nothing to do with our day, just funny to note.

My little guy is in Kindergarten this year and has the same teacher as my 9 yo daughter and my nieces. She's the best--very gregarious and super organized.  My quiet, play-by-himself little guy will really thrive with her.

My 9 yo has a teacher new to our school this year.  She's precious, highly organized and has long blonde hair.  She looks like Cinderella.  Or more accurately, Cinderella's much more fashionable younger sister.
In the 3 seconds we had to talk to her, I was impressed.

But let me ask you something.  As a parent, do you ever feel like you're being interviewed at Meet the Teacher days?  I do.  I even changed clothes a few times to make sure my outfit was both "fun" and "no nonsense".   No, I don't have a picture of it, just trust me that the right vibe was reached.

As a former teacher, I used to HATE these days.  I was horrible at speaking in front of adults.  Give me a gym full of little kids and I was fine.  Put a parent in the mix and I felt like I was being assessed on all levels.

Was my hair ok?

Were my clothes professional looking? Or did I have the dreaded "teacher" look going on?  You know what I mean...theme sweaters,  pencil necklaces, long skirts...I had it all...and none of it looked good.  My wardrobe  screamed elementary teacher.  I realize that now.

They say the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem...


Why yes, that is a sweatshirt with a ruler and various school-related items ironed on the front.  Snazzy, right

Fuzzy picrture of me in "sweatshirt" with my first class.

Happy New School Year, Ya'll.