First Grade vs. Fourth Grade

As you know, I taught first grade for four years. This year, I switched grade levels; I'm now teaching fourth grade for the first time. (Well, I did my student teaching and a long-term sub stint in fourth grade six years ago, but this is my first official crack at it all by myself!)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts on fourth grade (versus first grade) following my first week of school. Here goes...

In fourth grade...

* On the first day of school, no one cried when their mom left.

* In fact, none of the parents even entered the classroom with us. (Which was just fine by me!)

* No one had an accident.

* No one fell asleep after lunch. (This happened all the time at the beginning of first grade; one kid even slept sitting up!)

* They can all write their names--first AND last, in fact.

* They can all tie their shoes.
(Well, except for the girl who fractured her elbow and has a cast on her left arm. Poor thing!)

* No one calls me "teacher" or "teacha" because they can't remember my name.

* Everyone calls me Mrs. Harless or Mrs. H.

Funny story: On the first day, when I said my name initially, I purposely pronounced it very s-l-o-w-l-y and clearly. Then, I went on to tell my fourth graders that some students in the past have unknowingly (or knowingly) mispronounced it.

I said,

"Fourth graders, I'm not Mrs. Hairless

or

Mrs. Harmless

or

Mrs. Heartless.

I'm Mrs. Harless!

If you can't say, Mrs. Harless,

just call me, Mrs. H."

I could tell some of the kids were really nervous--it was their first day and all--and telling them that silly story broke the ice, making them smile and giggle.

*No tantrums have occurred. (I was going to type ...yet, but I don't want to jinx myself. In fact, just in case, I'm knocking on wood.)

* They can READ. Which means I don't have to spend most of the day reading everything to them!

*The students actually get my silly (and sometimes sarcastic) jokes!

*At the end of the first day, the students just left when the bell rang; I didn't have to walk anybody to the bus, parent pick-up or the office. They knew where to go and how to get there. It was so refreshing!

* And when all the kids had gone home for the day and my classroom was quiet, I took a deep breath, congratulated myself on making it through the first day, and realized that--holy cow wow--I still had A LOT of energy left. When I taught first grade (especially at the beginning of the year), I literally wanted to crawl under my desk and take a nap everyday after school.

By now, I'm pretty sure you're picking up what I'm throwing down, but I'll state the obvious anyway: life in fourth grade is pretty doggone good! :-)