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Wow! We all do such similar things. I have the bell also, and it's loud and obnoxious. Kids go silent pretty quickly. I also own the First 100 Days of school. Some of my friends used the First 6 Weeks. Both are great resources and offer ideas that are simple to implement.
This is my fourth year teaching. Finally things are starting to seem more seemless, and I can do more challenging things and offer variety to the levels. It didn't help that I switched grades after my second year. Last year was like starting all over again from scratch. Granted it was only a switch from third to fourth grade, but still. A move is still a move to a whole new set of plans/tests/lessons...
My motto this year is "if I can have someone else do it...(ie: parents, students) then it's less for me to do." I have freed up a ton of time for myself this way and everyone else feels more involved. I even have my students write the articles for our bi-weekly newsletter. They write, I type, and we're done! Time for yourself is key to keeping yourself from going INSANE!!
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Go Illini!
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