A Really Unexpected Twist or Two

So I go down to school yesterday, and this is what greeted me.

Yep.  A dead lizard.  At first I thought it was rubber, but the smell gave him away.  I scooped him up with some paper and tossed him out.  (Well, first I had to take a picture.)  WELCOME BACK!!

The Core Standards mean there are some changes in teaching coming.  I figured I might as well change my room arrangement to remind me.

I'd been thinking about this all summer, trying to figure out how to put kids in groups without half of them facing the back of the room.

Lucky for me, my math colleague and former student was at school.  She had come up with the solution.  (Besides having about a dozen other things her math students are going to love!  She is so creative!)

Anyway, here is her solution in my room:

The back two desks in each group face the front.  The front two desks are sideways to the back desks and face each other. They can still see the front of the room with little effort.  AND...my room looks huge!

I cleaned through my desk drawers and was getting ready to hang a few posters when the stiff neck I've been nursing for a couple of days turned into muscle cramps in my neck and shoulder.  The cramps almost took me to my knees.  I was in instant pain.  (You know it's bad when I can't use my cell phone! Just lifting it to my ear, killed me.)

And so...I called it a day.  I still have a ton to do, but I don't think the whole school wants to see me crying.  Hopefully, the hot pad, Icy Hot, ice packs, pillows, and Ibuprofen will have me up and running.

Kind of a strange start to my school year.  I sure hope it isn't a sign of things to come.