i get to blog two days in a row?! gasp!

I feel so incredibly blessed to be in a classroom. My poor little kiddos on the other hand... well, they are lucky that i love them a lot, right? i got to see them work hard today, really respect me, and look up to me a little bit. on the other hand, i realized that i taught them a concept wrong last week (freakin greatest common factor. i am literally DUMB) and that they don't really know how to subtract with numbers bigger than two or three digits. this, is a bit of a problem. i feel almost powerless to remedy it. but, remedy it i will. im trying hard to stay focused, and to not drink too much diet coke. (i may have bought a 24 pack at walmart to feed the habit.) my classroom environment has become comfortable, a place where students really do want to learn. they respect me and finally know my name (ha.) i think they think im a little kooky because i have a teaching style that is a little different from most i would say. but different in a good way. for example, today i taught the steps to adding and subtracting. and yes, i made up these steps from scratch. and yes again, i do not know the right way to do it. it is laughable, but im trying my darndest. but anyways, i tried to make them sing songy, so they would stick and to get the kids into it. so, we sang "step one, add the ones- then we would yell REGROUP (fancy word for carrying) and stick our arms out over our heads. the hand motions were an impromptu add by yours truly. they ate it up. so, look for footage of the division rap that i plan on teaching in a couple of days.
i feel a lot better about everything after today. i made some parent phone calls, just to let them know that their student was doing well and was a pleasure to have in class. it felt so weird to introduce myself as "Ms. Sullivan". i relished it! but today wasn't all good. two of my smartest students got in a fist fight in the hallway where i broke it up myself. (i didnt know that i wasnt supposed to touch the kids at all, even when they are beating the crap out of each other). they most likely won't be allowed back into school. and it is heartbreaking that i may not get to see them again.
im attaching some pictures in this post...morgan freeman's bar where we had happy hour last friday (dont judge my appearance, i was going off of like 8 hours sleep for the whole week at that point) and some pictures of the church building and the view from the church. i have to start taking more to remember this magical mississippi experience. i have to get a shot of the sunrise tomorrow. amazing.