So...exactly how does one start teaching?

I start my first year of teaching in 3 weeks. I go Tuesday for an orientation. I could puke I am so nervous. I think I'll be fine once it gets underway, but I just feel I have no idea how to kick off the school year. They say you gotta come in strict and let out the reins as you go. I am going to try. I'm planning on doing a writing assignment the very first day. Assigned seats, expected behavior, rewards and repercussions, and procedures. Although procedures baffle me. What system works best for having kids turn in their papers? I think I will do separate "in" and "out" boxes for each class (since I only have 3 or 4. I also read that it's good to have something on the board that tells the kids what to do which will keep them (supposedly) quieter as they enter the room. I have some students with attention deficits and I know the room should be simple yet attractive. Yet, I have no money to spend on such things. I hope the school will help me out there. Anyway, if you read this, I could really use some prayers. And if you're a teacher, I could use some advice.

Some Truth is easier left Un-discovered

I went canoeing and camping on the Flambeaux for 3 days. In those three days (72 hours), it rained for approximately 30 hours--including both nights and when we were breaking camp the third morning. The first day, I am 80% sure I had sun poisoning (if it wasn't sun poisoning, then my attitude was bad enough to give me a migraine and make me want to puke). I learned that I am a whiney person. I wanted to go home. I would have walked up to the highway and hitchhiked back, but I would have left Luke without a partner. I learned that it is bad for the fish if you poop in the water (Traever, if you read this, take note). I learned that you can get blisters in the wierdest places, and fill them with some very strange stuff. I learned that 4 1/2 ft. of rain-swelled river water can knock me off my feet and send me flailing downstream. I learned that I am not the all-conquoring she-warrior I like to think I am. I am a girl. I throw like a girl. I whine like a girl. I itch bug bites like a girl. and I glare like a girl. Yes, I am a girl.

So next year when we go, we're staying in a bed and breakfast one night, canoeing just the rapids and fast water and going home in 2 days instead of three!

What can I say, Cedar Rapids and the Beavers Dam won me over. I may be a girl, but I do like an adventure. Not too much adventure, but a real adventure nevertheless.