I taught my first class on January 9, 2006. Actually, "taught" probably isn't the best definition... "controlled the chaos" is perhaps a more fitting description.

I had two 45-minute classes, one right after the other. My first class had eight kids: four boys and four girls. My second class was supposed to have seven kids - all girls, but two of them couldn't make it. So, five girls.

Wow. What a difference between the boys and the girls. The girls were focused and involved. The boys were distracted and all over the place. I often had to fall back on my clowning skills to get their attention back. They loved me, but they'd rather be climbing on me than listening to my instructions.

In this first class, I wanted to just focus on getting to know each other and doing some movement within our space. For me, it was a chance to evaluate what I would be able to do with the kids over the course of the six weeks.

The biggest thing I learned was that the class can't be goal-oriented. It needs to be about the experience and not the result.

I also learned that 45 minutes was a bit too long for the kids. I saw their attention falter at about 30 minutes. It is going to take a lot of work on my part to engage the kids and keep them involved for the whole duration of the class.

I learned a lot in my first class (probably more than the kids did), and I should be better prepared for our next class. At least I will know better what to expect.