73rd Post-- My Goodness!

Hello, again. I'm having a hard time finding time to do this- so I've resorted to sick days and oddly scheduled national holidays...

Well, Friday was my 2nd day-after-a-substitute experience. They were crazy. I can't throw them off like that. At recess before school started, I was bombarded with hugs and "I thought you'd never come back" remarks. It was quite interesting : )

Mom and Dad came at lunchtime and we celebrated my students of the week- then continued on with more assessments : ) Finally, after the math test, we started on a craft project that turned into an utter disaster. The kids were making candy necklaces. The string came in a small ziploc bag and was looped in half with a gentle knot. According to mother, if you carefully pulled on the two loose ends, the knot would disappear. Unfortunately, none of the children pulled carefully...

So we had kids with huge knots in their string- kids who managed to string their candies but dropped the necklaces on the floor- the tragedies go on... Then we realize that it is time to pack up-so I am quickly giving orders and directing traffic when my principal walks in with another woman.

Worst possible moment for a principal visit-- but I smile and introduce myself to this other woman- then go right back to directing traffic. The ladies eventually leave, the kids get in their respective lines and are taken away. At bus duty, another 1st grade teacher snickers at me and says "Well I guess they're going to put ----- in your class, huh?" I give her a strange look. She goes on the explain that the woman who came to visit has a daughter in her class and they are both unhappy with the teacher so she is being moved. The mom was visiting the other classrooms to pick the one she wanted. Great! I must have looked like a fabulous teacher...

Friday night was exciting as Ross and I, my parents, his parents, Ben, his girlfriend and her parents all went downtown to eat, visit the science center and walk through an art show. It was a great family event (okay, maybe the art show was not family friendly- but the night was fun : )

Saturday I hurried through school work- was terribly impressed by my kids academic progress (a huge positive!) - went on a walk with my dear husband (found a lovely million dollar home) and then babysat our neighbor kids. It was fun- but they were crazy. They totally adore Ross- so much so that they just scream with glee when they see him. It's fun, for the first 10 minutes... No, they calmed down and we greatly enjoyed them : )

Yesterday at school, I had a little surprise when the girl who was being moved and her mom and dad were standing outside MY classroom door. Other than the comment that the teacher had made, no one had said a word to me about possible getting a new student. This made me look a little unprepared-- but that was not my fault...

The kids were excessively hyper and chatty yesterday. I expect the same tomorrow. You can't mess up their routine like this- having Tuesday off? They'll be asking me for the next month if we will get that Tuesday off...

Oh, well : ) I'm off to do a little Christmas shopping. I'm soooo excited! If anyone has any great ideas for my husband, let me know... Then I'll be visiting with one of my favoritest veterans- my grandpa.

Enjoy the day, everyone!