ah, yes...

...so sometimes my job cheers me up. I walked into school today sick, jaded, and generally in a bad mood. Yucky. I thought, "I reeeeeeeeeeeeally'd rather not be here." However, I remember how dull yesterday was, just sitting around all day, sick. It sucked. I figured that once the day got rollin', I'd be set.

I was right.

This morning, I was flooded with hugs and, "I missed you!!"s and "Where WERE you?"s and "I'm sooo glad you're back!" ... And the kids were happy, too. ;) It's always kind of an ego boost coming back after a sub; I felt like a celebrity. However, I was NOT in the mood to be messed with, so I was a little bit bitchy with the kids. It's so weird, though... they *like* when I get all nasty and take charge. It actually makes the days run much more smoothly. Weirdos.

The other 5th grade teacher was out today, so I had both the 4th and 5th graders with me for math. I actually prefer that, because then I can do things at my own pace, instead of being constrained by the time of the other teacher. My fourth graders got REALLY into math today- it was awesome. We were ordering and comparing fractions and decimals today, so it was kind of a slow start, but once they got into it, MAN, they were yelling enthusiastically about math! Again, one of my "troublemakers" gets so into math. It's really a cool time.

Later, I prepped the class for their cloze spelling test tomorrow... We'll see how it goes. None of us have ever done one before (for real; last week's was a practice). Keep your fingers crossed.

It was actually nice being at school today, because I was on my toes the whole time. It seems (and I think you'll agree, casual reader) that time goes by MUCH faster when you're busy! There's no time to sulk or feel sorry for yourself when you're running in 340 different directions.

Ahem. Science was pretty cool, too. I'm surprised by how much I know about the body and chemistry. We were talking about the respiratory system today, and the kids fired ALL these cool questions my way. (e.g, "Can we live off of carbon dioxide alone?", "What's the difference between oxygen and carbon dioxide?", "What do aveoli do?", "What's the difference between choking and suffocating?") I love when they *care* about stuff. I even kind of branched off into a brief chemistry lesson (explaining how hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon atoms all bond to each other, and what charges the molecules will carry after bonding). The kids were fascinated. Swoon.

We had an impromptu fire drill today (and were already fortunately outside for another program), and the kids were a bit chatty. I came down on them pretty hard, and said that it was a bit "iffy" if we'd have end-of-the-day recess or not. It was all up to the class meeting and how they did in it.

For the class meeting today, I tried something a teacher did with us in middle school: I used a koosh. Whoever had the koosh could talk, and NO one else. On the board, I wrote "Recess" with two columns under it: "Yes" and "No." Every time someone who didn't have the koosh talked, I'd explained, I'd put a tally under the "No" column. Every time someone was able to finish talking uninterrupted, I'd put a mark under "Yes." It worked well, and the kids got really into it.

I think our meetings are actually accomplishing something. It's so amazing what the students pick up from each other and their interactions. When someone expresses a concern with another student, we have a process to go through (in an older August entry). At the end, the person with the concern watches the other person for the week and reports to me if the problem got better or not. So the kids have an amazing ability to recall these events. I frequently hear things like, "At last week's meeting, I had a concern with so-and-so because s/he did ______. So-and-so has gotten better, and the problem's gone!" Three people said this today, which means that something's working, at least.

In the end, we were able to go out to recess. Ah. It was gorgeous out today: high 60s and sunny. I had a lovely chat with some of my girls, and then a student came running up to me, eyes wide. "I saw Mara* and James* kiss on the lips!!!" (*Names have been changed.) "What?!" I'd asked, awed. I walked over to Mara and James, a trail of eager students behind me. "Disperse!" I had commanded them except for my two lovebirds. Apparently (I'm out of the 10-year-old loop), Mara and James have been "boyfriend/girlfriend" all week. I told them that, while they're at school, there is no kissing on the lips. I said they're setting a bad example for the kindergarteners, who will then want to kiss. I must call their parents in a few minutes to discuss all this. Oy. I didn't have *my* first kiss 'til 8th grade!! Mara is in 4th! She had also passed a note today saying, "Did you french kiss?" Egads. Gotta keep these guys in check.

Anyway, all in all it was a decent day. I was stern (and sometimes just no-nonsense) with the kids, but it felt fine. Hopefully tomorrow'll be good, and then I can relax for another few days! :)

Ciao for now. Take care.