I still don't have a teacher's immune system, and other kindergarten observations

The five-year-old and I both have cold-induced headaches. She gets to go home: I get to keep teaching.

There's a lot more to putting a classroom together than bulletin boards, desks arrangements, lesson plans, and welcome notes.

I taught a math-science connection cutting open a peach, an apple, green grapes, and a red pepper. We talked about the seeds being inside, or outside (after I removed them, of course). The grapes happened to be seedless. Oops.

But the next day, a student was cleaning up his lunch and showed me what was in his fist. I let him share with the class. He explained that he was excited when he saw that his mom packed him red grapes and he carefully ate one open and searched for seeds. Which he found. The whole class was enthralled. (Win!)

Teacher's Aides are miracle-workers. They are blessings from God. My aide is the only reason I get half the things done each day. She's also the result of prayer (thanks, everyone who prayed for that last student!)

I hate taking :)s away from students, even though their behavior warrants it. But it makes the day that they keep their smiley ten times better!

I dance a little inside every time the kinders remember how to do a procedure, or return to the classroom quietly, or correctly execute a routine. Yay! They listen!

As I teach kindergartners to print, I'm getting extra practice, too. I write notes on their printing practice extra slow and neat, because it just wouldn't be right to use my 'normal' chicken scratch...

I really need to finish this Sub- Binder, in case this cold escalates...