Grateful Friday

Sometimes I just think, is this my life?!?

Yesterday my diabetic went way low again and I was dealing with that and another student had a come apart and just left the room, like she does.  And I had, you know, twenty other students who weren't exactly model citizens that I was dealing with at the same time.

I had a girl sobbing after recess because the sidewalk chalk I let her play with got on her pants and her mom told her that if she keeps ruining her clothes she will have to buy her own clothes. (Imagine that last part being wailed inconsolably.)

I explained that chalk dust will wash off.

She countered that paint and markers don't wash off.

I agreed, but said that chalk dust will wash off.  I tried to play the "I'm a mom too, so I know these things" card, but she was not buying it.

I had Emily tell her that chalk dust will wash off.  She seemed more credible I guess because the sobbing stopped.

Then she said, "OK, but will you email my mom and tell her?"

So I did.

I have about 8 boys who are such rascals.  I had them turn around three times and go back to the classroom to try walking again to PE.  

During math, while they were seated on the rug, one of them complained that another was smelling him. (What??!) Another complained that someone was slurping in his ear.  They all like each other and they are just messing around, but they are making me crazy!

After school I compared notes with Miriam and Janelle, like we do.

Miriam had one girl dislocate another girl's arm at lunch recess.

Janelle had a girl throw up allllllll the way down the hall to the bathroom.

I guess you wouldn't be irrational if you wondered why one earth we chose this life.

But here's the thing:

A girl asked me if she could take one of my books to recess to read if she promised to be very careful with it and bring it back.

This is a girl who goes to special ed for reading and struggles so much in every way.  I said yes!

Also, yesterday there was a collective groan when I stopped reading aloud to them.  Let me tell you, that was a hard fought groan with this group.  It made me happy.

They also make me laugh all day long.

My reading group (that is composed of four of those rambunctious boys) have created their own house rules to a phonics game I have.  It involves winning if you are the toilet king and losing if you end up with poison.  They decided the poison was covid.   

Speaking of poison, I was regaled with dramatic stories about food poisoning from gas station food. I heard about the very exciting event of a grandma surprising them by showing up on their spring break trip.  She knocked on the hotel door and said, "Room service!"

The student said, "We didn't even order room service, but we opened the door and it was my grandma!"

One of Miriam's students is in a different reading group I have.  He has been in Mexico for the past few weeks so I was asking him about it.  He told me about the good food he ate and the things he saw.  Then he said in his enthusiastic, if slightly broken, English that they went to where Jesus was...he searched for the word in English for awhile, then finally found it...crucified.  He said, "And then we had a big party."

I'm pretty confident a thing or two was lost in translation for what actually happened, but I loved how excited he was about it.

My very hardest student got 100% on his math test yesterday.  That has never even come close to happening before (although he is a smart enough kid).  I made a big deal out of it and later he sheepishly asked me, "Are you surprised I got a 100% on my math test?"

I said, "I'm not surprised because I know how smart you are.  I am impressed that you got 100% though."

About three more times throughout the day, he would say to no one in particular, "I am impressed I got 100% on my math test!"

This is my life and I'm grateful for it.