An extra post

 I only have two careers to compare around here at Christmas time, mine and Adam's. 

Adam comes home with a lot of really nice Christmas presents from his boss and coworkers.

I have Ugly Sweater Day, which is Jamie's favorite day of the school year.  She created a rubric for judging and sent it to us last week.

There were prizes.

Participating is not optional.

Here I am with my team.  I am the shortest and don't know to look at the camera.  This is my life.  This has always been my life.

I didn't even come close to winning the contest.  

The students who came, came to school in pajamas and with frenzied energy.  Many didn't come, which makes sense when the day is short.  A few more gave me presents which were very sweet.  

We went to the Jingle Jam.

It was utter bedlam!  Matt knows how to rile them up, but thankfully he also knows how to settle them back down. 

The students performed their grade level songs for each other by standing up in the spot where they were sitting.  I crossed the room to take a picture of the third graders and realized they absolutely didn't know the song, so I stayed there and led them and did the actions from across the room.

Between numbers, the teachers did lip sync performances or a jib jab/elf yourself kind of situation.  The third grade team was the only one who did a video instead of a lip sync.  Miriam said, "Are we the old team?"

If we are, it is because I bring the average age up.

(I also didn't mind that we didn't do a lip sync.)  

The second grade teachers did a Christmas version of "Raining Tacos."  If you don't know what that song is, you probably aren't an elementary teacher.

And then they threw tortillas at the crowd.  If I could figure out how to make it work, I would add the video I took.  It was a scene.  Over 500 hyped up children in pajamas losing their ever loving minds.

It took several minutes to get everyone settled down.

It was further proof that elementary teachers are not like regular people and we absolutely deserve the bedlam that happens to us because we cause a lot of it.

Back at our classroom we played games and passed out papers and all the things.  I told them they were not to open their gifts from me until they got home.  They were books and some of them were thick above grade level books and some of them were 1st grade level because I wanted to give them books they could read.  I didn't need them comparing.

My little English learner is moving.  It was his last day.  He brought treats for everyone and a present for me.  We told him we love him and would miss him and he said, "Teacher, I'm sad!" and he burst into tears.

We all hugged it out and he just clung to me, the little sweetie.

He kept saying, "I'm sad, Teacher!  I love you so much, Teacher!"  I told him that when he started school here, he didn't know anyone and now he has so many friends and everyone loves him.  

I said, "Everyone at your new school will love you!  You are going to make many new friends."

He solemnly said, "OK, Teacher." (He said it the same way he always said OK Teacher when I told him to sit down or stop talking or no, he couldn't have a piece of candy.)

His gift was a Lego Ninjago book with a mini figure too.  (Another reason I didn't want them to open gifts in the classroom--he's the only one that got a mini figure.)

Ten seconds after he left for the day, he came hurtling back and hugged me again.  He had opened his gift.

"Thank you, Teacher!  I love it, Teacher! Oh, thank you!"  It made me wish I'd given him a Lego set the size of him.

All the introvert teachers sped around their classrooms, getting ready to leave.  I took down my decorations and switched everything to January and took several loads to the car.  A gaggle of extroverted teachers were in the hall laughing and talking.  They were recharging in their way and I was hurrying home to recharge in mine.

I felt such warmth and love as I left the school.  Fellow teachers, my friends, called to me to have a Merry Christmas and a good vacation.  It is so wonderful to work with people I like so much.

I don't need expensive Christmas presents from work.  I'd pick this job any day.