It was only Tuesday

 When my team convened in my room after school, we all had the same thought, "I can't believe it is only Tuesday!"

Yesterday was a long week....

We walked to Orem Junior High for their musical.  It's about a 25 minute walk.  Twenty-five minutes of keeping everyone walking and on the sidewalk (not the street) and out of peoples' yards and no, you can't throw pinecones.

A police officer helped us cross 800 North on the way to the junior high, but I don't know where he was on the way back.  It was high anxiety.

The play itself was well done.  I loved seeing former Bonneville students and I loved seeing one of my students waving enthusiastically at her older sister.  She was so proud.  I had a little hotbed of trouble and I made two students come and sit by me and every other student in the row move down.  I said no to anyone who needed to use the bathroom unless they asked me multiple times.  If they wanted to go get a drink, it was an automatic no.

One of my students said, while we were trooping down the street, "What if someone thought we were all Teacher's children?"

They were delighted by that idea, but when we are on a field trip like that, it does feel like they are all my children.  It's a lot.

We got back to the school and I felt like a nap, but we had a quick lunch because we returned late and then writing.  One of my students had a full on temper tantrum about writing.  She was very offended that I wasn't helping her enough.  Writing time is every man for himself and they are asking me to spell words and asking me a million questions and clamoring around my desk and I am just trying to survive it.

Almost everyone else finished what they needed for the day and she had her head down on my desk and was crying.  I told her that I was sorry I wasn't able to help her more, but I could help her now.

Well, she was over it.  She said, "Oh, now you want to help me.  Too late!"

I told her she could stay in from recess then.

She was still hopping mad during recess.  I tried to reason with her, but we were past that.  She went to recess and we picked up writing again after recess.  She acted like nothing had even happened and she helped translate for a Spanish speaker and was as pleasant as she could be.

After school Miriam and Alissa and I commiserated about everything. We made sure we were on the same page for testing and we divided the classes for next year.  We put our students into three different 4th grade classes, trying to balance boys/girls, behavior, academics, special ed., English learning.  It's an undertaking.  There's a spot for notes.  My team asked me what I was going to write about my hardest student.  We batted around a few ideas:  good luck, hope you have Advil, they are a puzzle.  In the end I left it blank.  I know whoever the teacher is will come and ask me.