Grateful Friday

This week I have had before and after school traffic duty.  If you drive by the school, I'm the one out front with a stop sign and gloves + mittens.  Turns out doubling up is the secret to success.  My fingers aren't freezing.  

I love greeting the students--especially when I know their names.  I tell them good morning and I hope they have a good day and I am almost always rewarded with a big smile, which makes me happy.

There's a crosswalk right out front and that is my spot.  When kids need to cross, they tell me and I step out into the oncoming traffic with my sign and a deep hope that the people will stop and then the kids cross.  A lot of the kids tell me thank you.

Yesterday a woman was on her phone and she stopped her vehicle right in the crosswalk, waiting to pick up her charges.  I motioned for her to pull forward, you know, out of the crosswalk, and she started yelling and gesturing wildly and I couldn't hear a word she was staying and also, I'm around children all day.  A shrieking woman with oversized sunglasses doesn't really scare me. 

Move along lady.

The other day, a big diesel truck was idling at the curb, right beyond me and I was breathing in the fumes. Riley, the custodian came by and said, "I love that smell!  Cold diesel."

I said something about not really loving it.

He said, "It reminds me of camping."

I said, "Well, I don't like camping, so maybe that's why."

Then one of the administrators, Julie, came up. She said something about the fumes.

Riley repeated what he'd told me.

Julie repeated she didn't like camping.

Riley said, "That is what SHE just said."

Julie and I looked at each other in solidarity.  She said, "I love the great indoors."

I said, "Yeah, I'm indoorsy."

Riley shook his head in disbelief and walked away.  It happens quite often actually. He is the go to for some of the tough behavior kiddos.  He plays rock paper scissors with them, or sits with them at lunch, or lets them "help" him.  He's a good guy, but he works in a school full of women who were all cut out with the same cookie cutter.  He often walks away from us, shaking his head in disbelief.

Here's what I'm grateful for today:

• Adam's home from Phoenix
• The people I work with
• Gloves + mittens at the same time
• Today's the last day of before and after school traffic duty (at least for 6 weeks--maybe it will be warmer then?*)

*it won't be warmer then

Splat

In another episode of you can't make this stuff up, here's what happened yesterday:

A student who had been gone told me she was gone because she had head lice.  I said, "Do you still have it?"  She said she didn't know.

A BYU professor came to do a demonstration math lesson for the practicum students and third grade teachers.  He taught in my class.  My team and I were wondering 1) how my students would behave and 2) how he would handle it if they behaved "normal" which is anything but.

For the first 20 minutes or so of the lesson, they were angelic and it was weird.  It was also not sustainable for them.

Eventually, a girl lay on the floor under her desk.

A boy started eating paper.  He does that mostly when he's hungry and is trying to make a point.

A boy began removing his fake nails (painted black--I can't explain this) and stacking them on the corner of his desk.

I walked around the room and confiscated an inflated balloon (?), a Pokemon card, two different papers from two different students who were just filling up their pages with scribbling.

I took away the chairs from three students because they were using them in ways both bizarre and dangerous (for example, balancing their feet precariously on a yoga ball and then crouching down and shifting from side to side until you think they are going to crash).

The BYU professor mostly ignored them.  I think he thanked his lucky stars they were my problem and not his.  At one point, he turned to the BYU teachers and said, "The problem with being a teacher is the kids."  It felt kind of mean but kind of true in the moment.

During library, a student had what can only be described as a complete meltdown.  

It was a raucous afternoon.  How is it still so many days until Christmas vacation when they are this amped up?  It didn't help that my classroom was 77 degrees.  I told the custodian and I said, "The thing is that I'm wearing this Christmas sweater."  (And expending a lot of energy trying to survive in there.)

He said, "Maybe you need to dress like it's Christmas on a tropical island."

Maybe.

On the way to P.E., a student had a bloody nose.  An impressive bloody nose.  He was at the end of the line with the BYU teacher and I didn't realize he had dripped drops of blood all down the hall.  I alerted the custodian and took the boy to the nurse's office.

Some days you write about how sweet they are and some days you...don't.

Sweetness

I have a new student and being the new student is hard, but she has had a hard life before she ever became the new student.  

On her second day of school, she went home with a stomach ache.

She was gone for three days.

She came back again yesterday.  A few hours into the day, she complained of a stomach ache again.  I talked to her about how maybe she was feeling anxious.  She agreed that maybe so.  I gave her a pop it to pop and a timer.  She sat at my desk, watching the timer and popping and then she went back to work.

Right before recess, she told me again her stomach hurt.  

I told her we would assess after recess.

I had recess duty and I watched her walk around slowly by herself.

I went and rounded up a few of my rambunctious students who were playing tag.  "Hey, will you invite her to play?"

Three of them stopped what they were doing and walked toward her.  One boy pretended like he was going in slow motion, ramping up energy, then he sped off toward her.

I heard them each ask her if she wanted to play.  She quietly said, "No thank you."

Two other girls, who I hadn't even talked to, came up to her next.  "Do you want to go down the slide with us?" one of them asked.

She softly said no.

The other girl said, "It's fun when it has snow on it.  It's fast!"

"C'mon," said the other girl.  "C'mon!"

And she did.

I could have cried by how much it melted my heart but my face was frozen.  (Recess duty in December....)

In the afternoon, we had a fire drill.  By design, the fire drills are loud and obnoxious.  They blare and lights flash and they straight up terrify some of the kids.  I gave them all a heads up, including get your coats on.  

One little guy is a very gentle soul.  He had headphones on to block noise.  Minutes before the fire drill, they were standing near the door, getting their coats on.

He said, "I'm scared."

I said, "You're OK.  As soon as it starts, we'll go right outside."

His little eyes filled with tears and he said, "I'm really scared, Teacher." He looked up at me and asked softly, because it isn't actually something third graders usually do, "Can I hold your hand?"  

He put his little hand in mine.  The fire alarm went off and we headed outside.  He held my hand all across the blacktop to the soccer field where we line up.  The trust he placed in the security of just holding my hand was a little breathtaking.

What an honor it is to be their person for a few hours every day.

More Christmas

Is there ever too much Christmas?

My mom asked for a picture of the whole tree.  Anything for my dear mother:

Of all the things I failed to teach my children well, decorating a Christmas tree is not one of them.  We build layers and they are good at it.  When Adam tried to hand them an ornament after he had attached a hook, they would say things like, "No Dad, we're just doing red balls now."

Braeden is a little less careful when he is here, but he is tallest and has the biggest motor and those things add a lot of value.  I missed him and Emma did too.  She said her Precious Moments ornament missed Braeden's Precious Moments ornament.  They've been hanging them next to each other on the tree since they were tiny little preschoolers.  Sniff.  

***

Yesterday at school, we had a really great experience.  Our principal, Kristie, called Jason Wright (of The Christmas Jars fame) and was sort of surprised when he answered.  She asked him to come to our school and he said yes.  And he lives in Virginia!  

When she told the leadership team about it, she said, "He is either coming or I am being scammed by someone who I thought was Jason Wright."

He came!

Third through sixth grade assembled in the gym.  He talked to us about the first Christmas jar he did with his family.  He said it gave him the idea for the book.  He showed us a map of where people reported Christmas jars sightings:

There was an audible gasp in the room.  He talked about how if someone was sick or needed extra love or had lost their job, people may want to give them a jar.  One of my students turned to me and exclaimed, "My mom and my stepdad have both lost their jobs before!"

It was relatable, having hard times.

We watched the movie that BYUtv created based on the book.  It was a little cheesy but also good.  It was the right kind of feel good you need on a cold December morning.  There was a teeny tiny bit of kissing and most of my students covered their faces or pulled their shirts up over their eyes.  

The "Hope Squad" in our school had popcorn for the students which made a holy mess, but made the students excited.

It was a great time.  I left the room feeling uplifted and I think they did too.

In the afternoon, for writing time, I had them write their thoughts.  I said they could write their thoughts about the jar idea or the movie or any aspect of it. (I didn't use the word aspect....)

One girl wrote at great length about how it was boring and her chair was hard.  Even a New York Times bestselling author isn't Nutella.  He can't make everyone happy.

Another girl who I can rarely get to do much of anything despite her being pretty smart, wrote two pages about it.  She is one of my sweetest kindest souls, even though she is also pretty naughty.  She was touched by the story and I loved reading her writing about it.

After school, I walked around showing it to anyone who would listen.  Then I hung all their writing up in the hall.

I love Christmas!

Weekend

Christmas is in the peppermint scented air around here (Peppermint Twist wallflowers from Bath and Body Works are my love language).

Mark arranged the bears.

They won't stay that way.  They are looking forward to Eleanor flinging them about.  The bears were meant to be played with and I think they've been lonely the past few years.

Speaking of Eleanor, I set up the nativity she can play with:

on the floor, hopefully distracting her from other pursuits

And the nativity she can't play with:

I got everything arranged and my favorite view is either this one:

red + straw forever

Or these from the upstairs hall (made possible by Mark climbing on a ladder and being willing to move it a little more this way or that, then ducking so I can see--I'm a lot of fun):

Once Horace is looking handsome in his red bow, I know it's time for Christmas magic.

Sunday, we decorated the big tree.  Adam managed the hooks and also took a few pictures.

Our tree with its quirky hodge-podge of random ornaments reflect our lives together and I love it.  The wrapping paper is courtesy of my Stendig calendar.  I have long been a red wrapping paper only person, but I like the black and white with red bows.  Plus I already have the calendar pages.  Why not?

Grateful Friday

This has been a sort of tough week.  I went to the chiropractor twice and the dentist twice if that doesn't just sum it up.

I have sick students and sad students and struggling students.

I have very kind students.  We got a new girl this week and they were kind.  When I asked a few girls if she could eat lunch with them, they said, "Yes!" They were enthusiastic too.  

I am tired and my house still isn't completely decorated for Christmas which is kind of killing me as a pre-crastinator.

Still.

I'm grateful for the way the city lights twinkle on frosty mornings.  

I'm grateful for our Nevada house and the spectacular neighbors who help us at every turn.

I'm grateful we get to spend Christmas with all our kids (and granddaughter!).

I'm grateful Adam reads to me every night.  It is cozy to be read to.

I'm grateful for the Christmas decorations I do have up, because they are cheering.

I'm grateful for the weekend (I'll get it all the way decorated!).

The coronation that wasn't

Yesterday I had an appointment at 5:30 PM, to get my permanent crown.  My coronation, as Adam called it.  My dentist is close to the school, so I took the opportunity to just stay there and work on all the things.  There are always things to do.  

I went to the dentist.

They yanked off the temporary crown.  Which kinda hurt.  

They stuck on the new crown.  It didn't fit.

They yanked it off.

They glued the temporary one back on.  

I have to go back today.

There's a reason nobody likes going to the dentist.