Good to be back

 This was on my whiteboard when I walked into my classroom.  Mark must have written it when we were boxing up the Christmas decorations.

He gave me this swanky new red stapler because he has witnessed my old stapler (not the one my dad repaired but my other, older one, attacking me...I started bleeding when Mark was there.  It was dramatic and yielded me a stapler for Christmas!)

I was happy to see my students.  They were more or less happy to see me.  Some of them were grumpy about school being back in session.

In my literacy group, I read them Boxes for Katje because I loved it so much.  They needed background information so I told them a little about World War II and how much of Europe was in ruin.  Katje is a little girl in Holland and a little girl, Rosie, sends her things from America. When there were things like soap and socks, we talked about why those were luxuries.

They were very solemn when I talked about how poor the people were.  I could tell they understood.

I would have my students predict what was in the boxes.   One boy guessed a PS5.  I said, "They hadn't been invented yet."

He said, "OK, a PS1?"

I said, "Not invented yet."

He said, "Are you kidding?  So Pac Man?"

I said, "Not invented yet."

He flat out did not believe me.  I guess he couldn't imagine a world without video games.

At the end of the story, Katje and her neighbors sent tulip bulbs to Rosie in America.  Everyone wondered why the Dutch hadn't just eaten the tulip bulbs because they looked like potatoes.

It was a rollicking ride like 3rd grade is.

During math, one of the (sort of grumpy) students wrote this on the back of her timed test.

She also asked during math, "Mind if I do a headstand to get my brain flowing?"

I said, "Yes, I mind.  Keep working."

After school I swung by the office to drop off some attendance cards.  The principal called me into his office.

He said, "I went up into the ceiling above your classroom during the break to see about moving your projector."

That is the kind of principal he is.  I'd mentioned I wished my projector was on the other side of the room so he climbed into the ceiling to see if he could make it happen.

I said, "What?  You're amazing."

He said, "Well, it will probably need to be a summer project."

And I am OK with that.  I'm in for the long haul and I wouldn't have it any other way.