...of loving my school.
Yesterday we had a meeting after school to discuss decisions the school board was making. We weren't that happy about it and Jami told us that the school board had reversed their decision. So then we felt better! He also wanted to read us a note his daughter had written him. He said, "I can't read it or I'll cry." Courtney said she would read it. It was so very sweet. And if you want to make a roomful of elementary teachers tear up, read them a supportive note from a sixth grader who loves her dad. Those are my people and I'm proud to be in their ranks.
...of loving my team.
When I was home sick, I texted Janelle and Miriam several times for help. They printed my sub plans and made copies and relayed information. This was our text conversation that night:
And I love them, but I am not wearing a Power Rangers costume. Sorry ladies.
...of hating to miss school.
It took me a good hour to wrangle them back into good behavior. I could tell they were naughty when I was gone. They were like those little bouncy balls careening off the wall and it took all my energy to settle them. One of them said, "I hate having a sub." For one thing, he hates everything and tells me all day every day. For another thing, I agreed with him.
...of checking my trapline.
It's not an actual trapline, but I like calling it that. I have a bunch of terra cotta plant stakes with glass bottles in them that water my plants. The plants have never been happier. I walk around every day or so and see if I need to refill the bottles. I stick my finger in the dirt to check the moisture level. Some of the bottles drain fast and the soil gets too wet so I don't refill the bottles as often. Some the bottles drain fast and the soil dries up too. Some of the bottles drain really slowly. What makes the difference? Is it the soil? The pots? The plants? Where they are located? I don't know. But I like checking my trapline.
...of needing to raid Emma's books.
I have a student whose dad is from Guatemala and mom is from Mexico. She is making huge strides in her reading and I need to keep her in books. In the library I was trying to tempt her with different choices. I asked her if she had read American Girl books. She hadn't. Back in the classroom, I pulled out the American Girl books I have. She wanted the Josefina book, but I didn't have the entire series. I went on a hunt in Emma's room (I asked her first and she was all for it). It took a little excavation but I found these in a box in her closet:
Kids need to see themselves in books.
...of loving my Spanish speakers.
They are such smart lovely children. I have never had a better interpreter than I have this year. He's a whiz. He can seamlessly switch between languages and is super willing to do so. One of them wrote this on the board.
It made me laugh because they use kids' shows like Dora the Explorer to taunt each other. They fancy themselves much too old and sophisticated for Nick Jr.
...of Adam.
Last night he cast his phone on the TV to show me the finer features of the carseat and stroller he has picked out. There was a cute baby modeling it but I told him I thought our granddaughter would probably be even cuter. We puzzled over colors: iron, slate, pewter. They all seemed the same. We marveled at how easy it seemed compared to the carseats and strollers we had. I said, "They won't even know how good they have it."
But I think that is a great thing.
I asked Adam if it was going to be tall enough for Braeden and since he was in stroller salesman mode, he said, "I'm glad you asked," and he showed me the specs on that.
He's definitely my favorite weirdo. Later last night we were talking about forms of the word contusion. I insisted there was a past tense. He said you can't have a past tense of a noun. Like, what's the past tense of apple? It was all cracking us up so much coming up with past tense versions of contusion: contaught? done contuded?
It's the kind of thing that no one else will ever think is as funny as we did.
But I think that is kind of a great thing too.
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