Rainy days and Mondays

 It just rained and rained.  We might as well be in Seattle (although when Mark watched the Seahawks game, I noticed it was sunny there).

Despited many messages to parents and a piece of paper they signed and sent back with all the times and pertinent information about the field trip, I had several parents messaging me before school, wondering what time the field trip was.

I broke the news to the students that we were skipping the park because of all the rain.  They were disappointed and one of them was pouty, which bugs me.  I can't really tolerate a pouty child.  My students usually sense as much and she got over it pretty quickly.

In multiple messages, (because I guess they didn't believe me so they kept asking?) I had told the chaperones that we were loading the bus at 10:20 so they should come then.

Two moms showed up at 10:00.

So they sat in chairs in the back of the room. 

We lined up and everyone was in high spirits.  They were going on a bus!  We didn't have enough students for the district to give us two buses, so we piled on, three to a seat, including parents.  I was the last one on the bus and there wasn't a seat for me.  I would have happily drove myself, but I needed to be on the bus so I asked if a parent would be willing to drive themself.  A dad volunteered and unfortunately, unlike an airline, he didn't get any reward to agreeing to be bumped from an overbooked flight.

Unless you call not riding three to a seat with hyped up children a reward.

Everyone was pretty happy at the aquarium.  Miriam and Alissa and I hadn't given ourselves groups of children so we could walk around and mingle with all of our students and take pictures of them.  It was nice.  

There was a group that didn't show up at the appointed time to meet the bus (there always is) and we were already past our lunch time and the natives were getting very restless.  I had my students sit on the floor and we played Down By The Banks of the Hanky Panky, which they love.  We finally packed back onto the bus and got back to the school after 1:00.  Lunch for the school was long past and I was expecting that we would need to be with our students in the lunchroom but Matt and Nicole were there and said, "Go have lunch!"  So nice.

We then had a short recess (it had stopped raining for a little window) and I showed them Lucas the Spider  videos for about ten minutes before clean up and read aloud time.  I had promised them a "staycation" when we got back from our abbreviated field trip and I guess 10 minutes of Lucas the Spider videos counts for a staycation.

After school we had a leadership meeting.  Matt asked me how the field trip had been and I said that we didn't lose anyone.

He said, "Exactly!"  He had talked to one of the dads who had gone on the field trip.  Matt had asked him how it was and he had said not great.

Matt asked him if they came home with everyone and the dad said yes.  Matt said he needed to manage his expectations.  Coming back with everyone was a success.

The dad was a parent of one of Miriam's students and his daughter had been bit morose the entire time at the aquarium, so that may have colored the experience for them.

I drove home, thrilled by the snow on the mountains.

Mark and I took a walk with umbrellas and went to Habit Burger for dinner because I hadn't had meat for days and was craving some.

Then it was home and time to settle under a blanket with my book.

More rain is expected today and we need every drop so I am grateful.